MPA Federal Advisory Committee
- FAC Meeting Minutes
Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory
Committee
Summary of Meeting
| CALL TO ORDER |
The Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee
was convened for its second meeting at 8:30 a.m. on November
17, 2003, at the San Mateo Marriott San Francisco Airport Hotel,
San Mateo, California.
In accordance with the provisions of Public Law 92-463, the
meeting was open to the public. |
Committee members present:
Dr. Tundi Agardy
Mr. Bob Bendick
Mr. David Benton
Dr. Dan Bromley, Chairman
Dr. Anthony Chatwin
Dr. Michael Cruickshank
Ms. Carol Dinkins
Dr. Rod Fujita
Dr. Dolly Garza
Mr. Eric Gilman
Dr. Mark Hixon
Mr. George Lapointe**
Dr. Bonnie McCay, Vice-Chair
Mr. Mel Moon
Dr. Steve Murray
Mr. Michael Nussman
Dr. John Ogden
Mr. Terry O’Halloran
Mr. Lelei Peau
Dr. Walter Pereyra
Mr. R. Max Peterson
Mr. Gil Radonski
Dr. Jim Ray
Dr. Daniel Suman
CPT Ted Thompson (Ret.)
Mr. Bob Zales, II
Dr. John Halsey*
* Nominated member with pending security clearance who attended
as an observer
** George Lapointe arrived Tuesday afternoon
Ex officio members present:
Ms. Mary Glackin, Department of Commerce
CDR Karen Kohanowich, Department of Defense/U.S. Navy
Ms. Patty Morrison, Department of the Interior
Ms. Jacqueline Schafer, U.S. Aid for International Development
National Marine Protected Areas Center staff:
Marjorie Ernst, Designated Federal Official
Ginger Hinchcliff, Technical Assistance and Training Institute Director
Dr. Charles Wahle, Science Institute Director
Joseph Uravitch, Director
Also present:
Dr. James Kendall, Executive Secretary of Department of the Interior’s
Outer Continental Shelf Technical Advisory Committee
| Installation
of Remaining Members |
Committee Members Benton, Chatwin, Dinkins, Gilmore,
McCay, Peterson, and Thompson provided brief self-introductions.
|
| Election of Chair and Vice-Chair |
|
| Motion |
It was moved by Max Peterson “to adopt the election
protocol.” The motion was carried.
|
| Chair |
Candidates for Chair position gave short presentations in
order of names drawn: Bob Zales; Dan Bromley; Dave Benton; and
then fielded questions. Dan Bromley was elected Chairperson,
receiving the majority of votes cast via written ballot by the
25 members who were present.
|
| Vice-Chair |
Candidates for Vice-Chair position gave short presentations,
with Bob Zales deferring in lieu of his previous statement for
the position of Chairperson, followed by Bonnie McCay. After
a brief opportunity for questions, Bonnie McCay was elected
Vice-Chairperson, receiving the majority of votes cast via written
ballot by the 25 members who were present.
|
| Presentations |
The Committee heard a series of presentations from federal
officials from the Department of Commerce (Tim Keeney, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, NOAA; Joseph
Uravitch, Director of the National MPA Center; and Dr. Rebecca
Lent, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs,
NOAA Fisheries) and the Department of the Interior (David Smith,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks).
|
| New Business |
After a brief discussion, it was moved by Bob Zales “to
adopt Robert’s Rules of Order.” The motion was carried.
|
Motion
Parliamentarian |
The committee discussed the need for a parliamentarian and
it was moved by David Benton that the parliamentarian not be
a voting member of the committee. The committee agreed informally
to this decision. It was moved then by Max Peterson “that
the Chair consult with the ex officio members before
[the meeting reconvenes]
the next day to select a Parliamentarian.” The motion
was carried. |
Motion
Adoption of Agenda |
It was moved by Dave Benton “to adopt the agenda.”
The motion was carried. The Chair then proposed that discussion
of the Charter be delayed until after the Committee structure
and function had been discussed. No objection to this adjustment
was voiced.
|
Substitute Motion
Initial
Adoption of Ad Hoc Committee Structure |
There was a lengthy debate on the Committee’s proposed
Subcommittee structure and function which ended with a substitute
motion by Dave Benton “that the Committee adopt, for the
purpose of this meeting, the recommendations in the electronic
message from Joe Uravitch for establishing three subcommittees,
one being the national system of MPAs, the other one being stewardship
and MPA effectiveness, and the third being the national and
regional coordination of MPA efforts subcommittee.” It
was clarified further that the subcommittees would be ad hoc
for the remainder of the meeting and that before the committee
adjourned, it would need to decide whether to adopt this subcommittee
structure, subject to approval by the Departments of Commerce
and the Interior. The motion was carried.
|
Informal Motion
Process
for Determining Subcommittee Membership |
Dave Benton proposed a process in the form of a motion further
refined by the Chair whereby members would be given the opportunity
to provide in writing their first, second, and third priority
subcommittee assignments by 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Then a small
group made up of the Chair, the Vice-Chair, Maggie Ernst, Bob
Zales, and Joe Uravitch would work with members’ preferences
to put together a balanced set of subcommittees. There was general
agreement by the committee in lieu of an actual vote to take
this approach. Given that the subcommittees were to be ad hoc,
the Chair invited Dr. Halsey to submit his priority choices
for participation on one of the subcommittees.
|
| Motion to Recess |
The Chair called for the meeting to be recessed. The meeting
recessed at 5: 11 p.m.
|
| CALL BACK TO ORDER |
The Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee was
called back to order at 8:30 a.m. on November 18, 2003.
|
| Unfinished Business |
The Chair proposed and obtained unanimous agreement to have
Dr. Dolly Garza serve as the Committee’s Parliamentarian.
The Chair’s rationale for having a Committee member serve
in this capacity was due to the realization that ex-officio
attendance at future Committee meetings may not be consistent.
The Chair reviewed the day’s agenda and also proposed
that the Committee would take up the discussion of the Charter
later in the day. There was no objection.
|
| Ad hoc Subcommittees |
The Chair reviewed the draft assignments of members to one
of the three proposed ad hoc subcommittees. Each group was asked
to elect a chair and a recorder to serve as rapporteur. The
ad hoc subcommittee assignments were:
|
| Subcommittee 1 |
National System of MPAs
Mark Hixon (Chair)
Tundi Agardy (Temporary Recorder for Tues.)
Steve Murray (Temporary Recorder for Wed.)
Michael Cruickshank
Jim Ray
Walley Pereryra
Max Peterson
Carol Dinkins
Bob Zales
Mary Glackin, DOC
George Lapoint (Joins after arrival on Tuesday p.m.)
Charlie Wahle, National MPA Center
|
| Subcommittee 2 |
Stewardship and MPA Effectiveness
Lelei Peau (Chair)
Bonnie McCay (Recorder)
Tony ChatwinTerry O'Halloran
Dolly Garza
Rod Fujita
Gil Radonski
John Ogden
Patty Morrison, DOI
Barbara Stevenson*
Bob Moran*
Ginger Hinchcliff, National MPA Center
|
| Subcommittee 3 |
National and Regional Coordination of MPA Efforts
Mel Moon (Chair)
Mike Nussman (Recorder)
Bob Bendick
Dan Suman
Ted Thompson
John Halsey
Eric Gilman
Dave Benton
Jacqueline Schafer, USAID
Kay Williams*
Joe Uravitch, National MPA Center
*(These members unable to attend the meeting were given these
tentative assignments.)
After some additional discussion on how the subcommittees were
to function with respect to the full committee at this and at
future meetings, the members then met in their respective ad
hoc subcommittees for an hour and forty minutes for the first
of two concurrent sessions, during which they were each to elect
a chair, appoint a recorder, and broadly discuss their views
of the tasks ahead. Members of the public were welcomed to observe
one or more of these sessions.
|
| Plenary Reports |
The committee then met in a plenary session. The ad hoc subcommittee
chairs (with follow up in some cases by the recorder) each provided
a brief report summarizing the exchange of perspectives on the
potential scope and approaches to the goals and objectives that
had been proposed by the MPA Center. After each presentation,
the broader membership had an opportunity to pose clarifying
questions to the subcommittee chairs that was followed by a
period of general discussion on matters pertaining to the overall
context for the subcommittees’ work.
The Committee reiterated the need for involvement in future
meetings by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well
as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It was also pointed out
that participation on the MPAFederal Interagency Working Group
being reconstituted could be expanded to include several agencies
in addition to the Corps of Engineers not cited in the Executive
Order. These were the National Aeronautic and Space Administration,
the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department
of Education.
Tundi Agardy requested through the Chair that the MPA Center
develop a draft list of MPA-related articles to be circulated
among committee members for comment. This bibliographic primer
on MPAs would serve as a foundation for the committee's work.
|
| Invited Presentation |
During a working lunch, the committee heard a presentation
on Canada’s Marine Protected Areas and ocean governance
regime from Mary Jean Comfort, National Coordinator from the
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, who later fielded questions.
|
| Charter Discussion |
The committee stayed in plenary session for a discussion on
the charter before breaking again into subcommittees. The charter
discussions focused on whether a number of changes to the charter
proposed by the committee during the June 2003 meeting should
be acted upon immediately by the Department of Commerce or whether
the changes could be made during the spring of 2004 when the
charter was due for renewal. The full committee agreed by voice
vote to a motion by Bob Zales to table a main motion from Dave
Benton and an amendment to that motion from Max Peterson that
would have addressed one or the other of these alternatives
until later that day.
|
| 2nd Subcommittee Session |
The subcommittees resumed concurrent sessions in the afternoon
for an hour and forty minutes to discuss the development of
work plans, timelines, final products, and individual assignments.
|
| Plenary Reports |
The ad hoc subcommittee chairs reported back to the full committee
on further progress being made during the concurrent working
sessions. The Chair requested that subcommittees 1 and 3 produce
an executive summary by the next day that was comparable in
detail to that drafted and presented by subcommittee 2 that
would clarify what the groups intended to do. The Chair assessed
from the group reports that March 15, 2004, would be a logical
deadline for each of the subcommittees to target for having
refined workplans containing proposed products and approaches
to be presented for consideration by the full committee at its
spring meeting. It was agreed that in the interim, the developing
drafts of these workplan components would be posted for access
by members on the secure extranet site that was established
by the Department of Commerce/NOAA for information sharing and
non-deliberative communication by committee members and federal
agency staff from Commerce and Interior.
|
| Charter Motion |
Discussion resumed on the subject of potential revisions to
the MPAFAC Charter. Mary Glackin, the DOC ex officio representative,
tasked the MPA Center to get confirmation from legal counsel
that it would not cause a problem if the FAC does not set up
a scientific working group. On the subject of expanding the
representation on the FAC to include the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and potentially other agencies, she agreed to bring
this issue to the Federal Interagency MPA Working Group and
report back to the FAC at the next meeting. Lastly, she pointed
out that the charter was not the appropriate mechanism to resolve
the issue of financial support for the FAC.Finally, it was moved
to table Dave Benton’s earlier motion on the charter changes
for FAC adoption so it could be put in writing and presented
to the FAC for consideration at 8:30 a.m. on the following day.
The motion was carried after a show of hands, with 16 voting
for the motion and three opposed.
|
| Motion to Recess |
The Chair moved that the meeting be recessed. The motion carried.
The meeting recessed at 5:28 p.m.
|
| CALL BACK TO ORDER |
The MPAFAC was called back to order at 8:43 a.m. on November
19, 2003.Members Agardy, Chatwin, Gilman, McCay, and Suman were
no longer present.
|
| Motion on Charter |
It was moved by Dolly Garza that the motion tabled at the
end of the day on Tuesday and now presented in writing be
considered by the committee. The motion was:
“The Committee recommends to the Departments of Commerce
and the Interior the changes to the charter presented in our
notebooks and discussed on November 17. The Committee believes
the changes as proposed are important to have a clear understanding
of our procedural rules.
“The Committee understands and accepts the verbal advice
received from Counsel that we have the flexibility under the
existing charter to operate as described in the proposed changes
and we intend to operate accordingly.
“The Committee recommends that the Departments of Commerce
and the Interior amend the new charter upon renewal as proposed.
If further advice of Counsel indicates we cannot operate accordingly,
we encourage the agencies to work to make the necessary adjustments
as expeditiously as possible, so we can perform our duties.”
The motion was carried.
|
| Unfinished Business |
The three subcommittees had held brief meetings before
the full committee was reconvened to prepare for reporting
out.
Mel Moon, the Chair of Subcommittee 3 presented the group’s
draft workplan to the full committee. The Committee concurred
with a recommendation from the subcommittee that the Departments
of Commerce and Interior draft and distribute widely (e.g.,
governors, executive directors of Fishery Management Councils,
tribal entities, scientific institutions, professional organizations)
a cover letter signed by the appropriate level of authority
with four documents appended (i.e., the EO, a two-page description
of MPA Center activities, the classification system for MPAs,
and the users guide for MPA types and terms). The purpose
of the letter would be twofold: to broadcast this information
for outreach purposes and to solicit comments on the draft
documents. Responses to the mailing should be available by
the next meeting of the full committee.
The Committee had a lengthy discussion about the nature and
level of effort required to conduct its work and the expectation
of support in the form of staffing and/or funds. The discussion
had been sparked by a draft recommendation from Lelei Peau,
the Chair of Subcommittee 2, that “the Chair shall request
Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior to reach out to partner
agencies for financial support for this Committee as a whole
and for staff support for the subcommittees.”
|
| Public Comment Period |
The Chair called for public comments from the following individuals
who had registered to speak to the Committee. Each speaker was
allotted five minutes. (The page number in parentheses corresponds
to the place in the official transcript posted on the mpa.gov
website where each speaker’s presentation can be viewed.
- Ms. Donna Parker, representing herself (pg 28)
- Ms. Jessica Hamilton, The Ocean Conservancy (pg 33)
- Mr. Jesus C. Ruiz, State Coordinator for YMCA of the U.S.,
a national SCUBA program (pg 38)
- Dr. Cheri Recchia, The Ocean Conservancy (pg 42)
- Ms. Kate Wing, Natural Resource Defense Fund (pg 46)
- Ms. Fleur O'Neill, Save Our Shores (pg 51)
- Mr. Jamie Wine, representing himself (pg 54)
- Ms. Yasaman Golban, representing herself (pg 56)
- Mr. Bart Hall, Fred Hall and Associates. Consumer Fishing
Shows (pg 57)
- Ms. Jane DeLay, representing herself and a member of Save
Our Shores (pg 59)
- Mr. Bob Osborn, United Anglers of Southern California
pg 62)
- Mr. Bob Strickland, United Anglers of SC (pg 66)
- Roger Thomas, Golden Gate Fisherman’s Association
(pg 67)
|
| Unfinished Business |
The Chair requested that Subcommittee 2 reconsider its focus
on the need for more money and that this budgetary issue be
set aside. The Chair reconsidered the request by Dr. Michael
Cruickshank for clarification from the Secretaries of the Departments
of Commerce and the Interior on three draft questions. The Chair
recommended that these questions be shared informally with the
respective Departments and refined for consideration and potential
approval by the full committee at its next meeting. These questions,
as presented to the full committee in draft form with subsequent
editing were:
- Clarification is requested from the Secretary of the Department
of the Interior on whether the areas designated as leases,
or other set-asides under the authority of the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act (amended 1987) be included or excluded,
wholly or selectively from the inventory and subsequent
list of national MPAs.
- Clarification is requested from the Secretary of Commerce
on whether the areas designated as leases, or other (environmental)
set-asides under the authority of the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral
Resources Act (1966) be included or excluded, wholly or
selectively from the inventory and subsequent list of national
MPAs.
- Clarification is requested from the Secretary of the Department
of the Interior on whether the Minerals Management Service
has the authority to require that coastal states with existing
MPAs in their territorial waters adjacent to active OCS
leases contribute data to the MPA Center in the development
of a national MPA inventory at no cost to the MPA Center.
|
Motion
Ratification
of Subcommittee Structure |
It was moved by Max Peterson “for the subcommittees
to do good work in accordance with the workplans.” The
motion was carried. It was reiterated to members that the Committee’s
proposed subcommittee structure would need to be endorsed in
writing subsequent to the meeting by the Department of Commerce
pursuant to the Department’s Committee Management Handbook.
|
| Other Business |
The Chair proposed establishing a subgroup of the committee
to develop draft meeting agendas to be composed of the Chair,
the Vice-Chair, the Chairs of the three subcommittees, the MPA
Center Director, and the FAC’s Designated Federal Official.
He welcomed additional suggestions on how the committee should
generate future meeting agendas. The Committee discussed the
subject of potential venues and timing for its next meeting.
Several suggestions were raised, including: holding the next
meeting in Hawaii in April 2004, in conjunction with the annual
meeting of the Fishery Management Council Chairs; in Hawaii
but not tied to the FMC meeting; and in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Chair asked members to send their dates of availability
in April and May 2004 to the DFO and also to suggest other priority
locations for holding the meeting.
|
| Motion to Adjourn |
It was moved by Dave Benton that the meeting be adjourned.
The motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 noon.
|
I hereby certify that, to the best of my knowledge, the foregoing
minutes are accurate and complete.
Marjorie Ernst
Designated Federal Official
Dr. Daniel Bromley
Chairman
Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee
These minutes will be formally considered by the MPA FAC at its
next meeting, and any corrections or notations will be incorporated
in the minutes of that meeting.
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