Marine Resources Committee: Protecting and Restoring Our Marine Environment

Ken Carrasco is Vice Chair of the Whatcom County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) and chairs the Nearshore Issues Subcommittee. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) and chairs the Education Committee; additionally, he is the local Marine Environmental Protection officer in the Bellingham Coast Guard Auxiliary unit. His wife Mariann is coordinator of the Whatcom Marine Mammal Stranding Network. They live near Acme on Blue Mountain Farm, and he is pursuing an interest in video documentary.

Part 1

Editor’s Note: This is the first installment in a two-part series. See next month’s issue for more about the Marine Resource Committee and specific Whatcom County marine issues.

It’s a safe bet to say that every person who lives in Whatcom County has at least one favorite marine spot or activity along our marine coastline or on the water itself. Perhaps you are lucky to have a view of Bellingham Bay from your front window, or you enjoy sailing the afternoon breeze off Squalicum Harbor. Or perhaps you enjoy clamming in Birch Bay, crabbing off Eliza Island, or competing in the Ski-to-Sea race. Maybe you were married on Lummi Island, or you have fond memories of visiting the marina at Point Roberts.

So chances are that anyone reading this has a recreational or commercial connection with the county’s marine environment. But like many other parts of our county, our marine environment has encountered many changes over the past decades. The use of the shoreline for purely utilitarian purposes without regard for marine habitat, chemical pollution from a variety of sources; harvest pressure on particular species, and the accelerating urbanization along the shoreline draining into the marine waters (which, for the record, would include all waters flowing from all the terrestrial parts of our county) have combined to result in a degraded marine environment.

So how can this environment be protected and restored? How can we provide our children with the legacy of marine waters that are a joy to view or to work and play upon?

Over the past 10 years, the Whatcom County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) has been working to achieve these goals. This group of 18 members, drawn from a wide spectrum of the county population, meets monthly to inform themselves of issues and work on projects to protect and restore our marine waters.

The Whatcom County MRC was formed in 1999 as one of the recommendations issued by a blue-ribbon commission established by Senator Patty Murray and the late Representative Jack Metcalf. Known as the Murray-Metcalf Commission, it was formed after the federal government officially abandoned efforts to include our marine waters in the National Marine Sanctuary program. The idea of such a sanctuary was discarded because of local resistance to having top-down and distant federal management over our maritime waters and activities.

However, the commission recognized the environmental significance of our area and the threats upon the ecosystems, specifically naming the declining populations of sea birds, invertebrates, salmon, bottomfish, and some populations of marine mammals.

But in contrast to the originally proposed federal sanctuary, the commission recommended a “bottom-up” approach using the expertise and local knowledge of local citizens rather than a large bureaucracy. In such an approach, the energy and expertise of people with knowledge and personal investment in particular regions could be recruited to actively protect and restore the marine resources. In other words, the residents themselves could set the priorities and goals for restoring the local ecosystem health by initiating and implementing projects within a regional framework.

One of the principal findings of the commission was that a powerful scientific “spotlight” must be focused on marine problems and serve to inform solutions. Furthermore, the commission explicitly stated that this emphasis on science would be accompanied by independent economic evaluation, so that both the costs of environmental protection and the costs of ecosystem degradation would be considered.

In Oct. 1998, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed a bill incorporating the commission findings as the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative (or, equivalently, the Northwest Straits Initiative) without amendment and with unanimous consent by both houses.

The Initiative formed Marine Resource Committees in seven northwest Washington counties including Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan, Island, Jefferson, and Clallam. Acting as an umbrella and coordinating entity over the seven MRCs, a Northwest Straits Commission of 13 members, with a paid staff, was also created and located at Padilla Bay. In 2002, the Northwest Straits Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, was also created to solicit funding beyond the federal monies provided by Congressional action.

Membership in the county Marine Resource Committees was specified by the Initiative to ensure that the following attributes would be included:

• Relevant scientific expertise

• Constructive and knowledgeable individuals

• Each recognized tribe with a reservation in the county would be offered a seat on the MRC, with that person appointed by their respective Tribal authority

• Balanced representation from the following sectors:

• Local government (especially planning staff from counties and cities with marine shorelines)

• Affected economic interests (such as port, commercial fishers)

• Affected recreational interests (for example, sport fishers)

• Conservation and environmental interests.

The Murray-Metcalf Commission recommended benchmarks to evaluate the success of the program, and furthermore recommended that the program be “fully evaluated” for effectiveness against these benchmarks after five years. This recommendation was included in the Initiative, and the adopted benchmarks included requirements in:

• Extent of local participation

• Marine protected areas

• Habitat

• Shellfish

• Bottomfish

• Marine indicator species

• Scientific data

• Outreach and education.

The five-year evaluation was issued in April 2004 by a panel of eight highly respected members chaired by William Ruckelshaus. The cover letter of the evaluation report summarized their findings: “As a vehicle to promote locally-based marine conservation, we find the Northwest Straits Initiative is an excellent investment.”

It also stated that “ ... the Initiative has accomplished valuable research and restoration projects and has established a strong foundation of mechanisms, relationships, and capacity.” The evaluation wholeheartedly recommended the continuation and reauthorization of the Northwest Straits Initiative.

Activities and Accomplishments of the Whatcom Marine Resource Committee

The 18 members of the Whatcom County MRC are all volunteers and, in compliance with the Initiative, represent various sectors of the community with seats specifically designated for representatives of science and technical expertise, environmental and conservation interests, industry, recreational interests, and commercial harvest interests. Tribal representatives are often present, in addition to county and city councilors.

To support these volunteers, Whatcom County Public Works staff provides the MRC with important and vital logistical assistance.

Most of the MRC members sit on one or more subcommittees including shellfish, nearshore issues, strategic planning, rockfish, education and outreach and others. These subcommittees also meet on a regular basis. The MRC works on a consensus basis, so discussions about issues or projects often occur during the regular or subcommittee meetings.

Appointment to the MRC occurs when a member either resigns (which occurs only rarely) or when their two four-year terms have been met. The vacancies are advertised on the county executive’s Web site, and interested citizens are encouraged to apply for a vacancy to the county executive. After acceptance of the application by the executive, the new member must then be approved by the County Council.

A 10-year Report to the Community was published by the Whatcom County MRC in 2009 and can be obtained from the Bellingham City Library or from the Whatcom County Public Works Department at 676-6876 or http://whatcom-mrc.whatcomcounty.org/MRC/index.htm.

The interested reader should consult that report if more detailed information is desired as the Whatcom County MRC has accomplished much over the past 10 years. A few examples of these activities and projects described in the report include:

• Forage fish and clam surveys on county beaches

• Creosote log removal along county shorelines

• Rockfish surveys using remote-operated underwater vehicles

• Intertidal monitoring at Cliffside Beach.

• The Whatcom County MRC has a well-maintained Web site at http://whatcom-mrc.whatcomcounty.org/MRC/index.htm. In addition to other information, a worthwhile set of information sheets about a variety of marine animals and plants is available on the site.

• The Five-Year Evaluation Report of the Northwest Straits Initiative can be found at: http://ruckelshauscenter.wsu.edu/about/documents/nws2004.pdf.

Next Month

The second installment will describe many of the challenges facing our marine resources, and will provide a summary of the Whatcom County MRC’s approach in dealing with them. §