National Marine Protected Areas Center: FAC Meetings Minutes November 17-19, 2003

FAC Meetings Minutes November 17-19, 2003

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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.
2^nd 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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