Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) Members
Jim Bybee National Marine Fisheries Service
Daniel Cohen Research seat (alternate)
Josh Curchman Maritime Activity seat (alternate)
Bill McMillon Education seat (alternate)
Thomas Lambert Conservation seat
Joe Smith Community-at-Large seat
Kathy Soave Conservation seat (alternate)

Special Guest:
Dan Basta, Director Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Staff:
Michael Carver Biological Technician
Roweena Forest Administrative Support
Dan Howard Assistant Manager
Jan Roletto Research Coordinator
Jennifer Stock Education Specialist
Ed Ueber Sanctuary Manager

Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary SAC Member:
Richard Charter Conservation seat

Copies to:
All attending
Carol Kieper Research seat
Doreen Moser Education seat

Introductions of Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council Members and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Staff

Overview of the National Marine Sanctuary System by Dan Basta

The Sanctuary will be investing in visitor centers and exhibits across the country.
The Sanctuary System is acquiring new vessels.
New Sanctuary at Thunder Bay in Michigan to protect shipwrecks.
The Sanctuaries job is to be on the water.
Currently operate two aircraft: one at the Channel Islands and the other in the Florida Keys.
The Sanctuary has 260 employees across the country.
The Northwest Hawaiian Islands Marine Reserve is a new major addition to the Sanctuary program.
First SAC was created in 1991 in the Florida Keys.
Public participation is a key method for achieving change in the Sanctuary System.
The National Marine Sanctuary System is a collection of ecosystem-based management areas.
A National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (NMSF) was established in 2001.

Board Members:
President
Pat Romanowski
First Vice President, Investments First of Michigan

Secretary
Jim Tulip
Director, Robert Lyn Nelson Studios

Treasurer
Terry Garcia
Vice President, Mission Programs National Geographic Society

Other Trustees
Bob Ballard
President, Institute for Exploration

Jean-Michel Cousteau
President, Ocean Futures Society

Sylvia Earle
President, Deep Ocean Engineering and Research

Kym Murphy
Corporate Vice President, Environmental Policy
The Walt Disney Company

Michael Murphy, Disney

Robert Lynn Nelson
Artist

John Wright
Software Engineer, Cisco Systems

Ex-Officio Members
Margaret Davidson
Acting Administrator, National Ocean Service

Dan Basta
Director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries



Lori Arguelles
Executive Director



The first Oceans Day on Capital Hill was sponsored by the NMSF last year.
Education is a key function of the Sanctuary Program. We need to mobilize a greater constituency for the Sanctuary System.
The contact information in the Sanctuary Advisory Council Member Directory will be distributed to the Ocean Commission
SAC members may be contacted by the Ocean Commission.


Overview of the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Background
Cordell Expeditions, a non-profit, documented the diversity and abundance of life on Cordell Bank and was instrumental in the designation of the Sanctuary.
CBNMS cooperatively works with other institutions such as the Bodega Marine Laboratory.
The Berring to Baja Sanctuary cruise will begin the end of February and will focus on bringing attention to the larger marine ecosystem that the 5 West Coast Marine Sanctuaries are apart of.
Would like to host the CBNMS SAC members on a cruise to Cordell Bank in the Fall.


Research and Monitoring
Work cooperatively with Bodega Marine Lab, San Francisco State University, Moss Marine Laboratory
The Sanctuary is conducting research to characterize benthic habitats at Cordell Bank with 2-person submersible and remotely operated vehicles (ROV)
Also conducting research to estimate biomass of krill, a keystone species, at the Bank using acoustic equipment
Revising the 5-Year Research Plan for the Sanctuary
Want to integrate research with education programs

Education and Outreach
Work cooperatively with the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association, and the National Park Service
Lead wildlife watching trips and outings
Visit schools
Lead interpretive programs
Address larger audiences at outreach fairs

Small Boat Program
27 foot boat used in cooperation with Bodega Marine Lab researchers in the Sanctuary
Investigate juvenile rockfish recruitment
Take teachers out on the vessel to participate in research occurring in the Sanctuary
New vessel 33 foot Gasky will be used for marine mammal observations in the Sanctuary

Overview of Sanctuary Advisory Council Roles and Responsibilities
Council Roles and Responsibilities
Each member represents a constituency and must keep abreast of their constituencies
Every meeting will have a public comment period
The contact information in the Sanctuary Advisory Council Member Handbook will be posted on the National Marine Sanctuary Program web site

Review of Handbook
The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is under the Department of Commerce and is a sister agency of the National Marine Fisheries Service
The binders include:
Contact list and bios
Sanctuary Advisory Council Oath and Charter
Sanctuary enabling legislation and regulations
Sanctuary permit application information
Background information on CBNMS


Goals of the Sanctuary Advisory Council
Help protect the resources of the marine sanctuary
Advise the Sanctuary Manager on issues of concern from the represented constituency
Identify upcoming issues for your constituency
Understand and inform your constituency of marine sanctuary issues and needs


Expectations of the Sanctuary Advisory Council
Maintain open access and outreach to your constituency
Accurately portray opinions from all segments of your represented constituency
Publicly represent marine sanctuary goals, projects, and priorities

How Meetings Are Conducted
Agenda items need to be received 30 days in advance of the meeting
All SAC meetings are public meetings
SAC meetings are advertised in advance
Meeting notes are taken and the official transcript is a tape of the meeting
The SAC will set the agenda for the meeting


The SAC charter can be amended and additional members may be added

SAC Role in the Management Plan Review Process

Joint Management Plan Review: Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries.

The Management Plan
A site specific document used to manage a sanctuary
Contains regulations
Sets priorities; present programs and projects
Guides the development of future activities
Outlines shared local state and federal authorities
Defines boundaries

Management Plan Review
Updates the guiding documents
Examines and potentially changes general sanctuary operations and specific administrations

Key steps
Assemble personnel to initiate internal review-completed
Release state of the sanctuary report-completed
Host public scoping meetings-completed
Narrow priority issues
Host public workshops to develop action plans
Release draft management plan
Host public comment meetings on draft plan
Release final management plan
Total time: approximately 2-3 years


The scoping process
Scoping process provided an opportunity to hear from a broad spectrum

Major issue categories (not prioritized)
Wildlife disturbances
Habitat alterations
Marine bioprospecting
Acoustic impacts
Boundary modifications
SAC
Enforcement
Community partnerships
Agency partnerships
Spill response and planning
Oil & gas activities
Personal watercraft
Military activities
Marine debris and discharge
User conflicts
Coastal armoring
Vessel traffic
Aquaculture
Coastal development
Water quality
Radioactive waste
Exotic species
Community outreach
Ecosystem management
Monitoring

Criteria for Prioritizing Issues
1. Threshold question
Does the NMSP have the institutional responsibility and/or authority to address this issue?

2. Site Benefits
Does addressing this issue have positive site benefits to the natural resources?

3. Urgency
Levels of urgency:
A. develop strategies
B. develop a framework
C. defer action

4. Feasibility
Does the Sanctuary have the necessary people resources/skills funding, infrastructure and technical capability to address this issue?

Joint SAC Meeting Format with Monterey Bay and Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries
Recap of management plan review process
Recap of scoping comment categories
Explanation of issue prioritization process
Break into three small groups (10 SAC members per group)
Presentation of individual SAC members two top priority issues
Apply priority ranking criteria to all sites
Rank issues by short, medium or long term priorities

Next Steps for Issue Prioritization
Summarize SAC issue prioritization meeting results in document for public distribution
Joint staff meeting to review and revise issue prioritization results
Assign issues to staff and or SAC members
Form working groups to characterize issues
Staff develops final issue characterizations for action plans


A biogeographic analysis of marine biological resources off North/Central California: A mid-course update to assist with management plan review
Biogeographic characterization of each sanctuary.
Develop a geographic information system (GIS) of major/selected living marine biologically-related resources for the study area.
An ecological linkage report that complements the GIS analyses.
Develop a GIS tool for CA sanctuary staff.
Develop a project web site.


Nominations for Chair and Vice-chair must be received by February 28, 2002 for the March 1st meeting. Nominations should be sent to Harriet Lew at hlew@farallones.org or (415) 561-6625.

Agenda items for next board meeting
Public comment
Election of officers
Management plan review issue prioritization for CBNMS

JOINT SANCTUARY ADVISORY COUNCIL WORKSHOP DATE:
APRIL 15, 2002
HALF MOON BAY

NEXT CBNMS SAC MEETING:
May 1, 2002
Sebastopol
9:00 AM

All After reviewing these minutes, if you have any comments or corrections, please notify Harriet Lew at hlew@farallones.org.