Marine Resource Committees

Coastal MRCs
North Pacific Coast

North Pacific Coast Marine Resources Committee (NPC MRC) was formed by county officials in September 2009 after the completion of a thorough exploratory process. The joint MRC, consisting of Western Clallam and Jefferson Counties, allows the two counties to share the West End MRC staff resources and funding. The current list of committee members appointed by the County Commissioners can be viewed below.

2011 Projects

NPC MRC completed a variety of projects during 2011. Regular meeting information was posted on the Clallam County website and important announcements were advertised in the local newspaper. The MRC produced and mailed a semi-annual publication of the West End Natural Resources News newsletter and monthly electronic newsletter to inform all Clallam and Jefferson county residents of recent local accomplishments and projects, and volunteer opportunities in the community.

The MRC’s main public outreach event was the third annual NPC MRC Potluck/Barbecue and Citizen Science Fair. The event was a success, with seven non-profit groups (Coast Watchers, Stream Keepers, Hoh River Trust, Pacific Coast Salmon Coalition, Feiro Marine Life Center, North Olympic Land Trust, and the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary) in attendance. The participants worked to develop volunteer strategies for the West End community, and the event seeks to engage more people in 2012.

In addition to basic coordination of the MRC, NPC worked hard to stay coordinated on a coast-wide level. As a member of the SOC, representatives for the MRC ensured consistent communication and participation on ocean policy issues and important decision making processes. Committee members also participated in the Coastal MRC Summit (as the hosting county), four Marine Spatial Planning / Coastal Partnership formation meetings in Aberdeen, most of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Committee meetings, a West Coast Governor’s Agreement on Ocean Health meeting, a National Ocean Council Listening Session, and a coordinator’s meeting in Montesano.

For the third year, NPC MRC contributed project funds to the Ocean Science Program that is jointly undertaken by the Feiro Marine Life Center, the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, and the Seattle Aquarium. NPC MRC’s contribution specifically targeted the expenses of getting the students from Clallam and Jefferson’s outer coast schools to be able to participate in this regionally acclaimed program, and to undertake the field trips to Feiro Marine Life Center that are such a critical component of the educational experience. The success of this program in supporting the NPC MRC’s commitment to promoting ocean literacy has led the committee to decide to annually allocate a portion of project funding to this program.

NPC MRC also dedicated funding and volunteers for the third year to the North Pacific Coast component of the annual Washington Coast Cleanup, orchestrated by Washington Coast Savers. Eight members of the NPC MRC committee participated in the April clean up, along with 1,150 other volunteers. 2011 cleanup results are available at http://www.coastsavers.org/index.html. NPC MRC has voted to award a portion of its annual project funds for coast cleanup activities, and will work with local partners such as the tribes, Olympic National Park, and Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary to ensure the annual spring cleanup on the Olympic Coast continues.

The NPC MRC completed a river otter food habits analysis in 2011. The analysis was a continuation of the previous year’s project where fish remains, from eight years of river otter scat collection in the Ozette River area between Lake Ozette and the coast, were analyzed and identified to fish genus. The project performed a genetic analysis of those salmonid remains to determine if threatened Lake Ozette Sockeye or Coho are the river otter’s primary salmonid diet. All work was performed in June, but the final results are still being worked up for the peer-reviewed publication in preparation for submission in September. The final publication will be posted on the Coastal MRC Program Website.

Other programmatic work completed by the MRC included the development of a new project application and review procedures for the RFP, as well as progress on a NPC MRC Strategic Plan containing an approved mission and vision statement.

Priority Future Actions

The NPC MRC developed a list of recommended priority actions for 2012. The committee agreed to allocate specific annual project funds to on-going core priorities of the committee, independent of the public request for project proposals. The three core priority areas identified for 2012 are marine/ocean literacy for K-12 education, coastal marine debris cleanup, and ongoing community outreach.

Another priority action is further development of the Strategic Plan.  The committee’s next step is to identify areas of interest, concern, and opportunity and develop a set of local benchmarks to address them. The second project solicitation and review for the 2013 work plan will run from March through May 2012. The MRC also plans to follow up from the 2011 Coastal Summit by pursuing the development of 1-2 coast wide projects with the other coastal MRCs.

Contact the MRC coordinator, Rich Osborne (Clallam County) or Tami Pokorny (Jefferson County), for more information.

Signed resolution establishing a Marine Resource Committee [PDF]

North Pacific Coast MRC Meeting Notes and Audio Recordings
http://www.clallam.net/DCD/committee_NPCMRC.html.

Related Documents

• April 2012 West End Natural Resources Newsletter
• 3rd Annual Community Potluck and BBQ Flyer
• July 2011 West End Natural Resources Newsletter
• July 2010 NPC MRC Newsletter
• 2nd Annual Potluck Flyer