October 7-8, 2011 Meeting Minutes | Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission

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October 7-8, 2011

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MEETING MINUTES
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FISH AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION MEETING
October 7-8, 2010

Natural Resources Building
1111 Washington St. SE
First Floor, Room 172
Olympia, Washington

ATTENDANCE:
Commission	Public
Miranda Wecker, Chair	Bobbie Thornilly
Gary Douvia, Vice Chair	Miranda Ciotti
David Jennings	Linda Saunders
Rollie Schmitten	Bruce Beatty
Connie Mahnken	Harley Edwards
Chuck Perry	Al Schmauder
Rollie Schmitten	Mike Henderson
Brad Smith

Commission Staff:
Tami Lininger
Erin Gariépy

Department
Phil Anderson, Director
Joe Stohr, Deputy Director
Nate Pamplin
Michele Culver
Ron Warren
Dave Ware
Donny Martorello
Jerry Nelson
Bill Frymire, AGO
Jäir Reitsma
Bruce Bjork
other Department Staff

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2011

Chair Wecker called the meeting to order at 8:31 a.m.

1a. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES:
Commissioner Schmitten moved, seconded by Commissioner Mahnken, to approve the minutes of the June 16, August 29, September 14, September 16, 2011 meetings as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

1b. COMMISSIONERS’ DISCUSSION:
Commissioners discussed recent activities and items of general interest, including:

Welcome of new Executive Assistant Tami Lininger
Commissioner Jennings apologized for sending an email in violation of public disclosure and submitted that email to the Commission to make it part of the public record.
Chair Wecker stated that they have put off ethics training/refresh for this year in expectation of new Commissioner appointments.

1c. DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
Director Anderson reviewed significant Department issues and activities, including:

Coordination with entities outside of the Department; US Fish and Wildlife
Nisqually Wildlife Refuge
Hunting on Hanford
Willapa National Wildlife Refuge
Cowlitz River Fish Passage
Pacific Salmon Commission – Executive Committee of the US Section
Performance Agreement Review
Delegation of Authority Document
Wenatchee Sports Council Meeting

1d. OPERATIONS AND BUDGET UPDATE:
Deputy Director Stohr briefed the Commission on the current status of the Department’s budget.

2. COMMISSION’S ANNUAL MEETING WITH THE GOVERNOR:
In accordance with RCW 77.04.5ss, the Commission met with Governor Gregoire to review and prescribe basic goals and objectives, and review the performance of the Department in implementing fish and wildlife objectives.

3. OPEN PUBLIC INPUT:
The following individuals provided oral testimony on items of interest of concern during this portion of the meeting:

Miranda Ciotti – Wolf Conservation and Management Plan

4. UNGULATE POPULATION OBJECTIVES – BRIEFING:
Dave Ware, Donny Martorello Ph.D. and Jerry Nelson Ph.D. briefed the Commission on criteria for setting population objective for deer, elk, moose, mountain goat and big horn sheep.

5. LICENSE ISSUANCE RULES – RULE BRIEFING, PUBLIC HEARING AND RULE ACTION:
Dave Ware briefed the Commission on proposed amendments to license issuance regulations to make them consistent with statutory changes approved by the 2011 Legislature, in addition to charging exchange refund and updating WAC language to reflect recent changes to special permit applications.

No one signed up to testify on this topic during this portion of the meeting.

Commissioner Jennings moved, seconded by Commissioner Mahnken, to approve the following amendments and repeals as presented including floor amendments. The motion carried unanimously.

AMEND:
WAC 220-55-040, Recreational license, tag, permit and stamp refunds and exchanges;
WAC 220-55-115, Recreational license dealer fees;
WAC 220-55-180, Point-of-sale transaction fee; and
WAC 232-12-168, Fishing contests

REPEALERS:
WAC 220-55-120, Recreational licenses, stamps and tags – inventory return;
WAC 220-55-132, Migratory bird validations and stamps; and
WAC 220-55-175, Special license application for permanent annual combination

Floor Amendments:
WAC 220-55-115: Strike shall - replace with may
WAC 220-55-180: Strike recreational in 1st sentence

6. HABITAT PROGRAM OVERVIEW – BRIEFING:
Commission postponed until November regular meeting.

7. OPEN PUBLIC INPUT:
No one signed up to testify during this portion of the meeting.

Chair Wecker recessed at 5:05 p.m.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2011:

Chair Wecker resumed the meeting at 8:30 a.m.

8. OPEN PUBLIC INPUT:
The following individuals provided oral testimony on items of interest of concern during this portion of the meeting:

Al Schmauder – Puget Sound Recreational Fisheries Enhancement Program
Mike Henderson – Chamber Creek Dam

9. NORTH WASHINGTON COAST WINTER STEELHEAD – BRIEFING:
Ron Warren briefed the Commission on the stock status of steelhead on the north coast with-in the context of the Statewide Steelhead Management Plan, status of Snider Creek Hatchery Program and the Department’s management of the Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis virus (IHNv) in hatchery steelhead stocks.

10. 2012 COMMISSION MEETING CALENDAR – DECISION:
The Commission discussed and approved the dates and locations for its 2012 meeting calendar. Public hearing for this topic was held during the August 5-6, 2011 meeting in Olympia.

Commissioner Jennings moved, seconded by Commissioner Schmitten, to approve the 2012 Commission Meeting Calendar as discussed. The motion carried unanimously.

11. COMMISSION COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Commissioners discussed recent activities of the Fish, Wildlife and Enforcement committees.

12. SUMMARY OF COMMISSION REQUESTS:
Director Anderson reviewed with Commissioners the current status of Commission requests to the Department and discussed updates. No new Commission requests were submitted at this time.

13. MISCELLANEOUS AND MEETING DEBRIEF:
Commissioners discussed items that arose after the agenda was published, including moving the November meeting to a new location, appropriate email address to use for Commissioners and delisting status of wolves east of Highway 97. This discussion may continue at a future meeting.

Chair Wecker adjourned the meeting at 12:40 p.m.