Western Regional Panel
NEXT MEETING, THURSDAY, April 8
Members Present: Tina Proctor, Susan Ellis, Jim Athearn, John Chapman, Al Van Vooren, Dwight Williamson, Blaine Parker
Members Absent: Ted Grosholz, Mark Sytsma
1. Update on WRP Alaska Meeting
It has been decided to have the meeting in Anchorage rather than Girdwood. Marilyn Leland will visit hotels on Monday and will begin the process of creating a contract. The next phone call for the Meeting team committee is Wednesday, March 17 at 3:30 pm Mountain Time.
2. Proposal from Anderson and Lim on Spartina Removal
The EC approved the proposal from Kevin Anderson and Pat Lim for $2,500 to support the Spartina Action Plan for Boundary Bay between Washington and British Columbia. This is part of the $5,000 that was approved by the membership at the annual meeting to encourage US/Canadian cooperation.
3. Proposal from Tom Mosher for ANS Management Plan Funding
The EC approved the proposal from Tom Mosher, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks for $10,000 to support the preparation of the Kansas ANS Management Plan. There is still money held by the Western Governors’ Association that will be used to support this project.
4. Letter from International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Regarding the ANS Communications Project
Tina reported on a letter she received from the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies describing a three-year project to enhance the states’ capabilities for addressing communication issues concerning ANS. Four pilot states have been identified, including Arizona in the western region. There are two objectives to the project.
Objective #2: Increase coordination between state fish and wildlife agencies, regional entities and Federal resource management agencies that are responsible for regulating ANS. A one-day workshop will be held in each of the four IAFWA regions during 2004 to develop and begin implementing a coordination strategy for states, federal agencies, and other organizations.
The workshop scheduled for the western region is in conjunction with the Western Fish and Wildlife Conference, Saturday, July 24, 2004, Sun Valley, Idaho. Tina will respond to the letter with information about outreach and education projects or priorities, as well as analyses of current or proposed regulatory and enforcement strategies in the region.
5. Follow up regarding letter to WGA
Mark reported on his conversation with Paul Orbach, Acting Executive Director of the Western Governors’ Association regarding the letter that was sent to them from the WRP suggesting a partnership to work together to prevent the spread of zebra mussels into western waters. Paul Sweeney at the WGA is the contact person on this project. Paul Orbach suggested that we draft a resolution for consideration at the WGA June meeting. Scott will draft the resolution in the next week and send it to the Executive Committee for review before it goes to the WGA. We will need to get two governors to sponsor the resolution. Scott also suggested that we invite the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies to be part of the partnership. Al agreed that he would propose it to the WAFWA.
6. New member
The Western Aquatic Plant Management Society agreed to provide a member to fill the “Inland-At Large” position that was held by Mark Sytsma which he vacated when he took the Oregon representative position. The WAPMS will appoint Kathy Hamill. Tina will write an official invitation to the society from the WRP. Susan also announced the Robert Leavitt would serve as the alternate state representative for California. Tina will send a letter inviting him to serve.
7. How will the Work Plan Committee function?
The EC approved Karen McDowell as the third co-chair for the Work Plan Committee, along with Ted Grosholz and John Chapman. The committee will be following the current work plan projects and developing a new Work Plan for 2005 that will be presented at the WRP Annual Meeting for approval. Tina will send an e-mail through the reflector asking for interested members to participate on this committee. Jim suggested that we ask for ideas on potential future work plan elements at the same time.
8. Travel Reimbursement process from Northeast Panel
The EC reviewed the Policy and Format for Requesting Travel Reimbursement that is used by the Northeast ANS Panel and suggested some changes to draft a similar policy for the WRP. Tina and Susan will make the changes and send out for review. The EC will approve a final policy at the next conference call.
9. Annual Report – how will this be done and funded?
There was a short discussion about a WRP annual report and how that will be accomplished. Tina will check on administration funds to see if there is enough to cover having it written. One of the member agencies may be able to create the annual report on a contract.
10. How do we have better contact with Tribes?
Blaine suggested that we contact the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society about doing a presentation at their annual meeting May 3-6 in Jackson, Wyoming. From the website however, it is appears that they have developed their agenda already. [Note: Tina talked to Mike Stempel, Assistant Regional Director for Fisheries in USFWS Region 6 about his scheduled presentation for the meeting and he agreed to talk about ANS as part of his presentation. He asked for examples of projects that would be relevant to Tribes. Mike also suggested that we ask if we can do a presentation at the western regional meeting of the Society.] Tina will call Adelheid Hermann and discuss WRP participation.
Blaine will be doing presentations to [all the] (may be just the 4 treaty tribes and not actually be every tribe in the state) tribes in Oregon this year to increase awareness of ANS threats and to introduce them to HACCP. Scott suggested that the best way to work with tribes is to have a very specific concrete project of interest to the tribe. Blaine will develop a list of potential actions items that Tribes could partner on with the WRP. Dwight mentioned that in Manitoba there is an Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs who can be contacted to share information.
11. Other items, concerns, meetings, etc.
b. Susan reported on the difficulty of finding a consistent message regarding stopping the spread of NZMS in California. Many stakeholders want information disseminated but they are unhappy about the implications of the messages relative to their particular interests.
Minutes prepared by Tina Proctor, WRP Panel Coordinator
Executive Committee Minutes
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Objective #1: Develop and implement communications strategies for four pilot states to enhance awareness of ANS threats and potential damages and promote prevention steps that could be taken by the public with an emphasis on recreational users. Outreach tools will be systematically evaluated to determine which methods influence the public and could be adopted by other states in the region.
a. Tina reported on a meeting being planned in Yankton, SD to bring together federal, state, municipal staff and other stakeholders to create a plan to respond to the zebra mussel veligers detected in the Missouri River in June.
bettina_proctor@fws.gov