Spring Principals Meeting

The Principals held their spring meeting on June 16 at the Department of Commerce. Virginia Tippie, Director, provided an update on national activities. She high-lighted several program activities including military participation in partnership projects through training exercises, the May meeting of the Scientific and Techni-cal Advisory Committee, and the June Coastal Ecosys-tem Learning Center workshop at the Mystic Aquarium. Dennis Barnett, Chair of the SERIT, spoke on current regional issues and highlighted some restoration projects in the southeast. He discussed some advantages of Coastal America including stronger agency relationships, a broader understanding of agency programs, and better integration of those programs. He encouraged the Principals to promote Coastal America with their agency managers and urged them to recognize leaders and risk-takers within the various agencies. The Principals designated the International Game Fish Association Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum in Dania Beach, Florida as Coastal America’s 10 th Coastal Ecosys-tem Learning Center and the first CELC in the south-east. The facility’s exhibits and displays convey a strong message of fishery resource conservation and protection. The Principals also approved an evaluation of the CELC network to investigate the effectiveness of the CELC concept and whether expectations are being met. An additional goal of the survey is to evaluate the current criteria for designation and determine whether a system for affiliated facilities should be developed. In recognition of Alaska’s efforts to make the partnership process work, the Principals recommended that the AKRIT receive the 1999 Partnership Process Award. AKRIT has become an effective multi-agency working group actively involving the resource, military and infrastructure agencies. The Principals selected the New England Aquarium, The Maine Council of Atlantic Salmon Federation, and Reliant Energy for Special Recognition Awards because of their support of partner-ship efforts to restore and protect the coastal environ-ment. Six projects were approved by the Principals for the 1999 Partnership Project Awards. They include: the Penobscot River Watershed, ME; Duck Creek, AK; Galilee, RI; Kenai River, AK; Shamrock Island Restora-tion, TX; and Clear Creek, TX. Congratulations to all of this year’s award recipients!

Mystic Aquarium Meeting

The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Learning Centers and Regional Implementation Teams met June 23-24, 1999, at the Mystic Aquarium. Participants included represen-tatives from the New England Aquarium, Mystic Aquarium, New York Aquarium, National Aquarium in Baltimore, the federal agency partners, the Long Island Sound Office, the Peconic Estuary Program and the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council. The first day focused on presentations given by the Learning Centers and a number of federal and State agencies on projects and programs that have been or could be good opportunities for collaboration between Learning Centers and federal agencies. Betsy Salter, Coastal America, also gave an overview of the Learning Center Evaluation that is currently underway. The second day involved a breakout session in which participants developed strategies for increasing public awareness of the importance of coastal and ocean resources and actions individuals can take to help protect and restore these natural resources. This discussion built on the presentation by Paul Boyle of the NY Aquarium on the Ocean Awareness Campaign that is being developed. The workshop closed with a general discussion of future trends for Coastal America and the CELCs. A number of priorities were identified including military assistance in transporting stranded marine animals, establishing a tagging bank and collaboration in developing the appropriate messages to be communicated to the public when stranded animals are rescued and released.

Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center Update

Summer is the busiest season for our Learning Centers and they all reported on their new exhibits and educa-tional programs. This summary highlights a few collabo-rative efforts between federal agencies and the CELCs:

The New England Aquarium has funding for 4 more years of the Teachers Sabbatical Program. Small groups of teachers spend an intensive week learning about environmental science, and follow up days focus on how to teach using local habitats. Federal agencies participate as subject matter experts and speakers. The program will serve 21 teachers in 1998-1999. The Mystic Aquarium, CT DEP, FWS and EPA are working together to create traveling displays on tidal wetlands and on coral reefs. The displays will be completed by late summer or early fall and will be available for use by all Coastal America partners. The National Aquarium in Baltimore hosted the Northeast Region Stranding Conference. Partici-pants from federal and state agencies and partner stranding networks met to discuss strategies to improve coordination and effectiveness of rehabilitation and release of marine animals. The Florida Aquarium will be provided with classroom space and technical expertise from the Naval Reserve Center for a summer camp for inner city middle school kids focusing on environmental careers. The Texas State Aquarium and the Flower Garden Banks NMS will host an event on August 28, 1999 to raise awareness for the Sustainable Seas Expedi-tion journey into the Flower Gardens Banks NMS in September. The Hatfield Marine Science Center, the NOAA VENTS Program and Oregon Sea Grant are collaborating on research on the Axial Volcano located 200 miles west of mouth of the Columbia River. The Alaska SeaLife Center hosted a Steller Sea Lion Work-shop the week of April 26th, 1999. The Workshop was sponsored by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and NOAA

New CELC Staff: Coastal America welcomes Jon Luke as the new Visitor Center Manager for the Hatfield Marine Science Center and Amy Haddow as the new Education Director for the Alaska SeaLife Center.

Regional Updates

Northeast: The NERIT Spring meeting was held on April 19 and encompassed a variety of issues including a regional approach to salmon/anadromous fisheries restoration; ocean ranching; and presentations from various military units on using military training exercises for habitat restoration. Ron Lambertson, the Regional Director for Region 5 of the US Fish and Wildlife Service will host the next Coastal America Regional Principals at their Hadley, MA headquarters. Some recent project activities include the initiation of a NRCS project to remove the Brownville Dam in Maine this summer. Reports from the recently completed Souadabscook Dam Removal identify numerous anadromous species moving into the watershed, includ-ing salmon, and eagles are foraging on herring schools. In New Hampshire, the NH NRCS, Corps and other federal agencies are collaborating on the restoration of the Little River salt marsh. In Rhode Island, Corps feasibility studies have begun for the restoration of the Coastal Salt Ponds and the Boyds Marsh Project. The comprehensive Coastal Connecticut Ecosystem Restora-tion effort of the CT DEP Long Island Sound Program has focused Corps resources on the Norwalk River Watershed, a watershed organized by NRCS. The MA EOEA Office of Wetlands Restoration and Banking Program (MA WRBP) has asked the NERIT to formally support their goal of restoring 3000 acres of wetlands by 2010. The NERIT endorsed this goal and at the steering committee meeting of MA WRBP was presented with over 100 new projects inventoried and analyzed by the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program. Additionally, the Gillette Corporation spearheaded an effort to raise significant corporate funding to provide non-federal match to help implement more wetland restoration projects.

Mid-Atlantic: Corps funds have been committed for construction of the Little Falls Fish Passage — construc-tion is scheduled to start in July 1999. A recognition ceremony is being developed for September. Construc-tion of the Copper River Fish Passage project in the Delaware Basin is also scheduled for September. The Poplar Island Dredge Material Disposal project will create 1,110 acres of Chesapeake Bay island. It is sponsored by the State of Maryland in conjunction with the Port Authority and the USFWS aided in the develop-ment of the concept. This large project ($427 Million) is being built in two phases with Phase 1 60% complete. Phase 2 is scheduled for initiation March 2000. To promote Coastal America in the Mid-Atlantic, the MARIT has participated in the development of a MOU for Regional Federal Coordination Teams (FCTs) in accordance with the Administration’s Clean Water Action Plan. MARIT members will also participate as FCT members. Activities include participation in meetings with EPA Region 2 and the U.S. Park Service to discuss consolidation of EPA Regional responsibilities for the Mid-Atlantic Region and development of a Charter and MOU for the Mid-Atlantic Regional FCT. A signing ceremony for the Mid-Atlantic Regional FCT was held on June 15, 1999.

Southeast: On May 7, 1999 the Chair of the SERIT forwarded a recommendation to the Coastal America National Office to designate the International Game Fish Association’s World Hall of Fame and Museum in Dania, Florida as a Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center. The SERIT held its quarterly meeting on June 1, 1999. One of the key focus areas for the meeting was a presentation and discussion on the DOD Innovative Readiness Training Program led by Margo Bauman of the Coastal America Office. The SERIT will sponsor a Coastal America breakout session at the annual EPA Region IV/DOD/Civilian Federal Agency Conference in Atlanta, June 29 -July 1, 1999. The workshop will focus on exploring opportunities to more effectively engage the military services in Coastal America projects. The DOD Innovative Readiness Training Program and other avenues to involve the military will be explored. The next SERIT quarterly meeting has tentatively been set for September 14, 1999.

Gulf of Mexico: The handicapped accessible fishing wharf project in Lafourche Parish, LA is in a holding mode because the project exceeds the capacity of the LA Army National Guard (LANG) to build it this year. Mr. Fleming Trosclair, founder of the National Rehabilitation Resource Center in New Orleans, expressed interest in the project. He proposes several modifications that are related to the safety of handicapped users and has linkages with USDA that may prove to be useful. As a back-up, the GMRIT may approach the reserves or US Army. Mr. Trosclair also mentioned converting/using near shore, underutilized or soon to be abandoned oil production platforms as recreational sites for handi-capped persons. The GMRIT is exploring this idea.

Southwest: The SWRIT met on June 1, 1999 and focused on updating current projects and endorsing new projects in Southern California. The wetland restoration of Hamilton Army Airfield (660 acres) continues to make progress. The feasibility report has been adopted and an MOA between the Corps and the Coastal Conservancy has been signed to transfer the property. Dredge material from Oakland Harbor will be used to create intertidal habitat if funding is authorized. Three new Southern California projects were endorsed by the SWRIT: 1) Balboa Wetlands will restore 260 acres of wetland habitat to increase biological productivity and diversity; 2) Bolsa Chica (Fieldstone) is a 42 acre wetland restoration and 3) Lower Newport Bay Harbor Eelgrass Restoration would restore eelgrass to about 25 acres in a variety of sites to improve habitat quality and productivity.

Northwest: The NWRIT met in Seattle, WA on March 10, 1999. They are discussing funding options for the development of a wetland demonstration site at the Hatfield Marine Science Center and calling for new projects in the northwest region. The Navy and Army Corps of Engineers are working on the Little Clam Intertidal Marsh restoration and the Navy has appropri-ated funds for intertidal restoration projects. Chair Phil Lammi retired in June and a new chair will be selected this summer.

Great Lakes: In the Great Lakes there are currently 14 active environmental projects sponsored by Corps along with another possible 8-10 in the future. Currently there is significant activity at Waukegon Harbor, IL, Grand Calumet River, IN, Black Lagoon, MI, Huron - Clinton Parkway, MI, Macomb, MI, and Muskegon, MI. These projects have multiple agency and public interest group involvement. Indiana Harbor and Canal, IN is a $135M project that will allow the harbor to be dredged and stop the release of contaminants into Lake Michigan. Ashtabula Harbor, Ohio is a large multi-group funded effort investigating an estimated $42M clean-up of the Ashtabula River. The project includes removal of 700,000 cubic yards of contaminated materials, a transfer facility and a confined disposal facility. It also includes dredging outside the navigation channel for environmen-tal purposes. On December 1, 1998, Gene Fleming presented the Corps programs to those EPA people from all 10 regions responsible for implementing the Clean Water Action Plan (CWAP). He also participated, along with other Federal agencies, in a seminar on using various agency authorities to meet the CWAP objectives. During both activities the Coastal America process was discussed as a means to accomplish CWAP.

Alaska: The AKRIT is working with NMFS to rapidly and accurately detect and characterize Zostera (eelgrass)

Scientific & Technical Advisory Committee Meeting

Coastal America’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) met on May 11, 1999 at the National Aquarium in Baltimore’s (NAIB) Columbus Center. The STAC provides technical expertise to the Coastal America Partnership by evaluating projects, identifying new technologies, and determining measures of success. Ken Turgeon, DOI/MMS, is the STAC chair and Jeff Payne of NOAA’s Coastal Services Center is the vice-chair.

The STAC members discussed their agencies’ capabili-ties, reviewed various project proposals, and examined regional issues. Topics included aquaculture, with a focus on offshore aquaculture, nonindigenous species, hydrodynamic modeling, and technology transfer with a brief discussion of the Coastal America web page. A discussion of the CELC concept focused on the relation-ship between CELCs and Coastal America’s federal partners, along with coordination among the CELCs. The next STAC meeting is scheduled in conjunction with the Annual Retreat on September 21, 1999 in Bar Harbor, Maine.

Regional Updates

over large areas within the coastal waters of Alaska. The Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Early Warning System (SAVEWS), developed at the U.S. Army Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC), has been shown to be effective in detecting Zostera in New England and Oregon coastal areas and would expectably be effective in Alaskan coastal waters. The initial idea for transferring this technology to Alaska developed as a result of Elena McCarthy’s presentation on the applica-tion of this technology in Narragansett Bay at a Coastal America session during CZ 97. After discussion and partnering with RIT chairs and others involved, the technology will be used in Alaska this year.

APPENDICES

UPCOMING EVENTS

NIT Meetings

July 14, 1999 and September 8, 1999

Coastal America Workshop at CZ 99

July 26, 1999

Coastal America Annual Retreat

September 22-24, 1999

Coastal America is a partnership among federal, state and local governments and private alliances to address environmental problems along our nation’s coasts. The federal partners are: Departments of Agriculture, Air Force, Army, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Navy, Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency and The Executive Office of the President.