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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-02-20 KRSMA Board PacketK N/64' il' Y Special Management Aeea "Working togathar...Por the rivet" S-5 i~ ~.,+5~; @ X97 ~ ~ a~pptt i d ~ Ctl~~ dq l t~aA ~~'~@~ 6'°9 il'"'k9rNn *** iVdeeting Agenda*** Thursday, February 20, 2003 7:00 p.m. Kenai River Cen±er I. II. CALL TO ORDER A. Roil Call B. Approval of 1!15!03 nlinllteti C. Agenda Changes and Approval PUBLIC COMMENT III. NEW BUSINESS A. Riverquest RV Park Subdivision IV. OLD BUSINESS A. Update on Kenai River Sportfishing Guide Moratorium for 2003, Chris Degernes B. ADOT Milepost 45 Update &Soldotna Bridge Update, Miriam Tanaka C `Mater C~`uality Cc~~ii~ittee Repot, Charles C~uarre D. Commercial Operator Committee Report E. Kenai River Center Update, Suzanne Fisler 4. PUBLIC CONLVIENT VI. ADJOURNMENT A. Board Comments B. Date/Agenda of?3ext Meeting 3:00 pm Commercial Operator Committee Meetin; ~~~,~v..I~ Kenai Area Office, Box 1247, Soldotna, AK 99669, Soldotna 262-5561 ~ i ~ ,~ Kenai Peninsula Borough, Box 850, Soldotna, AK 99669, Soldotna 262-4441 ~+~" V Alaska Division of ?arks antl Ou~tloor Rec2atio4 OeOartment of Natural Resources, in cooperaUan with one Kenai fkninsula Borough. KENAI RIVER SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA ADVISORY BOARD Thursday, January 16, 2003 7:00 p.m. Kenai River Center I. CALL TO ORDER A. Roll Call Present: Pete Sprague, Rick Wood, Robin West, Bill Shuster, Glenda Landua, Chris Degcrnes, Jonne Slemons, Joe Connors, Ted Wellman, Paul Shadura, David Westerman, Jim Golden, Charles Quan-e, Roland Maw, Ken Lancaster. Absent: Linda Snow, Ben Ellis B. Approval of 12/19/02 minutes Approved as written C. Agenda Changes and Approval None II. PUBLIC COMMENT Walt Arthur brought up three topics to discuss. The Riverquest RV Resort owner is talking about subdividing his property. The second topic is the bridge in Castaway Cove that is in need of repair aiid currently can't safely meet the original intent of the bridge. A flood took one piling oat and this needs to be repaired. If the bridge falls, it will fall in the river on Parks property and the subdivision property. Third, is the Ciechanski Road extension. We thought this was going to be paved years ago. Today Walt was told this was not a State or Borough responsibility and was a State Park responsibility because a portion of the road traverses park property and no easement exists for this section. Our goal is to have the road maintained and transfer the maintenance to the borough or state. Ted 2Sked if tl'e State all ~ Barongh ,'aid t]~at Parks 1s resp JnSi}>le frr ±~ ~h7alt S3i'j tl'eat is what he has been led to believe. Clu-is said she has never heard this has been an issue but will be glad to work it out. The road does cross park property but there would be no objection to granting a road easement for tlvs section. III. NEW BUSINESS A. Board Elections of Officers Nomination for President: Charles Quarre nominated Ken Lancaster as President, seconded by Jim Golden. Nomination for Vice President: Charles Quarre nominated Ben Ellis. Paul Shadura nominated Pete Sprague, who declined the position. No objections were heard for either nomination. Nominations stand with unanimous consent. B. 2002 Recreation Use Monitoring Project, Dr. Greg Brown, Alaska Pacific University Chris reported that this monitoring project was to document the dynamics of use on the Kenai River and stiuvey users at exit points, asking boaters about their experience and their attitude toward various managemeni alternatives. Another goal was to document the difference in behavior and use between user groups and compare data from the 1992 shady to the 2002 survey. The 2002 project was focused on a limited section of river for a limited part of the summer, as no capital funding was available. Parks used volunteers and the generous time given by Dr. Brown. Exit surveys, GPS tracking and video recording were done on the lower Kenai River in Jame and July. Dr. Brown then did a comparison between 1992 and 2002. He reminded the Board to keep in mind that the 2002 effort vras a monitoring shady and thus was not as comprehensive as the 1992 study. Only 155 exit interviews were done in 2002 compared to 550-600 interviews in 1992. In 2002 the respondents reported a greater sense of crowding than reported for the same time and areain the 1992 study. There was also a reported rise in the use level and more reported boat interference in 2002. Dr. Brown said there was less tolerance for the interference by other boaters in 2002. There was no difference in angler experienced problems, acceptable angler problems or finding an uncrowded spot between the 1992 and 2002 shidies. The last section of the questionnaire presented 6 or 7 potential management or policy options for managing the lower river. Virtually none of the options were supported to any degree by the respondents that were interviewed, with the exception of one policy option that asked respondents how ±hey felt. about limiting a Zide use or the number of fishing g~zdes. 'Che written comments that were recorded also included a significant number of recommendations related to guide limits. 21 of the surveys were done on iVlondays, anon-guided drift only day. Respondents reported lower use levels and less crowded conditions on those days, as one would expect, but surprisingly, the users reported a less satisfied experience. Board members requested firrther analysis on the Sunday surveys to see if there were differences between Sundays (non guide day) and other days where guiding was permitted. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes -January 16, 2003 Page 2 of 8 Dr. Brown had encouraged the GPS Tracking pilot project to see if boat dynamics could be better understood. There were about 26 trips logged over the summer. The GPS units took a 3 second sampling interval, so the data collected not only showed the boat's location. on the river but also could indicate boat speed if it was moving. The maps plotted out clearly some of the most heavily areasthat were used at certain times of the day. Due to the limited number of trips logged, it is not possible to draw any conclusions from this part of the project except to note that the technology does work well on the Kenai River and may be a useful project to include in firture monitoi~ng projects. A better method of recruiting volunteers will be needed to collect more data. Video monitoring was also taken on 7 different days. Most of the video footage was taken at Boaver Creek on high use days. This is useful to see the percentage of guide boats vs. private boats. There were no obvious visible conflicts between boaters seen on the videos. Again, remember this was a monitoring project. The results are suggestive of small differences over the 10 year period. The study does indicate an increase in perceived crowding and use levels, but some of this might be explained by the fact that the fishery was compressed into the lower river until mid Juty due to fishery closures upriver. It is also interesting to note that the monitoring project does not indicate that crowding perceptions and impacts have improved over the past decade either. The task for the board is to decide what the fuhire holds for this type of monitoring effort. We need to consider if we want to repeat the work in the lower river for 2003, continuing the GPS tracking program. and trying to encourage more participation. The board also needs to discuss what other questions should be addressed. The value of regular monitoring is that while it may not show huge changes from year to year; it is a better indication of change that is occurring over time so that management might better address the available options. Board discussion followed. Dr. Brown was asked to compare attitudes from tune to fnose of July, and to compare early July to Later in 3uly. Ii was also pointed out that it would be good to collect more surveys in the future, including more from guided anglers. Ted W. said we should not take this beyond the scope of what it is. We previously had I~andmg to conduct this effort or. a lgrger Coale hl,t the. legislature reappropnated the funding elsewhere. He never thought this would be fl1e end all and this is just part of the next phase of further studies. Dr. Brown said a low level monitoring program should be continued for future years. Chris suggested having a committee develop some recommendations for the board to consider on the future of the program. IV. OLD BUSIITESS I{enai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes -January 16, 2003 Page 3 of 8 A. Moratorium on new Kenai River Sportfishing Guide Permits for 2003, Update, Chris Degernes Chris reviewed a Commissioner Decision that Acting DNR Commissioner signed earlier in the day. The new decision amends the Director's Order signed in November, 2002 by allowing guide numbers to be capped at the 2002 level (which was 348), but not necessarily restricted to just those guides who had 2002 permits: Any2002 fishing guide who wishes to renew a permit for 2003 may do so, as long as they notify Parks by April 30. If a guide decides not to renew their permit, or if they fail to notify Parks by April 30, those perniits will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Chris explained that Marty understood that this was not consistent with the board's intent, but that it might help reduce the chances of the moratorium being cancelled before we even get a chance to start. our public process. - Questions and concerns from the board included the fact that most are disappointed in the changes made to the moratorium, that there doesn't seem to be any possibility for a mentoring program now that new guides have an opportunity to get a peiuzit and that this decision sets up the ability for guides to htm their permits into a commodity. Chris said it had been hoped that attrition would reduce the number in the next two years, but at least under the current decision guide numbers can't really get worse than what existed in 2002. Thai will allow the public process to proceed without a huge increase in guide numbers. Without a moratorium and with continued talk of limiting guides we would certainly see an increase in the number of new guides. She urged the Board to focus their energy and attention on getting the public process started. Ken L. asked if the board was going to receive the financial support requested to support the public process? Chris said there has been no response on the board letter sent in December, and the board needs to stay focused on that issue. Joe C. questioned whether the board constitutes a body to appeal this decision. Robin W. said we should be patient in the next month or two to see if there is opportunity to.work throi.xgh he process and develop a r_nethod to lower the n~.unber of guides. I3. Jim Frechione, ADEC Contaminated Sites Division, IIpdate on Kenai River Sites Jim provided a briefing to the Board on activities at several contaminated sites near the River. The River Terrace owner has given them a plan to break down the stock piles of treated dirt during the summer of 2003. If the owner does not go through with this, EPA will step in and finish the breakdown of the piles. Ken asked if the. agreement between the State, DEC and the City of Soldotna for he Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board. iVlinutes -January 16, 2003 Page 4 of S bridge project is still valid. Tim said yes, the bridge project is still on for 2004. He has not heard anything different. There has been a successful breakdown in the PCE form of the solvent. This past fall, DEC's contractor tried a pilot project that introduced bacteria to one well to attEmpt to break down the compounds further. The preliminary data found that it is breaking down the contaminants, and this'will be evaluated further to see if it makes sense to introduce"the bactetza over the whole site. River water and sediment sampling in 1VIay 2002 showed nothing exceeding the state standard cleanup levels for the river. The DOT maintenance station site has undergone major cleanup. The cturent proposal is to transfer the property to the City of Soldotna in Febrtary or March. There are still low levels of peri-oleum hydrocarbons in the ground water and the chloride levels from the salt storage areas on site are still elevated. DEC is continuing to monitor it and there is no active clc,~nep going on row. The last sample indicated that chloride levels exceeded the standards for surface water. The trend is decreasing on this site but the levels in the monitoring wells still exceed drinking water standards. The Cook's Tesoro site still exceeds drinking water standards on site and across the highway. Last month the State met with the adjacent landowner across the highway who agreed to allow two monitoring wells to be installed on his property. The information that came back showed that there was no detection of petroleum in the groundwater. Two drinking water wells along the river that had not been sampled before were checked and there were no detections in the ground water. The Sterling Zipmart is in an active recovery mode now. Only one of the neighbors' drinking water well has shown signs of contamination, and in this case a filter system was installed to filter out the contamination. DEC put in 14 recovery wells adjacent to Zipmart and recovered about 13,000 gallons of prcduct to date. The total product thought released has been scaled back to 40 or 50,000 gallons. Three new reeoverry wells were installed last month and they are currently being plumbed together to get the recovery system to work thru the winter. In the spring, DEC will reassess their plans for the next phase. lee C. asked if DEi iiaS deteC;te:i any is".OVeiiiei"it Oi illc` prodUL;t Tvwarii5 tiiE%.F",+ap tFSt church. Jim F. said there has been a slight increase directly across the street, but hope that is just a result of the higher ground water levels over a period of time this fall. Jim F: hz Cooper Landing, Hamilton's ground water contamination is in the "dissolve phase," which indicates that this contamination has been Chere for awhile. It does exceed drinking water standards and right now DEC is mapping out the plumes. There are wells installed between the gas station and the river. Bill S. aslcedifDEC has looked into the old DOT site at Moose Pass and the diesel tank Kenai k2iver Special 1'dTanagemenC:~rea Advisory Board :Vli~mtes-January 16,20Q3 Page5of8 that stained the ground that was within 20 yards of the lake. Jim said it would have been ranked higher if it had been a risk to the lake. He said he will look into that one. C. Water. Quality Committee Report, Charles Quarre A draft hydrocarbon strategy proposed by DEC was provided to the Board in the mail out packet. Charles said the committee would like the board to encourage DEC to adopt this strategy. Jonne S. said DEC would follow up on the sampling strategy to find out where the sources of this contamination are coming from and this is a way to get good scientifically credible data. This will take a couple years to get through and DEC is prepared. to start this year with the Board's endorsement. Charles asked the board for a letter of support to encourage DEC to proceed. Charles' motion was seconded by Joe C. No objections were heard. D. Commercial Operators Committee Report, Joe Connors Joe encouraged the Chair to get clarification from someone in the Commissioner's Office on exactly what the Commissioner's Decision means for 2003 and 200d. He also asked the board to think about a long term plan on how we approach these issues for 2005. L. Kenai River Center Update, Suzanne Filler Suzanne said the Riverquest owner originally wanted to create a co-op, which would require abuy-in by each lease holder to retain their lot. Not much interest was expressed for the co-op idea so he has been considering a subdivision instead. Crtrrent Borough subdivision ordinances allow for a minimum lot size of 6000 square feet if there is public water and septic on site, which there is. This would be an improvement over what is already there if Riverquest does proceed with a subdivision. The Kenai River Center is in the final bidding for their bank restoration project. The construction will not start rmtil fall. There will be a trail starting from the side of the parking lot down to an ADA walkway on the river. Kenai River Special Management Area 9dvisory Board Minutes -January 16, 2003 Page 6 of 8 Western Geophysical has aproject under permit review to do geophysical testing primarily on the lower river from Beaver Creek to Slikok Creek on the eastern side. They will be placing radio boxes on the ground to do the testing: River units involved will be Eagle Rock, Honeymoon Cove, Ciechanski axid Slikok Creek area. No shot holes will be drilled on park larids or detonated near the river. The Sterling Highway MP 4S-60 DOT stakeholder meeting has been postponed to Feb 26`h, 2003. V. PUBLIC COMMENT None VI. ~.BJOIiRNMENT A. Board Comments Dave: Ted has done a commendable job on the board and thanked him. Bill: Ben Ellis said he would draft a letter to Senator Murkowski & Senator Stevens at the last meeting and was wondering if there was any response. Ted said he has not heard a response. Glenda: Thanked Ted for his leadership. Ji,m: Wanted to make sure we continue to pursue the report by Dr. Brown and make sure it is funded correctly. He also is disappointed with the guide moratorium. Jim also thanked Ted for all he has done. Joe: Thanked Ted also! He is disappointed with the changes to the guide moratorium and would like the board to stay on top of it. Chris: She will get out a written summary of the recreation monitoring project. Chris also thanked Ted for his outstanding leadership and for being so responsive *.o staff requests. Ted: Said it is easy to abandon hope with the moratoritiun, but we should keep on track. Jenne: She is interested in following up on the recreation use-monitoring project. Rick: Thanked Dr. Brown for his time. He said we got a lot of information for the little money spent on the project and wants the board to evnsider putting more fiords into khe project. They did a great job with what they had. Rick also thanked 5irn Prechione for Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board.. ~_ - Minutes -January 16, 2003 Page 7 of 8 coining down and providing an update on the spills. He said he was disappointed in the response from the Commissioner on the moratorium. Ikea: Thanked Ted. Goodjob. Roland: Thanked Ted. Robin: The 9`i' Circuit Court ofAppeals ruled on the Tusfurnena Enhancement Project three days ago and upheld the agency's ability to permit the project. Charles: Commended Ted for his work on the board. Thank you. B. Date/Agenda of Next Meeting - ref~niary Z0, 2003 Kenai Rivcr Special Management Area Advisory Board Rtinutes -January 16, 2003 Page 8 of 8