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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-01-10 KRSMA Board PacketKENJo-1 RIVER Special Management Urea ,. "Working fogefher...for fhe river" G~i:~~~~~~0~~' 3~/~C3 Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board *** Meeting Agenda*** Thursday, January 10, 2008 5:30 p.m. Kenai River Center I. CALL TO ORDER A. Roll Call B. Minutes Approval C. Agenda Changes and Approval II. PUBLIC COMMENT III. OLD BUSINESS A. Committee Reports B. Kenai River Center Report -Russell C. Board Development Training March 1- Sinclair D. Regulation status -Sinclair IV. NEW BUSINESS A. Board Officer Elections V. ACTION ITEMS VI. PUBL%C COMMENT VII. ADJOURNMENT A. Board Comments B. Date/Agenda of Next Meeting February 13, 2008 5:30 p.m. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes Thursday, December 13, 2007 5:30 p.m. Kenai River Center I. CALL TO ORDER A. Roll Call Members Present: Gary Knopp, David Carey, Jack LaShot, Bobbie Jo Skibo, Robert Begich, Jack Sinclair, Joe Connors, Brenda Trefon, Curt Shuey, Richard Dykema, George Heim, Richard Hahn, James Czarneski. Members Absent: Tim Stevens, Ted Wellman, Bruce King, Robin West. B. Minutes Approved of November 8, 2007. The minutes were approved as written. C. Agenda Changes and Approval: James Czarneski added items E and F to New Business. D. Introduction and Welcome of new and returning members: Jack welcomed Joe McCullough to meeting. II. PUBLIC COMMENT No Public Comment. %II. OLD BUSINESS A. Guide Advisory Committee report -Connors The committee met today with 8 of its 9 members present. The first item was for the need to have an alternate to insure a quorum. The second item was discussion of adding an additional committee member and bringing a proposal to the board next month for approval. The next item discussed was working on the guide replacement policy. It was decided for the coming year to leave in place the in season replacement policy of requiring the use of either a veteran river guide or guide academy graduate. For the long term, the committee will be researching the proper mechanism to define a replacement guide through regulation changes. Next was discussion of the Kenai River guide complaints summary for 2007. As a result for the next year some complaints will be brought to the guide advisory board. The fourth item was bringing the board up to date on priorities determined on December 1St 2007. Joe stated that as of early today there were only 3 seats available for the December Guide Academy while the remaining classes through May 2008 are full. Joe stated that there was little discussion on the limited entry. B. Kenai River Center Report -Russell Pam asked Jack Lashot for an update on the Kenai gravel pit subdivision development on Beaver Creek from Wednesday's meeting. Jack Lashot said he wasn't sure what happened at the meeting. Pam referenced the Board's desire about developing a committee to review plats sent to the Kenai River Center that may potentially affect the Kenai River. The board in the past has been left out of commenting on these proposed plats due to the timing in the borough's review and approval process. Gary asked how much time would be needed to review the plats. Pam stated 3 weeks and the Kenai River Center receives the plats twice a month for all twelve months. The committee formed would need to be committed to meeting twice a month to review these plats to do the leg work and computer work to research the project. Joe stated in the past the board has not been given the opportunity to give input; all the issues that are coming up need to be caught beforehand. There are six different committees, one for each of the different priorities. There is a need for a committed working body. Pam stated due to the overall size of the number of plats needing review she would need help to identify and review those plats that may be affecting the Kenai River. Jim asked how the board was going to function in a timely manner. There will be deadlines that won't be voted on by the board, such as those that take place in the summer: There Kenai River Speeial Management Area Advisory Board - Minutes -December 73, ?A07 Page 2 of 14 may be a need for an email voting system, because up until now action has been made as a group. Pam stated the plat (Lakes at Kenai subdivision) went to the City of Kenai Planning and Zoning Committee last night. Gary asked if Pam received copies of all the preliminary plats, not just the coastal water bodies. Pam said she receives all preliminary plats. Gary commented there were nearly 800 preliminary plats created by the borough last year. Jim C asked if Pam received both city and borough plats, i.e., Soldotna, Kenai, and borough plats. Pam said she received all plats. Curt stated that it raised a question: Zs our role to advise the agencies on items the board feels are .important and have a thorough review of these plats regarding their effect on the watershed? Jack S. stated part of the workshop determined it is very important for this board to work with the local agencies on development issues that effect the Kenai River. The board probably won't be able to review every plat, but if a line can, be drawn around the buffer of the Kenai River, this would be the primary area of interest. Pam said most of the time we can tell if it's going to affect the Kenai watershed. Jack S. stated what bothered the board in the past was the opportunity wasn't there for the board to participate in the development issues on the Kenai River. Joe agreed stating the first thing was to have Pam look at the plats and determine if they might impact the river. Then it can be funneled down to a certain degree and those that have an impact can go to committee. Pam stated no one at the Kenai River Center had jurisdiction in the Beaver Creek gravel pit project. The Corp of Engineers had Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes-December 13, 2007 Page 3 of 14 no jurisdiction either. The only people that would have any type of jurisdiction would be those from PUD Jack L, stated it was a private development. Jack S. talked to Rick Koch regarding the Beaver Creek gravel pit and stated the concerns surrounding it. Specifically, the runoff issue to make sure it is looked at more closely when looking at drainage and safeguards for runoff. There needs to be some way to establish the baseline outfall in the Beaver Creek area. C. Board Development Training Dates - Soard Discussion Jack S. stated the need to set aside a meeting time for board training. This training would help the board to function together on different issues and find things that are important, use those as examples, and tackle those issues together. January will be the month to choose the floor seats of President and'Vice President. The Board of Fish will be going on during February. Joe said that the Board of Fish would be over by the 12~ of February. Jack S. stated March lst 2008 was the tentative date for the board development training. D. Cooper Landing Bypass status report -Sinclair The Cooper Landing bypass project is still on track. Jack Sinclair stated there had been some doubt voiced at a previous board meeting about whether the bypass project was actually going to happen. He spoke to DOT Engineer Teresa Zimmerman who is assigned to the project and confirmed that they are still working hard at it. There is a DVD of maps and plats available for those that are interested. Work is still being done on the EIS reports. Working on the wildlife crossing, biological and geological studies. Up until last year very little ground truthing had been done on soil types and wildlife crossings: The technical reports are due later in 2008. E. Regulation status -Sinclair Kenai River Special Managemw~t Area Advisory Roard. Minutes-December 13, 2007 Page 4 of 14 Jack Sinclair reported that there are now two different regulation proposals in the works. One is the Kenai River 50- horsepower increase removing the older 2-stroke engines and requiring 4-stroke or cleaner 2-stroke technology and the boat length and width restriction on the river. It is on the Lieutenant Governor's desk and has not yet been signed. The other proposal is for changes to several park regulations throughout the state. Three of them are regarding the Kenai River. Two create new boating no-wake speed limit areas on the Kenai River at the slough at Riverquest and Tukak Harbor areas. The other regulation is raising boat launch fees. There is a current ceiling amount throughout the state of $10.00 for boat launch fees. This regulation will raise the ceiling to $20.00 for boat launch fees. The reason is to keep up with the local costs now charged at the local private boat launches, which have raised their fees. The pressure was for State Parks to maintain some semblance of boat launch fees that would be competitive with local private boat launches. Based on this regulation the fee at Pillars would raise by $5.00. It will be in effect by 2008 or 2009. For any concerns or comments, please put those into writing send those up to Dnr.parkre~s(r~salaska.~ov. The deadline for comments for this regulation package is January 2nd, 2008. There is a public meeting next week on Wednesday December 19th, 2007 at Loussac Public Library in Anchorage. Joe asked when the process is over if there would be a commencement of another process so that a year from now there will be new proposals ~oin~ in? Jack Sinclair stated if there is a need, the process will be initiated. Joe commented there were a couple things that came from their committee that were on the table for the next go around. Jack LaShot asked on the no-wake area, what is the distance? Jack S. said it was a milepost marker on the river that essentially calls for a no-wake area and presently posts a no- wake area at Castaway Cove all the way to Riverquest subdivision. It's the slough that goes behind the narrow island. There is nothing posted and it is not officially a no-wake speed zone. There are people who have been entering Castaway Cove from the downstream side on step and it's potentially causing habitat damage in that area. The other area is on the opposite Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes- December 13, 2007 Page 5 of 14 side of the river in front of Tukak harbor, from the tip of the small island to the bottom of it. There are some people that have problems with this regulation right now and are commenting to that affect. F. Slikok Creek Cultural Resource Management Plan Timeline- Sinclair Jack Sinclair stated the lead archeologist assigned to the project is Richard Vanderhoek, the author of the Cultural Resource Management Plan book. Mr. Vanderhoek will be taking most of winter to assemble technical data on the site and confirm data on the archeological site on the state land. The plan is to produce a preliminary document by March for the public to review. There should be public meetings in March regarding this preliminary draft in order to take in public comment. Sorne people have requested a separate meeting altogether, possibly on a weekend. There are possible plans of a separate meeting and maybe a field trip if the weather is good to the Slikok Creek site. Curt asked what the extent of damage was on the project that was halted earlier this year at Slikok. Jack stated on the state side there was no damage. Curt asked if there was more damage on the college ground. Jack said it wasn't evaluated. Jim C asked if this would address only the historic things on DNR land and not those on the college property. Jack said not necessarily, Judy Bittner's authority extends over all state land. With this situation, Judy would address the area adjacent to the park land as well. Jim Czarneski asked if the plan was to take in the entire site. Jack said yes. IV. NEW BUSINESS A. Boaters Handbook -Boating Safety Education Coordinator Joe McCullough Kenai Rive Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes-December 13, 2007 Page 6 of t4 Jack S. introduced boating instructor/coordinator, Joe McCullough with the State of Alaska, Office of Boating Safety. Joe M. stated an. Alaska Boater's Handbook supplement is in the works for the Kenai River. Topics that the book will cover include safety, hazards, rules of the road, things that are dangerous, and services on the river. A copy of the new regulations may be included in the boater's handbook. Jack Sinclair stated Joe McCullough sent a rough draft of the Kenai River Boater's Handbook and it had been passed around for review and comments. Joe McCullough stated the deadline for comments on the Kenai River Boater's Handbook will be January 11, 2008. Joe Connors asked how extensively the rules of the road would be discussed in the boater's handbook. Joe McCullough answered stating the rules of the road would discuss items such as passing other boats on the river and using sound signals. Joe C. asked how the boater's handbook will be disseminated. Joe M. stated there will be 50,000 handbooks printed and that handbooks will be printed to meet the demand. The handbooks will be amended whenever needed. Joe C. asked if there would be shops or stores where the handbooks would be located. Jack Sinclair stated the local hardware store, the Refuge, places where fishing licenses are issued and visitor centers are places the handbooks will be available. Joe M. stated the boater's handbooks will have unlimited distribution and that boating safety classes are offered on demand. Jack Sinclair asked what classes where offered for boaters. Joe M. stated classes such as Alaska Water Wise, Instructor courses, Boating Alaska, Paddling Alaska, Cold Water Immersions, and Kids Don't Float Education. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Mi¢utes -December ll, 2007 Page 7 of 14 Jack S. stated it would be great if the Boater's handbook had special points of interest on maps of the river, as well as good aerial photos of the river with descriptions, such as turns and corners to be aware of on the river when boating. Joe M. asked for comments prior to January 10~ 2008 meeting. There will be additional drafts sent out for those wanting to review it. Bobby Jo asked if any portion of the handbook would be used in the Guide Academy. Jack S. stated that Jacques does an introduction on boating the first day of the guide academy. The Coast Guard also discusses boating concerns. Joe M. stated a map of the Kenai River is currently being developed within DNR. The boater's handbook itself will be fl- inches tall and 4-inches wide. When the book is opened there will be 3 folds on each side for the map of the Kenai River. This map will have points of interest. Jack S. stated a copy of the small craft advisory from last month was passed around to board members. Joe M. stated the federal government will pass mandatory boater education. The shortest would be 2-3 years the longest 5 years. When that happens Alaska will have to pass some type of legislation or adopt the federal legislation. There are only 6 states that don't have some type of mandatory boater's education. All of these states are at the top with fatality rates. Alaska is 10 times the national average for boating accidents. The boating safety advisory council meets twice a year. The next one will be in May 2008. Please e-mail for exact dates. Gary asked if there were any states that applied it to individual waters rather than state wide. Joe M. said yes, different water, different boat types, lengths, age requirements, and sizes. Jack S. asked if there was a regulation on the river for boater's education and will assistance come from the Office of Boating Safety? Kenai [fiver Special Management Area Advisory board Minutes -December 13, ?A09 Page R of lA Joe M. stated if mandatory education happened, assistance would be given for that regulation on the Kenai River. If Alaska had a boater education requirement in place the federal government would not preempt it. Brenda asked if information could be added to the introduction or under the rules of the road portion of the handbook, regarding findings from the boat wake study. The biggest impact to bank erosion was how the boat was driven and how close the driver was from the shoreline. B„ Committee Assignments and Comp Plan 2~teview Follow- up- Wellman Jack S. expressed the need to identify the committees, determine what the duties would be and how often the committees should meet. A document was handed out labeled Recreation to all board members. It contained recommendations to the board. A recommended potential committee list was also included. Jack asked the board for consent to include the last four items on the list of the original packet to make a top 10 list. Joe Connors proposed that the last 4 items on the list should be included on the original packet to make the top 10 list. George Heim seconded the motion. There was no discussion. Robert B. asked if the items on the list were in any particular order. Jack S. stated they were prioritized. Jack S. stated the need for committee assignment and that they would like to see each member serve on at least one committee. Joe C. asked about making all new committees. Jim Czarneski added item F to agenda to talk about Kenai Watershed Forum. C. Board of Fish proposals- non-allocative items for consideration- Wellman Kenai River Special Management Area Adtsory Board Minutes- December 13, 2007 Page 9 of 14 Jack S. stated there were three proposals for the board to support; these were in a handout the board members received. The proposals were proposal 221, 300, and 302. Joe stated the fish and game proposal number 221 has been modified by 2 advisory boards. Those advisory boards were Cooper Landing and Soldotna AC, which have recommended this proposal be tailored to be consistent with the 50 horse proposal. If it goes into effect in 2008 and only in July, then they would initiate theirs correspondingly. They would not allow the motors in July 2008, because the original was in 20.10. Curt stated the original proposal was to address the hydrocarbons below the bridge. The idea was to phase the new regulation in over a few years and not have it take effect until 2010. The idea was to allow them to still participate in the fishery and give them some time to react to the new regulation. Joe stated that in the KRSMA, the two-stroke phase-in over 3 years has been taken care of. Below the Warren Ames Bridge we are only catching one user. There will still be a component fishing below the bridge, which will be sport fishing the King fishery and will be allowed to use two-stroke motors. People working commercially coming into the harbor from their sites will still be allowed to use two-stroke motors. Jack asked when the deadline for comments was for this proposal. Robert Begich stated written comments are due 18th of January 2008. A partial board will be coming down on January 30tH, 2008 at 5:00 pm to hear public comment. Joe stated their new officers should be in place by then. The new president could go to the board and represent them on those issues. Curt asked if anyone knew exactly when the board of fisheries met in Anchorage? Joe stated the board of fisheries meets February 1st through the 12th 2008. If you don't speak in the public portion, you can't serve on the committee. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes -December ]3, 2007 Page 10 oP 14 Jim suggested we wait and vote on these at the next meeting. Jack Sinclair agreed. Joe discussed proposal 300, which would be a requirement that all powerboat operators on the Kenai River pass an Alaska Powerboat Operator's course. A similar issue is Priority #3 from the Board's River Use Education Committee charge. This regulation would be consistent with the position of this board within the last year. Jack stated it was slightly flawed. because it addressed all power boaters and the Board of Fish's authority can only address fishing from powerboats. Dick asked regarding proposal 300, why do you need the board of fish involved at all? Why isn't DNR involved? It has nothing to do with fish allocation. Jack stated it wasn't a Dept. of Fish and Game proposal. Curt stated that the further some of these proposals get away from dealing with fish, the more it is our area of specialty. Joe Connors stated the third proposal is 302, which institutes limited entry for guides on the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers. Joe asked Robert Begich if they had the authority to do this. Robert Begich stated no, that they didn't have the statuary authority to do this. Joe stated limited entry was consistent with what the board has wanted to do'for years. It was what'the working group 2 years ago wanted to do. This working group was appointed by the Commissioner. If F8sG doesn't end up dealing with limited entry, we might need to deal with it with by some other mechanism. Jim Czarneski asked how proposal 302 fit in with the study DNR has proposed, which looks at congestion on the river and the court order. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board Minutes-December 13, 2009 Page II of 14 Joe said the court order stated there can be no moratorium and no action to limit guides until a public impact study is conducted and shows the need to do so. Jim stated the other was a moratorium rather than limited entry. Joe said the former director issued the moratorium. (Actually former Acting Commissioner Marty Rutherford jes) Robert stated that they don't have the information that says they don't have the need yet. Therefore, the study is needed. Bobby Jo asked who had statutory authority to do this. Joe stated that either the constitution of the State of Alaska would need to be changed or the legislature would need to pass and enact this. Jack stated right now all guides are under anon-competitive use permit, which means there are an unlimited number of permits. State parks does have competitive use permits, a determination has to be made to find out if it is compatible with the parks purposes and whether it is appropriate for the park to have a limited number of certain things. That would be up to the state parks to determine how many guide vessels should be on the river. Each application would need to be evaluated. D. Discussion on Long Term Care of the River and Its Contiguous Habitats-Hahn Dick stated there are approximately 18 different entities that have official say in the care of the Kenai River and its contiguous habitats. It is very difficult when you have all these different groups that have a say in the river and that don't agree on anything. Dick proposed a comprehensive plan for the future of the river, having one plan and one manager. E. Request to borough on 50ft easements -Jim Czarneski Jim stated during the December 1st ~ 2007 work session the borough 50ft easement was discussed. There was discussion on writing a letter to the borough asking for a request on the update review of the 50 ft habitat ordinance and looking at Kenai River Special Ma~wgement Area Advisory Board Mioafes -December 13, 2007 Page 72 of 14 what kind of action has been taken. Specifically, where have there been violations and how have they dealt with those. Jim proposed to move forward on writing the letter and determine who should receive it within the borough. Pam stated that Max Best and Mary To11 should receive the letter. Jim stated that he would help draft a letter for the chairs signature. Jack clarified this letter would be asking for a report on the number, the type of violations, and the results of actions ±aken within the 50 ft habitat protection area within the KRSMA. Joe made the motion to move. George seconded the motion. There was no discussion. Jack asked when the information is obtained. what it would be used for. Jim stated it would be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the 50-ft protection area in regards to the river. Jack asked for all those in favor. The vote was unanimous. F. Kenai Watershed Forum -Jim Czarneski Jim commented the Kenai Watershed Forum would like to have the board's audience to review the Kenai River baseline water quality data. This is a monitoring effort that occurs every spring in April and again in July at 21 sites up and down the river and on 10 tributaries. There is a MOU, which involves most of the agencies sitting at the table. This MOU has expired and needs to be updated. The KWF would like this group to review the data for feedback in either February or March 2008. This meeting would be 3 to 4 hours in length. The data has been put in a database and is available online. Kenai River Special >~Ianagement Area Advisory Board Minutes -December 13, 2007 Page 13 of 14 Jack stated the meeting with Jim Czarneski and Robert Ruffner regarding the water quality data, would be set for February 14+h, 2008 from 8:00 am to 11:30 pm. V. ACTION ITEMS VI. PUBLIC COMMENT Adam commented that participating in the fishery is becoming more difficult for the public and guides alike. The regulations are displacing people, so only the elite are fishing the river. Dwight Kramer stated that in the handout, Kenai Area Fisherman's Coalition, there were concerns about crowding at the boat launches. The Kenai Area Fisherman's Coalition would like to work with KRSMA and the state to try to remedy this situation. VII. ADJOURNMENT A. Board Comments Jack stated on January 3rd 2008 at 6:00 pm at the Kenai River Center, the director wants to have a meeting with all advisory board people statewide. The governor's budget came out and there is $5 million in deferred maintenance. On December 18, 2008 at 7:00-9:00 pm there will be a presentation on the Pebble Mine Project. B. DateJAgenda of Next Meeting January 10, 2008 5:30 p.m. Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Boxrd Minutes -December 13, 2007 Page 74 of 14