Minutes
Minutes
Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC)
Cape Cod National Seashore Headquarters
Wellfleet, MA
April 10, 2018
Members Present: Tim Smith, Hunt Durey, Steve Spear, Steve Block, Gary Joseph, Eric Derleth, Hillary Greenberg, Peter Herridge
Others Present: Margo Fenn, Martha Craig, Carole Ridley, Christine Odiaga, Helen Miranda Wilson
Administration/Coordination:
Approval of Minutes: The Committee voted to approve the minutes of March 21, 2018 meeting.
Schedule of Meetings: The Committee approved the following schedule for upcoming meetings:
Thursday, May 10, 2018: HRRC regular meeting
Wednesday, May 16, 2018: Herring River Executive Council meeting
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 HRRC regular meeting
The Herring River Executive Council will meet jointly with the newly appointed Stakeholder Group on May 16th at 1:00 pm in the Truro Community Center.
Discussion and Updates:
Update from National Park Service: George Price and Kathy Tevyaw stopped into the meeting to introduce the new Superintendent of Cape Cod National Seashore, Brian Carlstrom. Mr. Carlstrom told the Committee that the Herring River Restoration Project is a high priority for the National Park Service and that he looks forward to working with the Restoration Committee to advance the Project.
Project Fundraising: Carole Ridley provided the Committee with an update on fundraising activities. She reviewed the baseline construction budget projections and potential sources of revenue. The group discussed how to engage the federal partner agencies in the fundraising process. Friends of Herring River (FHR) has developed a briefing paper for HRRC members to use in reaching out to regional and national officials in each of the federal agencies. A graphic presentation would also be useful. The National Park Service is in a unique position to facilitate a discussion among senior officials in the partner agencies. For each agency, the Project partners need to define how to promote this as a regional priority; who to contact in the regional and national offices; and how much we will seek from each existing program. Match requirements need to be factored into the overall budget.
Gary Joseph suggested that the HRRC should talk to town officials about in-kind contributions and Helen Miranda Wilson noted that town meeting records demonstrate broad community support for the Project. The group also discussed the timing of seeking funding for construction activities and agreed that some contingencies will be needed given the uncertainties of the permitting process.
Permitting: Status of the Cape Cod Commission Development of Regional Impact (DRI) Hardship Exemption application: The Committee reviewed the tasks needed to complete the DRI application. ESS has begun incorporating changes to the draft narrative. Tim Smith and Eric Derleth are developing the adaptive management section of the application. The Woods Hole Group is preparing its report on the latest hydrodynamic modeling simulations. The findings of this report will be incorporated into the application.
Budget Priorities for FY18 and FY19: Martha Craig reviewed the status of existing design contracts and other studies. The Committee discussed some pending proposals for infrastructure design, sediment sampling, adaptive management expert elicitation, tide monitoring, pump design and legal matters. Notification about pending NOAA and DER grants is expected in May and June. The group discussed how to allocate existing funds to ensure that the high priority work items can move forward without interruption. The Committee also discussed the status of the Cape Cod Water Resources Restoration Project.
Adaptive Management: Tim Smith outlined the proposed approach to vegetation management in the draft adaptive management plan. The proposed approach stipulates the guiding standards that are needed to meet the fundamental objectives of the adaptive management plan. The draft plan categorizes existing vegetation types into five broad categories, including remnant salt marsh, common reed (Phragmites) marsh, freshwater emergent marsh, shrublands and woodlands. Active removal and management of vegetation will be limited to the common reed component of the emergent marsh, shrublands, and woodlands. Existing areas of salt marsh and native emergent freshwater marsh are not expected to require vegetation management to achieve project objectives and would generally be allowed to remain or transition passively into tidal wetland plant communities, with the exception of areas where common reed could potentially colonize.
Vegetation management will be conducted incrementally and closely coordinated with Chequessett Neck Road tide gate openings and resulting increases in water surface elevations, tidal range and salinity. Generally, vegetation management operations would be conducted before tidal flows are reintroduced to a given area, i.e. before the ground surface is affected by restored salt or brackish water. However, anticipated vegetation management will be coordinated with future tide gate operations so that woody vegetation will not have a chance to regrow before tidal flooding takes place.
The draft plan specifies different vegetation management zones and describes a range of treatment methods that could be used, including a detailed section on control of Phragmites. Site-specific vegetation treatment plans (VTPs) would be developed for each treatment zone. The Committee discussed this approach and agreed that it makes sense, given the planned incremental approach to tidal restoration. The draft plan will include maps and graphics to illustrate where activities will take place. A similar analysis is underway for sediment management activities.
Preconstruction Monitoring: Steve Spear provided the Committee with an update on a draft groundwater study being developed by hydrogeologist Larry Martin. He is compiling questions and comments from the Committee regarding the draft report.
Legal Issues: Margo Fenn updated the Committee on recent consultations with FHR legal counsel regarding the Cape Cod Commission DRI application.
Other Work Program Tasks:
Chequessett Yacht and Country Club (CYCC) Golf Course Design: ESS is working on permit-ready design plans for the golf course. HRRC and FHR representatives will meet with CYCC officials to review these plans when they are complete. They will also meet with CYCC and USGS officials to review ongoing groundwater monitoring activities.
Lower Herring River Berm: Fuss & O’Neill is developing alternative plans for a flood prevention structure in lower Herring River.
Communications/Coordination with Friends of Herring River (FHR): Martha Craig reported that Kevin Kroeger’s March 29th Blue Carbon presentation was well attended and received. The program was videotaped and will be made available on the local TV network.
Other Business: Gary Joseph requested that the Committee take some time at the beginning of its May meeting to discuss project coordination and management issues.
Documents Referred to in the Meeting:
-Minutes of the March 21, 2018 HRRC meeting