Minutes

Meeting date: 
Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Minutes

Herring River Restoration Committee (HRRC)

Cape Cod National Seashore Headquarters

Wellfleet, MA

October 18, 2017

 

Members Present: Tim Smith, Hunt Durey, Steve Spear, Steve Block, Gary Joseph, Eric Derleth, Hillary Greenberg, Peter Herridge

 

Others Present:  Margo Fenn, Martha Craig, Christine Odiaga, Helen Miranda Wilson

 

Administration/Coordination:

 

Approval of Minutes:  The Committee voted to approve the minutes of the September 19 & 20, 2017 meetings.

 

Meeting Schedule:  The Committee approved the following schedule for upcoming meetings:

            Wednesday, November 15, 2017        HRRC regular meeting

            Wednesday, December 13, 2017         HRRC regular meeting

 

Discussion and Updates:

 

Follow up on 9/25/17 Herring River Executive Council (HREC) meeting:  Margo Fenn updated the Committee on the September 25, 2017 HREC meeting, noting that Tim Smith had provided a presentation on Project phasing.  The slides from that presentation will be attached to the draft minutes of the HREC meeting. The HRRC discussed the restoration area for Phase 1, noting that there are approximately 566 acres of restoration proposed in the first phase, 95% of which are owned by the National Park Service.  The Committee discussed permit sequencing and how to approach the initial tide gate openings in the adaptive management process.

 

At its 9/25/17 meeting, the HREC also appointed the members of the new Herring River Stakeholders Group (HRSG) and asked that those members be invited to attend the next HREC meeting.  Helen Miranda Wilson asked about a proposal to involve the Consensus Building Institute (CBI) in the start-up process for the HRSG.  This draft proposal will be reviewed with the HRSG Chair.  The HRRC also discussed the idea of possibly involving the HRSG in development of social indicators for the adaptive management plan.

 

Adaptive Management Plan:  The Committee reviewed a proposal from the Woods Hole Group (WHG) to continue its role in developing the decision-making tool for the adaptive management plan. The scope of work includes continuing biweekly coordination calls with HRRC representatives and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) adaptive management team.  The spreadsheets developed by USGS document the current decision framework, including policies and predictions using existing data and knowledge, including available model-derived data. However, developing predictions for many of the objectives will require eliciting opinions from science experts.  WHG will work with the HRRC and USGS team to develop the methodology for eliciting science expertise. The Committee discussed how to identify and approach qualified science experts to participate in this process. The Committee also discussed a joint proposal from the WHG and CBI to develop a process for soliciting input on the socio-economic objectives.

 

Permitting-Cape Cod Commission Project of Community Benefit (POCB) Hardship Exemption application:  HRRC members are reviewing the draft application prepared by ESS. The goal is to get Committee comments to ESS by early November.

 

Legal Issues:  The Committee discussed the process for seeking needed property owner permissions for filing other permit applications. FHR counsel has drafted an initial permission letter for LLP owners to consider.

 

Low-lying roads and properties: Martha Craig updated the Committee on outreach efforts with structurally affected property owners. The Committee also discussed other secondary management activities that will take place during Phase 1 of the Project, such as channel clearing and vegetation management.

 

CYCC Golf Course Design:  ESS and the Howard Maurer Group are preparing permit-ready golf course design plans.  Some additional archaeological investigations are in progress.  Steve Spear updated the Committee on a recent ESS pump design proposal.

 

Monitoring:  The Committee discussed the idea of holding a public forum to review Restoration Project plans for scientific monitoring before and after restoration begins. There is interest in the shellfishing community about monitoring of sediment movement and water quality. The adaptive management plan will include protocols for monitoring key environmental indicators both pre and post restoration.  The monitoring plan needs to be coordinated with ongoing activities of the National Park Service (NPS) and other agencies.

 

Public Outreach:  The Committee briefly discussed a draft FHR newsletter, which describes the Project phasing process.

 

Documents Referred to in the Meeting:

 

            -Minutes of the September 19 & 20, 2017 HRRC Meetings