Federal Agencies Work Group Meeting Minutes, November 9, 2004

LAKE CHAMPLAIN BASIN PROGRAM
FEDERAL AGENCIES WORK GROUP

NOVEMBER 9, 2004, MEETING SUMMARY

LOCATION:
Natural Resources Conservation Service, 356 Mountain View Drive, Colchester, Vermont

ATTENDEES :

Tom Berry, Senator Jefford's Office
Geoffrey Brown, U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
Laura Hayes, U.S. Geological Survey
Bill Howland, Lake Champlain Basin Program
Dave Hoyt, Natural Resources Conservation Service
Brian Mrazik, Chair, U.S. Geological Survey
Bob Paquin, Senator Leahy's Office
Pauline Pare, Natural Resources Conservation Service
Donna Parrish, U.S. Geological Survey
Dave Tilton, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

SUMMARY:

Legislative Update: Bob Paquin, Tom Berry, and Jeff Brown discussed the status of the FY-05 appropriations process. It is possible, but unlikely that the current Congress will pass the appropriation bills. The new Congress will probably take up this action in January. Jeff anticipates that Senator Inhofe will have several more hearings on USEPA's oversight of grants that may eventually impact the funding and oversight process for programs such as the LCBP.

Federal Agencies Work Group Report: A draft was circulated containing updates from NRCS, F&WS, USGS, EPA, USACOE, and Sea Grant. All agencies should review their section of the “Opportunities for Federal Action” and submit any final additions/corrections to the Chairman by December 1. Tom Berry agreed to work with Bill Howland to obtain a preface statement from the Congressional Delegation. Tom will coordinate this with the New York Delegation as well. Bill agreed that the LCBP will print the document and sell copies back to the Federal agencies as a means of recovering the costs. Jeff Brown suggested that the title page contain an overarching statement that focuses on the unique Federal collaboration and that indicates the document contains a summary of accomplishments and plans for the future. Dave Tilton suggested a title change to “Federal Actions and Opportunities: A unique partnership of Federal Agencies to Protect Lake Champlain”. Members were encouraged to circulate any other suggestions by December 1.

Lake Champlain Basin Program Update: Subsequent to the Steering Committee meeting in September, several public meetings and advisory committees have been held in preparation for finalizing the FY-05 LCBP budget and workplan. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers RFPs are expected to be released by the end of December. The Executive Committee is meeting on November 16 and December 15. The ecosystem indicators report is out for review and is expected to be released in early January. The next Steering Committee will be held on or about January 19-20 in the Lake George area. Jurij Homziak should plan to deliver the ‘Featured Agency' presentation on Lake Champlain Sea Grant that was postponed from the last Steering Committee meeting. The State of the Lake Conference is tentatively planned for March 2005, with a follow-up report. This is expected to become an annual process.

Work Group Web Page: Laura Hayes presented the draft Federal Agencies Work Group web page that includes our Memorandum of Understanding; membership, with contact names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses; minutes of meetings; the “Opportunities for Federal Action”, with links to individual sections; and links to agency websites. Erik Beck has put the draft on a temporary, password-protected web site ( http://www.tahoma.com/~tsite/ ) for members to review. The username and password to access the site were sent to all members in an e-mail message. The Work Group discussed the location for the permanent web site. Maintaining an independent site would provide easy access for each agency to make changes and keep links up to date. However, there was concern that some agencies did not have easy access to HTML programming resources, which the LCBP could provide. The consensus was to have the LCBP become the final repository, pending input from Erik. The Work Group requested that Laura include a link to the “Opportunities for Action” in the introductory paragraph on the web page, and that the LCBP logo be activated as a link to the LCBP web site. The Work Group approved activating the web site when the January 2005 version of the “Opportunities for Federal Action” is finalized. Brian Mrazik will contact agencies that have not responded regarding the design of the web page to obtain their approval for listing names and phone numbers on the web site.

Federal Agency Updates:

Fish & Wildlife Service – Dave Tilton reported that the sea lamprey treatment on the Winooski River this summer was very successful. The hydrology restoration of 100 acres of clayplain forest in Addison County was also completed. Operation of the Pittsford National Fish Hatchery is being discontinued due to funding shortfalls. The Service has proposed that Pittsford National Fish Hatchery be placed in caretaker status and that its operations be discontinued this fiscal year due to funding shortfalls. If the proposal is implemented, the Lake Champlain landlocked salmon program will be moved to the White River Hatchery.

USGS – Donna Parrish reported that the Vermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit funding is now 90% utilized for salaries, which is placing constraints on operations. In particular, more funding is needed to support telemetry operations. Additional funds may be forthcoming from the Nature Conservancy. Brian Mrazik reported that the Burlington gage on Lake Champlain is being moved to the ECHO – Leahy Center for Lake Champlain and will probably be complete by December 1. The gage will be located on the Center's dock and will include instrumentation and a display available to the public. USGS hopes to be a partner in the Center's proposed “Watershed Weather Studio” exhibit that will inform the public about the meteorology and hydrology of the Basin.

NRCS – Pauline Pare and Dave Hoyt reported that NRCS has received its initial funding allocation under the continuing resolution and that Farm Bill funding for projects in the Lake Champlain Basin is healthy. Funding under a new program, the Conservation Security Program, will be applied to projects in the Otter Creek and West River basins during the first 8-year cycle. More information can be obtained from the NRCS web site.

Pauline announced that this would be her last meeting with the Work Group because she is transferring to the Maine state office of NRCS. The Work Group thanked Pauline for her active participation and support of the Work Group and wished her well in her new position in Maine.

Federal Agency Project Collaboration Opportunities: The Work Group discussed the suspension of additional BMPs on the Bergman farm on Little Otter Creek. This site is one of two study areas where USGS is investigating the effectiveness of agricultural and urban (Englesby Brook) best management practices for reducing phosphorous and sediment loading to Lake Champlain tributaries. Pauline Pare suggested that low milk prices have put financial burdens on many farmers and that this is impacting the performance of farmers under various contracts that implement BMPs. Pauline agreed to pursue this issue with Keith Hartline, the County Conservationist.

Dave Tilton identified a possible collaborative opportunity for the Federal Work Group in Franklin County. Under the Comprehensive Conservation Initiative, the Fish and Wildlife Service can make $45,000 available to the Franklin County Conservation District, with a $45,000 match from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, if NRCS can identify a suitable project in the County. This money is available for projects that restore fish and wildlife habitat and water quality. Dave suggested the Service hopes to work closely with NRCS to identify suitable projects.

Brian Mrazik stated that USGS hopes to publish a report on its study of mercury and methyl-mercury movement in the Lake Champlain Basin during FY-06 and that the $160,000 being utilized for this study could become available for collaborative work with other Federal agencies at a focus site, such as one or more of the Chittenden County stormwater projects. Dave Tilton suggested that the next Work Group meeting address planning for future collaborative work in this area.

Selection of Vice Chair: Erik Beck was unanimously elected as vice-chair for the Work Group. Erik will assume his one-year chairmanship beginning with the May meeting.

Next Meeting: Our next meeting will be on Tuesday February 8th at 1:00 PM at the NRCS Office in Colchester. Pauline Pare will verify the availability of the NRCS conference room for this date.