2018 Coastal Marine Resources Committee Summit

The 9th annual Coastal Marine Resources Committee Summit will be hosted by the Grays Harbor County MRC in Ocean Shores on October 25th-27th.

Washington’s coastal Marine Resources Committees (MRCs) were created by the legislature to offer a forum for citizens and locally-based governments to provide grassroots solutions to emerging problems. The four coastal MRCs provide grants to local groups for projects that forward the MRC mission and that pertain to marine habitats, water quality, sound science and science education. Notable projects include educational science conferences and speakers series, beach cleanups, citizen science research, and funding field trips for young students to better understand the marine resources in their backyard.

Annually for the last eight years, the coastal MRCs have convened for an MRC Summit that offers a venue to cover emerging marine issues, share lessons learned and build lasting relationships. The location for the summit cycles among the coastal counties and this year it will be hosted by the Grays Harbor County MRC. Notable topics from past summits include Marine Spatial Planning, ocean acidification, panel discussions on oil spill response and preparedness, lessons learned from local Shoreline Master Plan updates, and sea level rise and coastal flooding impacts.

See below for the current draft agenda and the generous sponsors that make the MRC Summit possible.

If you are interested in attending, please register here.

2018 Coastal Marine Resources Committee Summit Agenda (Subject to Change)
October 25th-27th
Ocean Shores, Washington
Shilo Inn, Whale Rooms - 3rd Floor (unless otherwise noted)

Thursday, October 25th

• 2:00   Field Trip of Ocean Shores Coastal Erosion Sites
• 6:00   Social Hour at The Gallery of Ocean Shores
  • Sponsored by Taylor Shellfish

Friday, October 26th

• 8:00   Breakfast & Socializing
• 9:00   Welcome - Casey Dennehy, Lorena Maurer
• 9:30   Marine Resources Committee (MRC) Updates
  • Garrett Dalan - Facilitator
  • Tami Pokorny - North Pacific Coast MRC
  • Kristina Hollatz - Grays Harbor County MRC
  • Courtney Hagain - Pacific County MRC
  • Carrie Backman - Wahkiakum County MRC
• 10:15  Break
• 10:30 MRC Priorities, Strategy, and Funding
  • Larry Phillips - WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife
  • Amy Spoon - WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife
  • Casey Dennehy - Surfrider Foundation
• 12:00  Lunch
  • Dolphin Rooms (2nd Floor)
• 1:00   Coastal Geology and Recent Trends
  • George Kaminsky - WA Dept of Ecology
• 2:00   Grays Harbor Coastal Futures Project
  • Peter Ruggiero - Oregon State University, Climate Impacts Research Consortium
• 3:00   Break
• 3:15   Taholah Village Relocation
  • Kelsey Moldenke - Quinault Indian Nation Senior Planner
• 4:00  Coastal Resiliency and WCMAC Priorities
  • Bobbak Talebi - WA Dept of Ecology
• 6:00   Dinner - Galway Bay Irish Pub

Saturday, October 27th

• 8:00   Breakfast and Socializing
  • Sponsored by Friends of Grays Harbor
• 9:00   Coastal Tourism and Recreation Trends
  • Kevin Decker - Washington Sea Grant
• 10:00  The Olympic Culinary Loop
  • Steve Shively
• 11:00   Washington State Carbon Policy
  • Julia Sanders - Global Ocean Health
• 12:00  Lunch
  • Dolphin Rooms (2nd Floor)
  • Sponsored by City of Ocean Shores
• 1:00    Research in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary
  • Jenny Waddell
• 2:00   My Coast, My Community Video Competition
  • 2017 Surfrider Leadership Academy Cohort
• 2:30   Wrap Up and Adjourn

A special thanks to our sponsors!