ATTENDANCE:
Commission	Department (continued)
Ron Ozment, Chair	Jo Wadsworth
Fred Shiosaki, Vice Chair	Bill Frymire
Ken Chew	Michele Culver
Jerry Gutzwiler	Justin Secrist
Conrad Mahnken	Kirt Hughes
Chuck Perry	Other Department Staff
Will Roehl
Shirley Solomon
Miranda Wecker	Public
	Ronn Schuttie
Commission Staff:	Mark Cedergreen, WCBA
Susan Yeager	Kent Martin, Salmon for All
	Irene Martin, Salmon for All
Department	Dan Leinan, City of Forks
Jeff Koenings, Director	Robert Kehoe, Puget Sound Vessel Owners Assn.
Larry Peck, Deputy Director	Rick Liebel, TBW
Ron McQueen	Steve Linc, WA State Bowhunters
Phil Anderson	Dale Sharp, TBW
Bruce Bjork	Bill Vincent, Committee for Persons w/Disabilities
Lew Atkins	Walt Christensen, WA State Muzzleloaders Assn.
Scott McCorquodale	Clint Muns, Puget Sound Anglers
Brenda Kane	Greg Alexander
Rich Mann	Ken Noble
Mark Quinn	Russell Moore
Mike Cheney	Lew Moore, NW Straits Commission
Sue Patnude	Ginny Broadhurst, NW Straits Commission
Jim Skalski	Jackie Jones, WA Wildlife Coalition
Dan Brinson	Gerry O'Keefe, WA Dept. of Ecology
Mike Cenci	Michael F. Adams, Shellfish Farm, LLC
Amilee Wilson	Jim Tuggle, Puget Sound Anglers
Heather Bartlett	Tony Wells
Sara LaBorde	Jeff June, Natural Resources Consultants
Greg Bargmann	John Douglas, WA Wildlife Federation
Bonnie Long	Dave Mack, WSSAA and Go Play Outside
Terry Rudnick
Bill Tweit
Teresa Scott
Mike Cenci

FRIDAY, JANUARY 12:

Chair Ozment called the meeting to order at 8:32 a.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Commissioner Wecker moved, seconded by Commissioner Perry, to approve the minutes of the following:

- December 8-9, 2006, Commission meeting; and
- December 15, 2006, Commission conference call.

COMMISSIONERS' DISCUSSION:
Commissioners discussed recent activities and items of general interest and provided status reports on Commission committees.

DIRECTOR'S REPORT:
Deputy Director Peck reviewed significant Department issues and activities.

BUDGET UPDATE:
Ron McQueen provided a status report on the Department's budget.

OPEN PUBLIC INPUT:
One individual provided oral testimony on issues of concern during this portion of the meeting.

SANITARY SHELLFISH ENFORCEMENT - BRIEFING:
Dan Brinson briefed the Commission on public safety issues surrounding the sanitary control of commercial shellfish, the programs in place to prevent shellfish from being commercially harvested from beaches not certified by the Department of Health, and the Department's role and responsibilities for sanitary shellfish enforcement.

CATCH ACCOUNTABILITY AND COMPABILITY WITH FEDERAL RULES GOVERNING PACIFIC OCEAN FISHERIES -- RULE ACTION AND PUBLIC HEARING:
Mike Cenci presented proposed permanent rule amendments that would provide regulatory intent to parallel federal rules and add clarity of rules for fishers and processors. The public hearing and rule action on this item were continued by the Commission at its December 8-9, 2006 meeting.

No oral testimony on the proposed rule amendments was received during the meeting.

Commissioner Roehl moved, seconded by Commissioner Wecker, to adopt the permanent rule amendments to:

- WAC 220-20-010, General provisions-Lawful and unlawful acts-Salmon, other fish and shellfish;
- WAC 220-20-021, Sale of commercially caught sturgeon, bottomfish and halibut;
- WAC 220-69-230, Description of Washington state nontreaty fish receiving tickets;
- WAC 220-69-234, Description of treaty Indian fish receiving ticket;
- WAC 220-69-240, Duties of commercial purchasers and receivers;
- WAC 220-69-250, Required information on nontreaty fish receiving tickets;
- WAC 220-69-254, Required information on treaty Indian fish receiving tickets; and
- WAC 220-69-280, Fish receiving ticket accountability.

STEELHEAD RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN - BRIEFING:
Amilee Wilson and Heather Bartlett briefed the Commission on the status of the Steelhead Resource Management Plan, which will assist the agency in meeting the various requirements of the source statewide, as well as addressing current steelhead needs in the Puget Sound region.

DERELICT GEAR REMOVAL - BRIEFING:
Greg Bargmann, and Jeff June (Natural Resource Consultants), and Tom Cowan, Lew Moore and Ginny Broadhurst (Northwest Straits Commission) briefed the Commission on the system established to report derelict gear and the removal of derelict gear from state waters.

"GO PLAY OUTSIDE" ANNUAL UPDATE - BRIEFING:
Bonnie Long, John Douglas (Secretary for the Washington Wildlife Federation), and Jackie Jones (Chair, Washington Wildlife Coalition) provided an annual update on the "Go Play Outside" Initiative.

YOUTH SPORT FISHING PROGRAM UPDATE - BRIEFING:
Terry Rudnick updated the Commission on the Youth Sport Fishing Program activities, accomplishments to date, and an outline of plans for the future.

COLUMBIA RIVER PARTNERSHIP, UPDATE ON LEGISLATION IMPLEMENTATION - BRIEFING:
Teresa Scott, Bill Tweit, and Gerry O'Keefe (Washington Department of Ecology) briefed the Commission on key accomplishments to date since passage of legislation creating the Columbia River Partnership.

SARDINE FISHERY UPDATE - BRIEFING:
Michele Culver and Phil Anderson briefed the Commission on the results of the 2006 Washington state sardine fishery, the federal harvest guidelines for 2007, and proposed regulatory changes.

NORTH OF FALCON POLICY - BRIEFING AND PUBLIC HEARING:
Phil Anderson briefed the Commission on key elements of the Commission's current North of Falcon Policy (C-3608), which has a termination date of December 31, 2006. The Commission will consider adoption of a renewed or revised North of Falcon Policy at its February 2-3, 2007, Commission meeting in Olympia.

Five individuals provided oral testimony on the North of Falcon Policy during the meeting.

OPEN PUBLIC INPUT:
No oral testimony on issues of concern was received during this portion of the meeting.

Chair Ozment recessed the meeting at 6:25 p.m.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 13:

Chair Ozment called the meeting back to order at 8:30 a.m.

OPEN PUBLIC INPUT:
No oral testimony on issues of concern was received during this portion of the meeting.

BRANCH-ANTLERED BULL SPECIAL PERMITS AND SPIKE-ONLY GENERAL ELK HUNTING SEASONS IN EASTERN WASHINGTON - BRIEFING:
At the request of the Commission, Scott McCorquodale briefed the Commission on current strategies for branch-antlered bull hunting seasons and spike-only management in the Blue Mountains (Eastern Washington). Information was provide don the impact of predation on calf survival based on research conducted in the 1990s, as well as harvest levels for black bear and cougar in recent decades.

HUNTING OF GAME BIRDS AND ANIMALS BY PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY - RULE BRIEFING AND PUBLIC HEARING:
Brenda Kane and Rich Mann, along with Albert "Bill" Vincent, Chair of the Commission's Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities, briefed the Commission on proposed rule amendments to WAC 232-12-828, Hunting of game birds and animals by persons with a disability. The Commission will consider adoption of the rule amendments at its February 2-3, 2007, Commission meeting in Olympia.

No oral testimony on the proposed rule amendments was received during the meeting.

BIG GAME WINTER CONDITIONS - BRIEFING:
Mark Quinn briefed the Commission on winter conditions for big game.

PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY UPDATE - BRIEFING:
Sue Patnude and Mike Cheney provided the Commission with an overview of the new strategic planning processes, a short demonstration of the Government Management and Accountability System database, and a Stakeholder Strategy that will be a web-based survey to collect data for agency direction setting purposes.

2007-2009 BUDGET PROPOSALS - BRIEFING:
Ron McQueen briefed the Commission on Governor Gregoire's proposed budget in relation to the Department's 2007-2009 biennial and 2007 supplemental budget requests.

OPEN PUBLIC INPUT:
Three individuals provided oral testimony on issues of concern during this portion of the meeting.

MISCELLANEOUS AND MEETING DEBRIEF:
Commissioner Roehl moved, seconded by Commissioner Shiosaki, to request the Department investigate the possibility of and make recommendations regarding WAC rules designed to prohibit the sale of crab pots without a rot cord (intent to adopt if legally possible). Department is to take into consideration the need to exhaust retailers' inventory. The motion carried unanimously.

Commissioner Perry moved, seconded by Commissioner Solomon, to request the Department provide an update at the October or November 2007 meeting on: (1) how the big game damage program is working; (2) the basis for decisions and function of new people in Region 3; a review of the policy. The motion carried unanimously.

ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR:
Commissioner Jerry Gutzwiler was elected Chair of the Commission; and Commissioner Miranda Wecker was elected Vice Chair of the Commission.

Chair Gutzwiler adjourned the meeting at 2:40 p.m.

Commissioners in Attendance:
Ron Ozment, Chair
Fred Shiosaki, Vice Chair
Ken Chew
Jerry Gutzwiler
Conrad Mahnken
Chuck Perry
Will Roehl
Shirley Solomon
Miranda Wecker

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