In reviewing the framework for the upcoming meeting you will see that it follows a similar format to those from other recent meetings in which the majority of the meeting time is devoted to allowing IAC members an opportunity to engage in interactive and substantive discussions on an important and timely topic on which the RIEC is seeking non-Federal input. The topic on which these discussions will primarily focus at the May meeting is potential future options for the IAC in the context of the NWFP's overall supporting organizational structure. You will find enclosed an Agenda Topic Overview for this subject that provides background information and outlines some of the principal issues of relevance. If you can, I would ask that you review these materials before the meeting, for they are designed to provide you with a useful backdrop and lead to a more informed and robust discussion when we get together for our meeting next week.

If you have questions about the meeting or enclosed materials, please contact me or REO Management Analyst Kath Collier (503-808-2179). I look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Enclosures:

• Proposed Agenda and Prework Materials for May 2002 IAC meeting

1718/kc

Intergovernmental Advisory Committee Distribution List

Intergovernmental Advisory Committee Meeting

Thursday, May 2, 2002 - 10:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Lloyd Center Double Tree Hotel, 1000 NE Multnomah, Portland, Oregon

PROPOSED AGENDA

• Forest Service's recent re-interpretation of MM-1 • Completion of 6th-Field Watershed Delineations*
• WGA's Second Environmental Summit on the West

Topic for Bonus Questions interspersed throughout the meeting: Earth Day

AGENDA TOPIC OVERVIEW

AGENDA TOPIC OVERVIEW

AGENDA TOPIC OVERVIEW

AGENDA TOPIC OVERVIEW

STATUS REPORT

REO Contact/Phone: Shawne Mohoric/503-808-2175

Topic: Forest Service Recent Re-interpretation of MM-1 Standard & Guideline (S&G)

Background: NWFP S&G MM-1 requires a Plan of Operation and other documents for all mining operations within Riparian Reserves, regardless of the size, potential impact, or presence of existing analysis of effects. BLM regulations preclude such a requirement and so MM-1 has never been enforced on BLM lands. Forest Service regulations make such plans subject to the discretion of the local line officer, and the NWFP S&G has been interpreted to take precedence over the local line-officer decision, and thus MM-1 is enforced on National Forest System lands. This potential for different application of the same S&G in the same stream against the same miner, but on opposite sides of an administrative boundary, has raised considerable confusion and frustration on the part of members of the mining community. In November 2001, a southern Oregon miner addressed the IAC meeting to complain of this inconsistent application and across-the-board requirement imposed on the National Forests.

Status/Update: The Forest Service Chief's office has issued an interpretation of MM-1 relative to this issue. The regulation directs line officers to require Plans of Operation when the operation will "likely cause significant surface disturbance." The Forest Service's recent interpretation is that to require such a plan in the absence of such disturbance is contrary to law and regulation, and therefore MM-1 does not apply in all situations. The Chief's office wrote directly to a miner asking the question in a memorandum dated January 30, 2002. The Chief's office forwarded this letter to Regional Foresters on February 5, 2002. Both letters have been forwarded to Region 6 Forests behind a cover memo from Regional Forester Harv Forsgren dated March 6, 2002. All of these documents are available upon request.

STATUS REPORT

REO Contact/Phone: Ken Mabery/503-808-2170

Topic: WGA's Second Environmental Summit on the West

Background: The Western Governors' Association (WGA) held its first "Environmental Summit on the West" in December 1998. Attended by hundreds of stakeholders, the first summit led to the adoption by WGA of eight principles of Enlibra for making progress on complex environmental and natural resource management issues. Since then, these principles have been adopted as a guiding philosophy and incorporated into the work of a variety of small community groups, large corporations, as well as State, Tribal, regional, and Federal organizations and institutions. According to Oregon Governor Kitzhaber, "The principles of Enlibra help reframe issues so that we can move collectively and collaboratively toward actions that have beneficial environmental outcomes while meeting social and economic needs." WGA just concluded its second summit in Salt Lake City on April 24 - 26, 2002.

Status/Update: The WGA and White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) are co-sponsoring the 2002 conference. Governors will be joined by key administration officials, including: Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman, and CEQ Chairman James L. Connaughton. Participating Governors included Jane Dee Hull (Ariz.), WGA Chairman; Judy Martz (Mont.), Vice Chairman; Mike Leavitt (Utah) and John Kitzhaber (Oreg.), Co-leads for Enlibra; and Jim Geringer (Wyo.). The 500-plus participants learned about successful on-the-ground strategies being employed across the West and nation, and participated in a variety of breakout sessions with government leaders to develop recommendations on key issues. A list of these recommendations and additional information on the summit is available on the WGA website at www.westgov.org.

STATUS REPORT

REO Contact/Phone: Dale Guenther/503-808-2188

Topic: Completion of an Interagency Dataset for Fifth and Sixth Level Watersheds in Washington, Oregon and California

Background: A common set of watershed boundary information has the potential to provide a fundamental foundation for the coordination of land management issues, ecosystem analysis, and a variety of monitoring efforts. Completing a GIS data layer for fifth and sixth level watershed information has been a high priority in both the IRICC and REO work plans. In this light, and in coordination with State and Federal agencies, the REO organized and hosted a series of workshops over a 3-week period to facilitate development of a single set of watershed boundaries. Over 100 hydrologists from all areas of the three States participated. The result of these workshops was a course dataset which included all existing boundaries, and new boundaries were developed and agreed to during the workshops. Funds were then pooled to refine lines and deliver a draft dataset. Contributions were received from every State and Federal agency. The hydrologists that participated in the workshop then reviewed and commented on the draft data set and comments were incorporated into a final product. The REO coordinated the process and now provides the data through its website (www.reo.gov).

Status/Update: As a result of tremendous interagency and intergovernmental coordination and efforts, a common interagency set of watershed information has been compiled for Oregon, California, and Washington into a single Geographical Information System (GIS) data set. Updating and maintaining this information will be critical and ongoing agency assistance will be needed to ensure that the data is maintained not only within each agency, but coordinated through the highly successful interagency clearinghouse process. Not only is this level of coordination unprecedented anywhere in the United States, but this is also the first and only data set that covers all of this area. Fifth and Sixth Level watersheds are a nationally recognized set of standards which describe drainage boundaries based on defined size and composition characteristics. These standards are established through the USGS and NRCS at the national level, in coordination with hydrologists from the Pacific Northwest.  Development of watershed boundaries is intrinsically quite subjective and, consequently, most State, Forest, and District offices in the past developed their own watershed boundaries that frequently predated, and thus were often inconsistent with, a set of new national standards. Few, if any, offices coordinated their boundary information with other development efforts. In less than a year, with minimal funding, the REO, with both State and Federal partners, developed a comprehensive watershed coverage. The coverage is already being used by every Federal and State agency in the Pacific Northwest, as well as the members of the public. Future watershed changes are expected. To accommodate an orderly update process, an Internet-based Watershed Clearinghouse has been implemented. The clearinghouse allows a user to 'check out' or reserve data within a watershed, thereby protecting that data from concurrent change. The proposed changes are submitted to the clearinghouse, receive an interagency review and, if approved, are posted to the data set. Once the process is complete, the area is "unlocked" or "checked in." REO will maintain this clearinghouse. The same partners are now coordinating on a similar project to compile a single set of hydrography (streams, lakes, ponds) information using the same workshop process. A pilot workshop is scheduled for April 25, and the full set of workshops will begin on May 20.