The following interests were expressed by the IAC members.

A Desire to Improve Communication/Collaboration/Cooperation
Communicate other governmental interests and concerns to the Administration.
Foster federal and nonfederal agency coordination, communication, and cooperation.
Provide technical services to private land owners.
Work across boundaries.
Bring parties together.
Share processes which we learn will improve out efforts.
Ensure opportunity and awareness of impacts of decision on tribal lands and resources in which tribes have an interest.
Strengthen Government-to-Government relationships.
Share technical Tribal expertise.
Link counties, states, tribes, feds to get unvarnished and constructive advice to each other.
Inform and educate each other on Government-to-Government relationships.
Establish relations with other agencies and improve natural resources where tribes live.
Provide advice and assistance in NW Forest Plan and nonfederal lands management.
Share information concerning the proposed O&C land grant transfer.
Participate, learn, and take back information to the Association of O&C Counties.
Assist in achieving success for the IAC.

An Interest in Improving Ecosystem Restoration and Management of the Public Lands
Improve the way habitat is managed.
Consider the well being of fish and wildlife .
Look beyond federal forests for ecosystem management.
Take a group look at forest health.
Find ways to overcome agency parochialism to improve implementation of ecosystem management across boundaries.
Develop total ecosystem management outlook.
Improve ecosystem restoration (several comments).
Consider habitat conditions in National Parks as a natural system reference point.

Facilitate Implementation of the NW Forest Plan
Implement the NW Forest Plan (several comments).
Move the NW Forest Plan forward (several comments).
Develop positive atmosphere with tribal input.

Recognize the Use of Science in the Implementation of the NW Forest Plan/Watershed Analysis Process/Monitoring
Implement research relative to the NW Forest Plan.
Meet expectations for the use of science.
Use science in implementation of the NW Forest Plan.
Improve the understanding of the watershed analysis process and of monitoring.
Begin now to discuss the next generation experiment in natural resources management.
Ensure reality on the ground.

Improve the Understanding of Watershed Restoration/Jobs-in-the-Woods Programs and Develop a Better Link Between Natural Resource Management and Economic Assistance
Discuss and share information about:
Watershed restorations.
Jobs-in-the-Woods.
Anadromous fish.
Restore watershed.

Discuss Economic Considerations
Forest products.
Share concerns about economic impacts.
Discuss economic revitalization.
Look at budget cuts.

The REO plans to redistribute this list of interests in August 1995 for a progress check and to assist us in setting FY95 goals.

The following items were agreed to by the committee:

Propose/Dispose

IAC will determine its monthly agenda.

In general, items requiring committee action, or the development of a recommendation, will be accomplished in a two-step process. The item will be presented in as much detail as possible in 1 month, and will be decided (in final form) at the following meeting. In that way, committee members can deliberate and consult with their respective interests for a month before developing a position. Contact and interaction is expected to occur between meetings, if appropriate. Some items may require a longer (3 month) period. For example, it was agreed that the draft revised watershed guide will be discussed during the IAC May meeting. In June, the committee will be able to review a "working draft" and how comments were incorporated before making final comments. The final revised guide will be presented to the committee in July, for later distribution to the field in final form.

There may be times when the press of business requires the RIEC to meet apart from the IAC and make decisions. When this happens, the other IAC members will be informed of the meeting and the results as soon as possible. Any member may raise the meeting, subject matter, and decision for a discussion at the next IAC meeting.

The IAC may recommend changes to the NW Forest Plan and/or ROD requirements. In those instances, such recommendations will be subject to the same level scrutiny (legality, scientific credibility) as other proposed changes to the plan and/or ROD.

The REO staff will support the IAC in a similar manner as it has staffed the RIEC in the past. The REO staff will, to the extent possible, develop requested information to support discussions and decision making in the IAC meetings. For the time being, Gary S. Sims, BIA Representative, will be the primary contact for nonfederal members to the IAC. REO staff will provide all IAC members with copies of information requested by any member.

Voting

In general most decisions of the IAC will be reached by consensus and the committee will seldom feel a need to vote on a proposal. Consensus is defined as the "absence of objection." Where there is an objection all efforts will be made to reach consensus. However, if a vote is needed, a simple majority of those members present and voting will prevail. Those individuals voting in the minority may have their disagreement with the majority noted and the reasons placed in the record of the meeting. Otherwise, individual member names will not be identified as voting for or against proposals.

It is noted that the function of the committee is advisory. In that regard, presenting all opinions to the RIEC will be helpful to the RIEC as it reaches a decision. Therefore, the inability to reach a consensus on a particular issue will not be viewed negatively.

Goal should be not to have to vote. A disagreement amongst the members will not automatically trigger a vote. Any member can request a vote; but, in general, the committee will strive not to.

Meeting Schedule

Meetings of the IAC will be on the first Thursday of the month. Some meetings may be 2 days, but generally they will be 1 day. Meetings will start at 9:00 a.m.

At least one meeting a year will be in Sacramento and Seattle.

The May and June 1995 meetings will be in Portland. The July meeting will be in Seattle.

Alternates

The charter states that members may choose their own designees. Such designees will serve as alternates to the members, with full privileges (voting, etc.). Each member is encouraged to have the same alternate as much as possible for the sake of continuity. Travel cost reimbursements for alternates will be made only when the alternate is traveling as the official representative.

Members will give the names of their alternates to Carol Lee Fritzler for inclusion on travel authorizations and the mailing list.

Gary S. Sims, BIA Representative, will serve as the alternate for Don Knowles as the Designated Federal Official (DFO).

Public Comment

For now, public oral comments will be allowed at all IAC meetings. When developing an agenda, the REO should try to think of ways to incorporate public comment before an action is taken.

The amount, and placement of, public comments will have to be determined in response by demand. The chair is authorized to adjust the agenda to appropriately incorporate public comment.

The IAC retains the future option of not accepting oral comment.

The RIEC will notify all nonfederal IAC members of any pertinent RIEC meetings held outside the IAC forum.

The REO will work with the chair to highlight agenda items in the Federal Register that the committee would accept public comments on.

The REO distributed the draft document Ecosystem Analysis at the Watershed Scale: the Revised Federal Guide to Watershed Analysis and described the document review schedule that was based on previous RIEC direction to distribute the final Guide in June 1995. Upon consideration of the proposed review schedule, the IAC made the following recommendations:

1. IAC should have an opportunity to review the final working draft prior to the June meeting; therefore, the REO should distribute the document before the meeting;

2. IAC should not be expected to approve the final Guide in June as proposed, but rather, should have an opportunity to comment on how well recommendations from the May meeting have been incorporated in the June final working draft; and,

3. To allow time for IAC recommendations on the final working draft (from the June meeting) to be incorporated into the final document, the final Guide should be produced and distributed in July instead of June as originally proposed by the RIEC.

The Guide has been developed within the policy constraints described in the January direction from the RIEC to the Watershed Analysis Coordination Team (WACT) and the REO (which will be reviewed in the June meeting). That policy direction establishes the context of the document. The new IAC members should review the draft Guide with the understanding that the RIEC set guidelines for the authors of the Guide. It would be unfair to the authors (i.e., the WACT and the REO) to expect content outside the context set in the January direction. The comments received during April will be incorporated in the May presentation. During the May meeting, the IAC members will be able to give their comments, which will be synthesized and incorporated into a working draft that will be made available to the IAC members before the June meeting. At the June meeting, the IAC members will be able to comment on the incorporation of their suggested changes. The revised guide will be presented in final form at the July meeting. In summary:

Review and comment on the draft Guide at May meeting.

Review and comment on the revised "working draft" Guide at June meeting.

Reach final agreement on the Guide at the July meeting.

1. Each IAC member will submit combined comments from their respective organizations on the draft Guide to the REO by April 24, as requested in the transmittal letter (dated March 27, 1995).

2. The REO will present the synthesis of comments at the May IAC meeting.

3. The REO/WACT will incorporate agreements from the May IAC meeting into a final working draft for discussion/agreement at the June IAC meeting.

4. The REO will incorporate agreements from the June meeting into the final Guide during the month of June, and present the Guide to the IAC in July.

5. The REO/WACT will finalize and distribute it to the IAC members by the end of July.

REO staff led a discussion about the watershed restoration and Jobs-in-the-Woods programs, in the context of a conceptual proposal to establish an Economic and Ecosystem Work Group, possibly as a subgroup of the IAC. The discussion highlighted concerns that the Community Economic Revitalization Team (CERT) was not well coordinated with the actions of the federal natural resource management agencies represented on the IAC. This lack of coordination appears to extend to the provincial level. The discussion led to a general agreement that a high level of coordination between the IAC members and the CERT participants is desired.

The following will be done for the May meeting:

1. The REO will develop and provide background information that will discuss the different funding sources for economic programs, restoration, or other CERT/Jobs-in-the-Woods programs. They will identify the constraints associated with and the current process for project selection for each funding source. The REO will also include information on when, where, and how much money has been spent.

2. The REO will also attempt to identify the problems of coordinating restoration activities with job creation or retraining actions.

3. The REO will also provide a list of watersheds, tentatively scheduled as of November 1994 for watershed analysis in calendar year 1995, so the other IAC members will be aware.

4. A proposed charter for a working group or subcommittee may be presented.

The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are experiencing significant pressure to meet projected timber volumes in FY95, accomplish watershed restoration projects, and to complete advance planning for the timber sales program in FY96.

According to the presentation, the Forest Service and BLM planned sales volume for FY95 are scheduled as follows:

ESTIMATED OFFERINGS MMBF
BLM 118.0
FS 472.0
590.0

The REO will provide a summary of FY95 timber harvest data, to date, to IAC members. This information should be available and provided approximately 2 weeks before the May meeting.

Following a presentation on the proposed review of federal research activities, an IAC member expressed concern that social and economic questions be included in future research plans. It was explained that we will include social and economic questions in the research plans. A special request is included in the research survey just being implemented for social-economic research plans. A social scientist mailing list is being used in the distribution of the survey.

The RMC/REO will mail a copy of the Research Survey to all IAC members by about April 7.

Following a presentation on the implementation monitoring plan, a question arose concerning whether the RMC has worked out the process for executing the plan. The response was that agency comments were being reviewed on the first draft and the proposed plan is being revised accordingly. Some major changes in approach are being considered with different questions to be addressed at different levels from the field to the region. This will improve implementation and reduce workload.

Another question was raised concerning the fitting of monitoring into adaptive management, and what criteria have been developed to measure success. The response was that, as stated in the ROD, monitoring is a cornerstone of the adaptive management process and is critical to testing, modifying, and/or changing the standards and guidelines. The different plans for monitoring will address the role each plays in this process. Criteria for success vary by issue; final plans will include specific criteria.

A revised draft of the implementation plan will be sent out for review and comment by the IAC members and for peer review in mid- to late-April. Comments are due in mid-May, and a final draft will be presented to the IAC at the June 6 meeting.

During the discussion about the use of technology (e.g., bulletin boards, local and wide area networks, remote access to GIS networks, etc.) to increase the ability of the nonfederal members to participate in the plan implementation activities, a request was made for access to the Portland GIS network for IAC members located in the Seattle area. The IRICC will provide remote access to the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior networks, following resolution of technical issues. Access for states, tribes, and eventually the public will follow at a later time. Communications will be activated first between the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Completion of the network will take at least a year.

The need for a management information system for the IAC was discussed as a requirement for understanding the status of implementation of the NW Forest Plan. The REO will present a mock-up of a management information system format at the May IAC meeting.

The REO will present a mock-up of a management information system format at the May IAC meeting.

The IAC expressed a general agreement with the intent of the proposal. The IAC members indicated that the following modifications should be incorporated:

Membership. Members of the IAC may nominate an individual to represent their agency/entity, communicate information back to them, and facilitate consensus. Selection standards would include:

a. Must understand the relationships between monitoring, research, and scientific oversight, and their importance of ecosystem management.

b. Must be able to commit the time required to accomplish the responsibilities of the RMC.

c. Must be able to work effectively in a collaborative interagency atmosphere to accomplish the committee's work.

New members will serve in addition to the current ones. Not every federal agency will nominate a new member. Nominations will be presented to the IAC for review and approval. Members of the RMC subcommittee of the IAC will serve for the duration of the committee life.

Member cost reimbursement. There are no provisions for reimbursement of subcommittee member expenses for participation. The RMC will look for creative ways to minimize costs and effectively communicate (conference calls, fax, and E-mail).

If you haven't already submitted them, bring names of nominees to the May IAC meeting.

Move the package of information on subcommittee formation forward in May.

The IAC tentatively approved the IRICC as a subcommittee of the IAC. The IAC requested clarification concerning the subcommittees' relationship with the IAC, IRICC, and REO. The clarification and developed charter should strengthen the relationship between REO and IRICC for the benefit of IAC. Also, the scope of IRICC's support for data needs arising from Salmon issues in the Columbia River Basin, section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act, and Habitat Conservation Plans need to be identified.

The IRICC will develop and present a charter to the IAC describing objectives, roles, reporting relationships, scope of activities, and geographic area at the next IAC meeting scheduled for May 4.

The IRICC will distribute copies of the IRICC's Memorandum of Understanding to the IAC members at the May meeting.

In addition to the topic areas listed below, the committee members made suggestions to help ensure constructive meetings:

When developing a meeting agenda, the REO (and agenda review committee) should be realistic in allocating time for each topic. Some of the members will be flying to the meetings. Meetings will have to end on time so the members will be able to make their reserved flight home.

The committee agreed that it prefers to have one long meeting day, rather than two shorter ones. Meetings will go from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

For now, the committee would rather shorten an agenda then lengthen a meeting to more than one day. Several committee members agreed that although there will be times when a regularly scheduled meeting will be two days; in general they would prefer one day meetings.

June 1, 1995 in Portland, Oregon

Watershed Analysis Guide--Brief the IAC on the final "working draft" of the Guide. There will be an opportunity to discuss any lingering issues/concerns. We will seek agreement on subsequent steps to finalize the Guide.

Restoration/Jobs-in-the-Woods--Update on the progress to improve restoration/Jobs-in-the-Woods coordination issues.

Research and Monitoring Committee--Present and distribute the final draft of the Implementation Monitoring Plan.

IAC Operations--Possibly consider additional subcommittees.

July 6, 1995 in Seattle, Washington

Watershed Analysis Guide--Brief the IAC on the final Guide, including the disposition of issues identified during the June IAC meeting. The REO plans to produce and distribute the final document in July.

Restoration/Jobs-in-the-Woods--Seek resolution of any outstanding restoration/Jobs-in-the-Woods issues.

Information Management--Presentation on a consistent set of watershed boundaries.

Role of Government-to-Government Consultation--Present an analysis of ways to enhance government-to-government consultation and communication between federal agencies and tribal governments regarding issues related to the implementation of the NW Forest Plan.

August 3, 1995 in Portland, Oregon

Research and Monitoring Committee--Status briefing on research and monitoring surveys and the Effectiveness Monitoring Plan.

Information Management--Present integrated resource information system between REO, BLM, and FS (at a minimum).

Each meeting should begin with a brief summary of management information. The information to be presented may include: updates of timber sales data, watershed analyses scheduled and completed, watershed restoration projects scheduled and completed, jobs created, etc.

The IAC agenda preview committee conference call (Anita Frankel, Rocky McVay, and Gary Morishima) is tentatively scheduled for April 26, at 10:00 a.m.

March 28-29 Attendance List