Present: P. Hinch (chair), T. Bowron, M. Brylinsky, G. Daborn, D. Duggan (observer), B. Jones, R. Musselman, R. Newell, J. Percy, N. Roscoe-Huntley, M. Westhead, P. Wells, T. Young

Regrets: A. Evans, J. Hellou, Randy Milton

1. P. Hinch opened the meeting by asking for introductions.

2. The agenda was reviewed and a report on the biosphere reserve was added as item #5. The remainder of items were renumbered accordingly. Future agendas will include the Biosphere Reserve. Pat noted that item #7 (old numbering) would be dealt with following lunch. Following the old numbering: item # 8 – the report on the 5^th Bay of Fundy Workshop would be deferred until P. Wells arrived. Item #10 – the work plan for 2002 is for discussion as to what people would like to see take place over the next year. Item #’s 11 and 13 will be decided depending on the date for the 2^nd scheduled workshop and item #12 would include discussion on the Titanium issue and the Windsor Causeway proposal.

3. The approval of the December 10^th meeting minutes was deferred to the next meeting since they were not available for members to review prior to the meeting.

4. Review of action items from the previous meeting were discussed.

1. The purchase of the software EndNotes was not decided due to the cancellation of the last scheduled BoFEP Steering Committee meeting.
2. Robin advised that she had sent a notice to the Marine Resource Centre requesting a display for the upcoming Minas Basin Workshop and reported that a display will be forthcoming.
3. Pat has been in contact with Bill Coulter from Environment Canada. He is willing to attend a meeting during the week of February 3^rd to make presentation on the EIA process. If a meeting were to be scheduled, it could be open to all members of the BoFEP Steering Committee. It was agreed that at this time not to pursue the presentation, as it would take too much time out of Minas Basin working group meetings while we are busy planning the community forums. Graham reported that at a recent meeting with the Titanium group he was advised that they are not expecting to proceed with an EIA for at least two years. This item was deferred until after April 1^st as it was felt there is nothing immediate to be done.
4. Pat apologized for not having the biosphere reserve on today’s agenda and noted it would be placed on future agendas.
5. The brochures have been printed and distributed. Depletion of supplies has resulted in another order of 1000 copies being placed.

Part I - Contract Discussion

Present: P. Hinch (chair), T. Bowron, B. Jones, R. Musselman, N. Roscoe-Huntley, M. Westhead, P. Wells

A conference call connection was made with: R. Newell, Shayne McQuaid, J. Percy for Part II

Regrets: M. Brylinsky G. Daborn, D. Duggan, Randy Milton.

1. P. Hinch welcomed all members to the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was two-fold. The first part of the meeting was to discuss a service contract for a coordinator position. The second part beginning at 10:00 would focus on a review of the first community workshop that was held on Thursday, January 24^th.

Minutes from the first part of the meeting were as follows:

2. Pat – you have the notes from 2 a) current workplan – tasks to be completed prior to the end of the fiscal year (Mar 31) .

It was noted that no extra money would be required.(?) An additional contract to cover the workshop reports from Robin would cost at least $3,000 for this year and $2,000 should be budgeted for next year. Peter agreed to build this money requirement into his workplans.

2. Future workplan –

i) workshop followup:

It was agreed that the current database (from Robin’s last project) should be updated. Also, a database will be created from the list of participants at the Valley Forum. Nancy noted she has already begun this process.

1. One of the products from the Working Group will be maps (completed by Max and Robin). Additional copies of the watershed map will be included. There was a question of the AU line. Max will be looking at revisions and enhancements. A final map did include one with more details, including roads and towns.

Also, a table of contents will be completed and included in the State of the Minas Basin Report.

Production of fact sheets on each of the 5 major issues/topics identified will be compiled following completion of the three workshops and mailed to participants. A mini summary on the Minas Basin Demographic Profile will be important to mail out to participants. This profile may be the first chapter in the State of the Minas Basin Report. Finally, there is a desire from this group to translate fact sheets of BoFEP and Minas Basin into Mi’kmaq. P. Wells will contact H. Akagi to assist with this project.

The table of contents will also be part of the State of the Environment Report. It was suggested to get a student to assist with this project. Peter to build this into his budget.

Robin noted that C. MacPherson had sent her an e-mail indicating that there is no funding available as of this date from the GPAC. Robin also noted that the venue for the Truro forum would be at the AgriTech Park of the Nova Scotia Agricultural College at a cost of $120~. Each breakout room costs $30 each – 5 have been ordered. The gym would cost $200. It was agreed to go with the gym area even though it would be more costly. As well a PA system will be ordered.

1. Coordinator position

Peter will draft a new contract based on the work plan for the next fiscal year jointly with DFO. Robin’s next year’s contract will be decided at another meeting at the end of this fiscal year. It was felt the committee had enough material to prepare a contract. The remainder of the items were deferred to a later date.

The first part of the meeting ended at approximately 10:00 am.

Part II - Lessons Learned Session

A conference call connection was made with:

R. Newell, Shayne McQuaid, and J. Percy

                    4.2 Max and Robin will do the Minas Basin Working group display

                    4.3 Dave will look into displays (maps) for DFO

                    4.4 Max agreed to contact CBC to advertise the workshop

                    4.5 Nancy + one other will be at the registration desk

                    4.6 Max agreed to be at the Minas Basin display

4.7 Environmental Science students have volunteered to assist * they will need transportation to Horton High

                    4.8 Robin to provide Graham with information for his introductory presentation

                    4.9 Nancy to order a data projector and screen

                    4.10 Max to get 200 copies of 8.5 x 11 individual coastal map

4.11 Peter, Pat, Barry, Dave, and Robin to meet to discuss future coordinator contract

5. Update on Biosphere Reserve - Tom Young
A copy of the recent Biosphere Reserve newsletter is now available. Robin has a copy and will forward it to members of this committee. The Planning Committee is moving forward with their UNESCO nomination. It was suggested that someone from this group (perhaps Max) could sit on the Planning Committee. There is a concept to include all areas in the core area - to have only one area. The first step is to get all conservation areas on a map in digital form. The next step is to address the buffer areas (these don’t have to be legislated). There is a need to get various governments at the table and to have support from all areas to move the issues forward. Tom indicated that there is a need for core areas to have legal recognition for protection purposes. Areas can still have resource extraction - in the strictest sense, the reserve is dedicated to the protection of scientific and educational study areas. There are not a lot of examples so it will be interesting to see how this will be addressed. The Planning Committee has been working on a number of workshops to get an idea of the framework UNESCO needs. There is a need to determine how the Biosphere Reserve, BoFEP and the Minas Basin Working groups can compliment each other. For the Biosphere Reserve to work, it is also important to see how the Integrated Fisheries Management Proposal goes ahead and how they can support each other. Also, the SMART group may wish to get involved. They are beginning to come forward with and EIA for the Petitcodiac/Shepody Shore area as well the redevelopment of the Windsor causeway. There is a forestry workshop scheduled for the 20^th of February and there is a need to schedule one for fisheries. It is critical to keep a watch on these areas of concern.

6. Report of the Integrated Fisheries Management Committee (Barry Jones/Glanville Travis)
Glanville reported that the proposal is in its final stages. Signatures are outstanding. It is hoped that a meting can be scheduled with Minister Thibault on Thursday, February 14^th. We are waiting for confirmation. It is hoped that Arthur Bull, Graham Daborn and Glanville Travis will be able to give the proposal to the minister at this time. Due to Barry’s accident, if signatures are unattainable, the document will still go forward.

7. A summary of the first workshop was provided. Approximately 112 people registered. The total cost was $592.43. Only 6 comment forms were returned. Also, Kings CED was very helpful and a letter of thanks needs to be sent to them. As well, Sherry Jackson wishes to participate in this group and her name will be added to our mailing list.

Mike reported that his group had problems regarding the facilitation and presenting structure. There needs to be someone to handle a difficult situation (person) and keep those in the groups focused. It was agreed the coordinator, facilitator and participants need to have the agenda and instruction sheet. Robin reported that CORDA would be doing some things a bit differently. Overall everyone was happy with the Open House and the majority felt it was a good forum with an opportunity to engage most of the participants. Robin is beginning to prepare the write-ups and will forward to Jon for editing and placing on the web site. Once these are completed she will prepare the executive summary. It was agreed that the questions would be edited to get more specific answers. It was agreed that it is very important to follow up the workshop with actions. A letter of thanks will be prepared by Pat and sent to the co-hosts and displayers. A follow up meeting with the ‘Leads’ is tentatively scheduled for June. The first priority is to provide a brief summary. Each coordinator was asked to provide Robin with a brief summary, which would include a 2-3 sentence of a statement of what the group presented. This will be included in the mail outs and sent out in the next week. Graham agreed to write a thank you note to the participants. Nancy agreed to assist Robin with the mail out

8. Robin provided an update on the upcoming workshop. Graham noted he has tried contacting Crawford and will make the necessary arrangements with him. It was agreed that the group would sponsor an additional workshop in the Noel area as a result of interest from several community members. The chair will follow up and hopefully another workshop will be scheduled for later in April.

It was agreed that a formal invitation should be extended to Sherry Jackson, Kings CED. Also they have agreed to provide postage for the follow up materials of the Valley workshop.

The next workshop will be held on Wednesday, February 27^th, 2002 beginning at 5:00 pm (set up can begin at 3:30). The venue will be in the gymnasium at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, AgriTech Park, and five separate classrooms have been booked.

Robin has a list of presenters. She noted that contact had been made with Sparkling Waters and other potential sponsors in the area. Once again, there is a need to sit down and make some calls. CORDA has agreed to assist with this but if others are interested they should contact Robin.

There will be prizes for those returning the comment sheets. Those indicating an interest in donating are:

Shayne McQuaid, the Cobequid Salmon Association, Max (Fundy Forum). Max will send a flyer to the Nova Scotia Environmental Network list. Peter will contact the CWS to request a display. Tony Bowron will try to have a display from the Ecology Action Centre.

CORDA has three facilitators and the salmon association has one. Robin will meet with them to provide a briefing, including an outline of goals. Coordinators appointed from this group are Max, Shayne, Jon, Pat, Peter and Reg agreed to be a spare.

Nancy will order an overhead and projector and will bring an extra extension cord.

The voting process - each participant will be issued an issue chart in the registration material. The large, main issues chart will be placed at the Registration Desk and then moved to the plenary area. As people register they can review the issues, place any of their own on the board and then have an opportunity in the introduction to place their dots on their three main issues. Colored dots to be used this time are red, blue and green.

Following discussion, the following questions will be used:
1. Brainstorm session
        what are the specific issues?
        your concerns?

2. Focus and pull together all major issues.

3. How do we solve the problem?

4. What are the specific actions this group can undertake (actions and timelines)?

5. Who do we need to help us (partner with)?

6. What resources do we need?

These questions will be placed in the information package.
It was suggested that groups have two notetakers - one for detailed notes- the other, a rapporteur to give highlights.
Also, the timekeeper is essential!
If people in the groups don’t step up to take on any of the required positions, the coordinator must delegate roles.
Pat agreed to be coordinator of the transportation and members are asked to contact her for details.
Finally, Robin advised that the Parrsboro workshop is progressing. She is attempting to find a venue. The High School is a strong possibility. Co-hosts are still uncertain but Robin has been in contact with the Nova Scotia Field Naturalists, CORDA, and the Parrsboro Board of Trade.

9. Lunch

10. Peter provided an update for the 5^th Bay of Fundy Workshop. To date approximately 50 papers and 15 posters have been received. He noted that last week an initial sort had been done and outlined the 1^st draft of a proposed concurrent session. The outline of the entire workshop is: Tuesday - contributed papers; Wednesday - group sessions/Gulf of Maine Summit and Thursday morning wrap up. He noted that the Minas Basin Group currently has 7 contributions. At present there are 5 talks - scheduled for 20 minutes each and a one-hour panel discussion at the end of the afternoon. There is still time to make changes as posters/papers are received. There are three panels in total; Minas Basin, Ecotourism and Corophium. Everyone will be given and abstract booklet as soon as it becomes available. Submitters will also be contacted in the next few days advising them their abstracts have been accepted.

11. Workplan 2002
Pat noted highlights from the meeting on the 31^st of January including discussion on a contract position for next year. Pat noted that it is hoped that this group will be able to keep the discussion, and work started, to continue moving in the right direction. Peter will build into his workplan funding for a coordinator position for next year. Shayne will also determine what level of funding, if any, he might be able to come up with.

The mapping project begun by Rob. Rutherford still needs work completed.
It was agreed that Denise McCullough would be asked to come to the next meeting to explain the map profile procedure.

It was suggested that other sources of funding be sought to keep projects moving forward, in particular the last funding proposal should be reviewed again. Deadline for CEC funding is expected to be the 1^st of April. Maps will be placed on the agenda for next year and hopefully there will be someone able to work on them. Shayne noted that he has a student youth proposal and will forward it to Robin or if sent to Nancy she can forward to the committee.

Pat would like continual discussion under this item and will be placed on future agendas.

Peter reported that the SMART group met last week and had a successful and productive meeting. This group is co-chaired by Janice Harvey and Jeff Ollerhead. One of their major concerns is the Windsor Causeway and the impact of twining the 101 project over the salt marsh. Their next meeting is near the time of the 5^th Bay of Fundy Worskhop. Peter will keep this committee updated on their activities.

12. The next meeting of the Minas Basin Working Group will be held on Wednesday, February 27^th, beginning at 3:00 pm at AgriTech Park, just prior to the 2^nd workshop.

13. Adjournment - 2:37 pm. 

Present: P. Hinch (chair), J. Ferguson, C. MacPherson, S. McQuaid, R. Musselman, R. Newell, J. Percy, N. Roscoe-Huntley, M. Westhead, P. Wells, and T. Young

1. P. Hinch welcomed all members to the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss and last minutes details for the Truro forum as well as discussing upcoming forums and other business relating to the Minas Basin Working Group.

4. Pat added additional items to the agenda: 

5. Workshop – the Parrsboro forum date?

1. A request for an additional workshop in the Noel Shore area from Betty States
2. Shayne McQuaid’s report on the Salmon ….. Integrated Report.

 6. Robin provided members with a summary of the workshop from Horton High. Please forward any comments to Robin as soon as possible – she is open to suggestions.

Robin noted that she is still working on a date for the Parrsboro workshop. There is a problem arranging dates and finding possible co-hosts. Tom reported on a meeting he recently attended with the Parrsboro Board of Trade and there appears to be some confusion over the forum. Tom agreed to have further discussion with this group and report back. There were several other names of groups that Robin was asked to contact which included: the Advocate Development Association, a local fisheries advocate group, the Cape Chignecto Park Management Committee who are linked with CREDA.

The request from Betty States to hold a working in the Noel Shore areas was discussed. Pat has contacted her and it was agreed that Robin would now contact either Betty States or Drudel (a contact made via Graham) to discuss further details and report back to this committee.

Assignments for this evening’ activities were reviewed. Pat, Shayne, Peter, Max, and Jon have received information on the facilitation process and their role in the respective breakout groups. Also there are local facilitators for this evenings meeting that include, 3 people from CORDA, Linda Redmond and one person from the Cobequid Salmon Association.

 7. Tom Young provided a brief updated on the Biosphere Reserve. A coordinator has been hired through CORDA for a six-month term. Tom would like to have a follow up fisheries meeting with Glanville Travis. Hopefully this could be held in the next four-five weeks in Wolfville.

8. The meeting had to adjourn due to workshop commitments and the next meeting was not decided. Nancy will email members to determine the next date for a meeting at ACER.

Present: P. Hinch (chair), M. Brylinsky, G. Daborn, C. Hominick, S. Jackson, S. McQuaid, R. Musselman (via conference call), J. Percy, N. Roscoe-Huntley (scribe), G. Travis, M. Westhead,

Regrets: D. Duggan, T. Bowron, B. Jones, P. Wells, and T. Young

1. P. Hinch welcomed members to the meeting followed by introductions.

2. Additions to the agenda included:
               discussion on the executive summary being prepared by Robin Musselman
               accommodations for the upcoming Parrsboro workshop
               potential workshop for the Noel Shore area.

3. The minutes from the February 27^th meeting held at the Nova Scotia Agriculture College (AgriTech Park), Truro, Nova Scotia were
                      Approved by Maxine Westhead, seconded by Mike Brylinsky. All in favor, motion carried.

4. Review of action items from the previous meeting:
Pat and Peter have worked on the demographics to be included in Robin’s report
Peter to prepare a contract for Robin Musselman to complete the Minas Basin Executive Report
Robin has now completed the Executive Summary from the Wolfville Community Forum and is on the web.
Tom is to report back to the group regarding discussion with the Parrsboro Board of Trade.
Robin is to advise if she has spoken with Betty States regarding the possibility of holding a workshop in the Noel area.

5 An update on the Biosphere was deferred due to the absence of Tom Young.

6. Glanville provided a brief update on the Integrated Fisheries Management proposal. He noted that the report is in the hands of the Minister and other government officials but nothing new to report. It has also been presented to the Bay of Fundy Fisheries Council. Some fishermen's groups consider it a threat, particularly those from the Yarmouth area. However, most fishermen and general public in the upper Bay area are on side and think "it's about time". Graham will schedule a meeting with Neil Belefontaine and others from the Fisheries and Oceans Department to find out what is happening about the proposal.

A conference call was established with Robin Musselman

7. The Truro workshop was reviewed and it was agreed that the questions were not working and it was agreed to simplify them to: Comments, Concern and Recommendations. Facilitators will be asked to focus the discussion on the next steps. The question of when to contact the Leads was discussed and it was agreed that this was important but would be scheduled pending a decision on the Noel Shore workshop.

Comments from the workshop included the need for good facilitators and the process of discussion groups.

 8. Parrsboro Workshop Update
Facilitators for the Parrsboro workshop would be selected from the groups sponsoring. Linda Redmond has agreed to participate again. Robin to check on this point.

A meeting will be held at 4:00 pm for about one hour with the facilitators prior to the workshop to discuss the questions and the steps the group would like them to take. It is anticipated that the same issues will dominate (water quality, fisheries, forestry, and development).

It is anticipated that there will be fewer people in attendance. The venue is at the local high school and is similar to that of Truro. Five classrooms have been booked. Nancy will order a data project and screen. A PA system will not be used. Flip charts are required. If anyone has some to loan, please contact Robin. Peter Wells will be the moderator for the evening. Robin has the mailing lists from each of the host groups and invitations will be mailed shortly. Media releases have gone out and Robin noted that the co-hosts seem keen. Robin noted that as of this date she has received notice of about 14 displays. It is hoped that the invitations will stimulate interest. Coordinators for the evening include Maxine, Jon, Pat, Shayne, and Mike. The budget will be about the same for Parrsboro as for Truro (~$900).

Robin noted that she has not been able to contact Betty States.

Please provide comments on the Truro Executive Summary to Nancy by the end of day so they can be mailed.

Thank you letters to the co-hosts are still outstanding.

In mid-April work will begin on organizing a meeting for potential group leaders.

Pat will contact those who indicated they would like to be included in follow up meetings from the workshops.

There was discussion on potential interns working for the Minas Basin Working group as well as a potential project Shayne Shayne will have this summer in the Truro area involving two summer students.

The conference call with Robin Musselman ended.

9. Lunch

10. BoFEP 5^th Bay of Fundy Science Workshop – Minas Basin segment update.
Pat invited committee members to participate in the scheduled panel discussion. A number of members from this committee will either be presenting papers or posters.

11. Workplan 2002.
Maxine reported that the DFO budget for BoFEP has been reduced to $10,000. It can be put towards Robin’s salary if that is the wishes of the group.

Sherri Jackson will investigate funding from the TD Friends of the Environment and report back to the group.

Pat discussed the need for the development of a Minas Bain Working Group Workplan for 2002-2003, the formation of action groups, and work on forum issues. It was suggested that the group might want to invite Robin Marshall from KCED to the next meeting. Sherri discussed recent Strategic Planning this group has been involved with.

Pat noted that a Strategic Plan for this group is due at the BoFEP AGM on May 15^th and discussion will be held at the next meeting.

Pat indicated that the original Minas Basin Committee was a committee formed to address an action item in the Gulf of Maine Action Plan which was to identity species and habitats and to engage communities in helping to develop management plans. This project was an extension of two pilot projects of the Council which were undertaken in the Passamaquoddy Bay and Great Bay. Funding applications were submitted to the CEC and the Millennium Fund. Mike Brylinsky had suggested during the last meeting that this project be revisited and the applications be reviewed for submission to funding programs. Nancy was asked to see if the original copy was in the ACER office. It will be circulated to any interested members of the group for review and suggestions on funding sources. Shayne discussed a proposal where funding might be available to apply the project to one small watershed area such as the Cobequid area. Shayne agreed to review the original proposal and will report back at the next meeting. He has funding for two students to work on a project and noted that Crawford MacPherson is on side as well as DNR, municipalities and they would include First Nations people. Graham and Shayne will arrange to meet and discuss this issue.

Maxine’s recent circulated email on the call for input to maritime regional FSC Standards (forestry) was discussed. It will be sent to the participants from the forestry discussion groups.

Pat provided an update on the Gulf of Maine Council Working Group meeting to be held in Dartmouth from April 9-10, 2002, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth. This meeting is open to the public. Approximately 20-25 people are anticipated to attend including members from both federal and provincial governments as well as NG0’s. The meeting will focus on finalizing the details of the Gulf of Maine Council Action Plan 2001-2006.

Shayne indicated that he will be the head of the new Stewardship Unit of DFO and many of the issues associated with the species and habitat project would be relevant to watershed groups. He will discuss details at a later meeting.

No other issues were discussed.

14. The next meeting date was scheduled just prior to the Parrsboro workshop at approximately 2:00 pm. An action plan would be discussed at the meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 30^th beginning at 10:00 am at ACER.

Meeting adjourned at 1:45 pm.

Present: P. Hinch (chair), M. Brylinsky, G. Daborn, A. Evans, A. Hamilton, J. Huston, H. Kolstee, R. Musselman, R. Newell, N. Roscoe-Huntley (scribe), G. Travis, P. Wells, and M. Westhead
Regrets: T. Bowron, D. Duggan, J. Hellou, T. Herman, P. Hicklin, S. Jackson, B. Jones, S. McQuaid, J. Percy, and T. Young
Guest: Marjorie vanRoon

1. P. Hinch welcomed members to the meeting followed by introductions. Dr. Marjorie vanRoon, visiting professor from Auckland University was in attendance. Dr. vanRoon outlined the work she has been undertaking in New Zealand; an area very similar to our Minas Basin Region.

2. Additions to the agenda included:
Maxine asked to address issues under #12 a) Strategic Plan. Under #14 Other issues – discussion regarding a brochure was added as well as a review of summary sheets from the workshop.

3. The minutes from the April 30^th meeting, noting minor revisions, were  Approved by A. Hamilton Seconded by J. Huston  All in favor, motion carried.

4. Review of action items from the previous meeting:
Pat does not need to contact Douglas Drudel as Robin will be contacting him and other community members concerning the Noel Shore Workshop.
The item of panel discussions was dealt with at the last meeting.
A Parrsboro information meeting will be discussed later in the meeting.
Pat will contact Paul Keats, from the Nova Scotia Environment and Labour in Amherst.
Pat to contact Mike Brylinsky to determine if he is interested in working on the Gulf of Maine Habitat Protection Committee.
Pat noted she is scheduled to make a presentation to the Gulf of Maine Council on June 5^th concerning the preliminary results of the GOM Regional Sewage Workshop and the activities of the Minas Basin Working Group.

5. An update on the Biosphere was deferred since Tom Young was not available for comment.

6. Glanville Travis provided an updated on the Integrated Fisheries Management proposal. He received a letter dated May 24^th acknowledging the proposal submitted to Minister Theriault on January 22^nd. Peter and Graham reported on recent meeting held with Joe Arbour and Dave Duggan. Unfortunately, neither Neil Belefontaine nor Faith Scantalon was able to attend. Alison provided information regarding who to contact in the Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans office as well as providing a brief update on her future plans. She will forward the name of a contact to the group. Glanville also spoke on the need for local management here in this region. It was suggested that BoFEP needs to keep on track with this proposal and following up with contact in Ottawa is the best way to go about it. Glanville left the meeting at the end of discussions on this topic.

Also, Pat announced that she had just received an email from Joanne Fewer who advised that as a result of the Parrsboro/Advocate Harbour meetings to discuss the Biosphere Reserve, it has been decided that the proposal the committee has been working on for the June deadline will not be proceeding at this time and has been deferred until next year or perhaps two years. It was also announced that Colchester Municipality is also revisiting the proposal and will be making a final decision on support at their June meeting.

7. Anita Hamilton reported on the Habitat Sub-Committee on behalf of Shayne McQuaid. She reported that three students have been hired for the summer to work on a study in the Salmon River area in association with the Cobequid Salmon Association. The students will undertake training through ACER. The issues discussed related to this project included adequate work space for the students, suitable supervision, what they are to test, what is practical to complete by the end of August, as well as funding opportunities through Human Resources. It is hoped that a summary report will be available and would be copied and circulated when it becomes available.

Alison Evans announced that she would be leaving the Minas Basin Working group and would like to still keep in contact and work with the members of this committee. She discussed the importance of keeping members up to date with hard copies of reports and related documents.

8. Lunch

9. Robin noted that she is working on the Parrsboro Workshop Report and will circulate it to members when available.

10. Robin reported on the upcoming Noel Shore Workshop. Community members felt they would like to hold the forum in the fall. There are three potential co-hosts; the Hants Shore Community Health Centre, the Citizens Action to Protect the Environment, and the Hants Shore Concerned Citizens Action group. Following discussion it was agreed that the forum would be scheduled on Tuesday, October 22^nd, 2002 at the Dr. Arthur Hines Elementary School, Newport, Nova Scotia. A list of potential companies to invite was briefly discussed.

11. Pat highlighted points from the Minas Basin segment of the 5^th Bay of Fundy Science Workshop as well as circulating draft notes from the panel discussion. The next step is to highlight the priority points and condense to a one-page format. It was suggested that names of those making comments be added to the Minas Basin notes if at all possible. Pat welcomes comments from committee members on the Minas Basin panel session.

Peter is attempting to track down notes and papers for the BOFEP Science Workshop proceedings. Peter and Jon will be editing the proceedings. The next step is to prepare a report for the State of the Environment.

12. A Strategic Plan is currently being drafted by Tim Hall as part of his internship course. A draft will be forwarded to members when it becomes available. If you have any ideas for inclusion, please contact Pat. What is needed is to get ideas to move ahead, to write proposals and members of this committee should be prepared to help out. A proposal is required for the whole watershed area, including the material from the community forums. The management structure will also need to be included in the Plan. A list of funding agencies/contacts/resources should be included. Three points to be outlined in the Plan are: to define specific issues; discuss funding agencies; and a process to get a specific project completed. Tim will only be working on this project for a few weeks. A one day retreat to bring together all the LEADS is still required.

13. Pat advised that the Gulf of Maine Council meeting will be held during the next week. One of the agenda items is to discuss the Action Plan for 2001-2006. Also, Graham will be making a presentation on BoFEP and the Minas Basin Working Group at this meeting. Peter will be making a presentation at the meeting as well as Colin McKinnon and George Finney will be leading a Panel Discussion.

Graham briefly reported on the Canadian Watershed Network

1. P. Hinch welcomed members to the meeting. She indicated that she would not be continuing as Chair of the Minas Basin Working Group due to changes in policy at the Department of Labor and Environment. She would continue on the committee, helping where required. The issue would be dealt with further under item 13 later in the meeting, including a vote on the issue.

2. Additions to the agenda included:
- discussion on a poster/paper for an upcoming meeting in Ottawa as requested by Tony Charles, from St. Mary’s who is working with the Canada Oceans Management Research Network
- Max wished to speak about financial matters
- Robin wished to discuss a contact from the chair of the Friends of the Avon River relating to the removal of the Windsor Causeway.

3. The minutes from the May 31^st meeting, noting the correction of Minster Thibault’s name, were
                            Approved by J. Hellou Seconded by J. Huston All in favor, motion carried.

4. Review of action items from the previous meeting:

Pat contacted Paul Keats, from the Nova Scotia Environment and Labour in Amherst, who asked to be kept informed on the Noel Shore Community Forum.

Pat will contact Mike Brylinsky after today’s meeting to determine if he is interested in working on the Gulf of Maine Habitat Protection Committee.

Pat noted both she and Graham made presentations at the Gulf of Maine Council meeting in June. Both received very positive responses from all levels of government.

It was noted that the Parrsboro Community ForumReport has now been completed and circulated.

Pat noted that she has not received comments to date on the Minas Basin Panel Discussion which took place at the 5^th Bay of Fundy Science Workshop held in May.

The committee was advised that Sue Ralston is working with P. Wells getting abstracts and extended papers from the Science Workshop. Deadline is this Friday.

The Strategic Plan and Work Plan that Tim Hall has been working on will be discussed further in the meeting.

Peter is working on a State of the Environment Report for the Gulf of Maine Summit.

Pat noted that the position of the Minas Basin Project Coordinator was posted on the BoFEP Web site.

Travel funding for non-government members and NGO’s to attend meetings was discussed and members should be aware of its availability.

5. An update on the Biosphere Project was deferred, since Tom Young was not available for comment.

6. Glanville Travis was not able to attend so was not able to provide an update on the Integrated Fisheries Management proposal. Max indicated that the proposal will not be going forward and an official at DFO thought this information had already been forwarded to the group.
                        Action item: Max will inquire about an official response to the Integrated Fisheries Proposal.

7. Pat reported on the Habitat Sub-Committee noting that there will be a student presentation on Monday, August 12^th beginning at 9:30 am in the Polaris Building. Two students have been working on a sampling program including monitoring and putting together a protocol for reporting in both the Salmon and North Rivers. Pat noted that Shayne McQuid has been ill and has thus been unable to be involved in this project.

8. Lunch

9. Reg Newell made a presentation on the work he is doing on Riparian zones (Eastern Habitat Joint Venture). For further information, please contact Reg at the Department of Natural Resources.

10. Pat reported that a new Minas Basin Project coordinator has been hired. Jamie Orser from the New Brunswick Department of Labor and Government will be starting work in the next few weeks and will be in attendance at the next working group meeting. It was noted that Jamie will probably require travel funding to carry out the project. Funding will also be needed to assist community leads to travel to meetings. It was suggested that request be sent to BoFEP that $5K of Joint Project Agreement funding be made available for travel costs associated with next phase of Minas Basin community forums project.
                Action item: Nancy to send material to Jamie. Mike, Pat and Robin will meet with Jamie in Halifax in the next few weeks. Request to BoFEP Management Committee re: travel funds for Jamie's Project

11. Nancy reminded members to forward their abstracts or extended papers for inclusion in the Workshop Proceedings to Peter Wells by the Friday deadline. There are still items outstanding and loose ends being tied up from the 5^th Bay of Fundy Science Workshop.

12 a) The Draft Strategic Plan and Work Plan (May 31^st version) for the Minas Basin Working Group has been prepared and circulated by Tim Hall. Two pages of "Thoughts, ideas, questions and recommendations" arising from the discussions at the previous meeting were prepared by Tim Hall and circulated. It was suggested that the Strategic Plan and Work Plan document be divided into two parts, as was done for the comparable BoFEP document. The Strategic Plan would form the main body of the document and the Annual Work Plan would be added as an appendix. Other appendices could include listings of activities completed and a listing of documents produced by the Working Group. Another appendix might include a set of guidelines on how the Working Group will respond to requests for assistance on particular issues and how it will relate to any project groups that it initiates, such as those arising from the community forums. The Strategic Plan itself should be kept relatively short and concise and could simply reference the guidelines in the appendix. Pat and Justin agreed to revise the Strategic Plan part of the document, based on comments and discussions. Max offered to revise the Work Plan portion of the draft document. Additional comments on the draft should be sent to Pat or Max.

b) Guidelines: It was suggested that the Working Group needs to develop a set of flexible guidelines for its activities. These would define the relationship between the WG and the various Action Groups that might be generated as a result of its projects. It would indicate what the WG could offer these as well as other community or issue oriented groups in the way of information and aid, without necessarily having BoFEP endorse their position on particular issues. It was felt that the guidelines would help avoid some of the difficulties arising in relation to BoFEP's involvement with the Biosphere Reserve project. Should we be providing letters of support to some of these groups when they seek funding? Or should we simply assist them in coming to grips with the scientific aspects of the issues. These points would be spelled out in the guidelines.

c) Noel Shore - The Noel Shore Community Forum will be held in Summerville on October 22^nd.

d) Meeting of Community Forum leads - A meeting, "retreat" of the lead contacts from the Focus groups at the community forums will be held in early to mid November in a fairly central location such as Truro. The invitation should be extended to all the leads identified as well as to the leaders of the key community groups in each area. Perhaps a general letter could also be sent out to all participants in the focus groups, notifying them of the meeting and asking if they would like to participate. Jamie's main initial; responsibility will be to organize this "retreat" for the leads. The participants will have to leave this retreat with ideas for concrete projects that they can undertake. To this end, it might be worth considering having some professional resource people at the meeting to advise on how best to tackle particular issues. This item should be included on the next agenda for further discussion when Jamie is present.

13. Following discussion on the chair’s position, Robin moved that if no one was interested in volunteering for the chair position, Mike be appointed as chair. Seconded by Max. All were in favor, motion carried.

Jon declined nomination for the position since part of his position is to work with all groups and felt there would be a conflict of interest.

Mike accepted the nomination but noted he would have to call on another member to chair in his absence.

14. Robin noted that a final report has been submitted on all the workshops completed to date. Mike, Pat, Max and Justin will review the report and provide comments.
             Action item: Nancy to have copies printed and mailed to those agreed to review the report.

15. Pat announced the upcoming Gulf of Maine Working Group meeting scheduled on? At St. Andrew’s, New Brunswick.

Justin: 11 ! 12 – New Strategic Plan (emailed to get details)

The Habitat Sub-Committee student presentations scheduled for August 12^th at 9:30 am

Max advised that her thesis field work has now been completed and will be working on metal concentrations. She advised that a cruise by a vessel from BIO is scheduled in September, if members are looking for data on Water Quality in the Minas Basin

Mike spoke briefly on the work being undertaken on the Windsor Causeway.

Jocelyn spoke about the interest she had in chemical analysis and the work being done on the Halifax Harbour in relation to Water Quality and advised that her department could be a resource to the Minas Basin Working Group and the possibility of being able to search for funding.

Tony Charles of Saint Mary's University will be going to the Ocean Management Research Network conference in mid October in Ottawa. He is willing to take a Minas Basin Poster to display at the conference for us.

Robin briefed the group on a recent call received from Richard Armstrong. He is seeking support for the group Friends of the Avon River to remove the Causeway.
                 Action item: Robin to invited Richard Armstrong to make a presentation at the next meeting.

Max noted that Faith Scatallon would be on language training for the next several months and that her replacement will be Carol Ann Rose.

16. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 5^th beginning at 10:00 in Wolfville.