ESTABLISHMENT

The participating entities signing this Charter hereby establish the Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership (PNAMP) on September 3, 2004. The Charter entities include federal, state, and tribal governments with a common interest in coordinating monitoring efforts of watershed condition, fish population, and project effectiveness monitoring.

This Charter formally establishes the foundation of PNAMP including principles; structure and participation; business practices; and reporting.

BACKGROUND

Federal, state, tribal, local, and private aquatic monitoring programs in the Pacific Northwest have evolved independently in response to different organizational mandates, jurisdictional needs, issues and questions. Planning and coordination of federal, state and tribal monitoring activities have evolved slowly but steadily over the past ten years. In 2003 leaders of aquatic monitoring programs formed an alliance as the ad hoc Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership (PNAMP) group. The geographic area of this coordination includes the Pacific Northwest region from Northern California to Canada where the participating entities are implementing monitoring efforts. The basis of this group is that monitoring will be improved if: all programs use consistent monitoring approaches and protocols; follow a scientific foundation; support monitoring policy and management objectives; and collect and present information in a manner that can be shared.

BENEFITS

PNAMP:

• Provides a forum to coordinate monitoring activities and develop common monitoring approaches.

• Acknowledges different mandates, jurisdictions, issues and questions of its partners.

• Focuses coordination effort on shared interests and needs.

• Coordinates programs and schedules to avoid duplication.

• Applies common guiding principles to provide significant support to policy and management with scientifically valid monitoring.

• Provides the framework for coordinated monitoring that each PNAMP partner may implement within its legal and jurisdictional boundaries.

• Partners decide their own individual management questions, which then guide development of PNAMP monitoring strategies.

• Partners will make reasonable efforts to incorporate PNAMP recommendations into their respective programs.

• Partners support the partnership through allocation of staff time to participate in PNAMP and by contributing resources for administration of the effort, as appropriate.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. Resource Policy and Management: The purpose of monitoring efforts is to provide the most important scientific information needed to inform public policy and resource management decisions.

2. Efficiency and Effectiveness: Cooperative monitoring will enhance efficiencies and effectiveness of our respective and collective efforts.

3. Scientifically Based: Environmental monitoring must be scientifically sound.

4. Shared Information: Monitoring data must be accessible to all participants on a timely basis.

STRUCTURE AND PARTICIPATION

1. The structure of PNAMP will include existing Executive partners, a Steering Committee, and workgroups deemed warranted by the Steering Committee.

2. The Executive partners are the executives of participating federal, state, and tribal entities signing this Charter. The Executive partners will provide policy direction and support to PNAMP through the Steering Committee as needed.

3. The Steering Committee functions as an advisory group to the Executive partners.

4. The Steering Committee consists of an appointee for each partner signing the Charter, and workgroup leads. Appointees represent their respective Executive partners on matters of coordinated monitoring policy and planning.

5. The Steering Committee forms workgroups as needed to perform tasks consistent with PNAMP’s principles. The Steering Committee will solicit appropriate expertise for the workgroups.

ADMINISTRATION

The Steering Committee will establish procedures for setting meeting times, developing agendas, communications, selecting leadership of workgroups, making and completing work assignments, and making and publishing Committee products (See PNAMP Business Practices).

1. The Steering Committee will oversee establishment and administration of the PNAMP coordination function.

2. The Steering Committee will function as an advisory group to the executive partners regarding decisions needed for the achievement of PNAMP goals and strategies. In addition, the Steering Committee will serve as a vehicle for communicating executive partner decisions.

3. The Steering Committee will develop proposals for annual funding and staff support for consideration by Executive partners each year.

4. The PNAMP Charter will be reviewed periodically as the Steering Committee or the Executive partners deems appropriate.

REPORTING

The Steering Committee will complete a written report annually to the Executive partners on development and implementation of activities in support of PNAMP’s strategic objectives.

1. The Steering Committee will make recommendations as needed to Executive partners in a timely manner.

2. Workgroups will report to the Steering Committee as needed.

  ________________________________________________
Signatory

  _______________________________________________
Name and Agency

Business Practices

Note: This document is appended to the PNAMP Charter, providing additional detail on operation

I.            Role of the network of Executive partners

 a.    Participants represent signatories to the PNAMP Charter.

b.    Provide distributed point(s) of contact for the Steering Committee on policy issues and products associated with PNAMP interests and tasks.

c.    Conduct meetings in accordance with their respective operational needs. The Steering Committee will meet with Executive partners as appropriate at times and places identified by each entity.

II.          Role and structure of the Steering Committee

a.    Each signatory to the PNAMP Charter will appoint an individual to serve as a member of the Steering Committee, and will identify an alternate if available.  Members of the Steering Committee have decision-making authority on behalf of their respective organizations for all PNAMP matters consistent with their respective mandates, except funding decisions which are governed by separate agreements. 

b.    Leads of standing technical workgroups will be members of the Steering Committee.

c.    The Steering Committee provides the science-policy interface between the Executive partners and technical workgroups, guides work of technical workgroups, obtains resources needed to accomplish tasks, and directs the activities of the Coordinator.

d.    The Steering Committee will use the consensus decision-making process as per section IV.

e.    The Coordinator is the internal and external point of contact for PNAMP, and

                                          i.    Conducts regularly scheduled meetings, and organizes ad hoc meetings as needed.

                                         ii.    Develops meeting agendas, meeting notes, keeps track of PNAMP documents and records, compiles and edits draft PNAMP documents, facilitates completion of work plans, tracks budgets, and manages PNAMP internal and external communications.

f.     The Steering Committee will prioritize PNAMP tasks, subject to and consistent with the consensus decision-making process in section (IV)(e) below.

III.        Roles and structure of technical workgroups

a.    As identified by the Steering Committee, workgroups will be used to accomplish PNAMP tasks.

                                          i.    Standing workgroups are watershed condition monitoring, effectiveness monitoring, fish population monitoring, and data coordination.

                                         ii.    Ad hoc workgroups will be convened on an as needed basis.

b.    The Steering Committee will identify leadership (lead and/or co-leads) of workgroups.

c.    Workgroups will develop work plans and products, will operate under the guidance of the Steering Committee, and will be assisted as needed by the Coordinator.

d.    Participants on workgroups (including key scientists) will have expertise appropriate to the involved tasks.

e.    To the extent possible, workgroups will use the consensus decision-making process developed for the Steering Committee (see section (IV).

IV.         Steering Committee consensus decision-making process

a.    Decisions at regular meetings are made by consensus.

                              i.        Consensus will be defined as accomplished when there is no further strenuous dissent.  The Coordinator will facilitate discussion, call for objections and confirm each decision reached by consensus.

                             ii.        For members unable to attend a regular meeting and for decisions made outside of regular meetings, consent email will be sent to all members with 5 business days allowed for any objections.  The Coordinator will follow up one more time in writing with each member that did not respond to the first written communication.

1.    Any member must object in writing/email to an item on a properly circulated consent email.  A written objection to consensus on a consent email request must contain the reasons for the objection.  An objection received by the Coordinator regarding an item for which consent approval is requested shall be considered an objection to consensus.

2.    Consensus places a heavy responsibility on the dissenter to participate fully in the deliberative process and work with others to find an alternative approach acceptable to all.

3.     If after two written notifications a member still does not respond, their vote will be counted as a ‘non-response’.

                            iii.        At the request of any Member, the Coordinator may place an item for which consensus was not achieved on the regular business agenda for a subsequent Steering Committee meeting.

                           iv.        A Member must be physically present (includes participation via telephone) or represented at a Steering Committee meeting to object to consensus on a business agenda item if the item previously was removed from the consent agenda or a consent mail request but was placed on the regular business agenda for a subsequent Steering Committee meeting.

b.    Following coordination on all issues, consensus positions will be sought pursuant to section (IV)(a) before Members actions are communicated (verbally or in writing) as a PNAMP product.  When consensus is not attained, the PNAMP product will clearly represent the fact that consensus was attempted and will set forth the differing positions of the Members.

c. Any Member may abstain or be absent from the consensus process without it becoming a dissenting opinion.

d. A Member who chooses not to participate in the consensus process, either by not objecting or responding to a consensus decision in writing under section (IV)(a)(ii), or in person under subsection (IV)(a)(iv), shall be deemed to have abstained from the decision-making process.

e.  As new ideas or proposals to re-prioritize existing tasks arise, person(s) sponsoring the new concept will provide information to all members of the Steering Committee including: task description, explanation of benefit/or "fit" to PNAMP mission; proposed participants; timeline; and expected outcome/products.

V.           General Participation

a.   Interested parties not signatory to the Charter are encouraged to participate in PNAMP, through involvement in appropriate workgroups, and in the broader deliberations of PNAMP.

b.  Proposals submitted for funding to support PNAMP tasks or commit PNAMP resources, as identified by workgroups, subcommittees, individual Steering Committee members, or the Coordinator shall be reviewed by the full Steering Committee prior to submission.

VI.         Communications

a.    Internal – The Coordinator and workgroup leads will use electronic means to facilitate informal routine communications to the extent possible; other methods will be explored as dictated by need.

b.    External – The Steering Committee and Coordinator will provide external communications via electronic means (email documents and notices) including development and use of internet access to PNAMP products and information, and will develop letterhead and “signature” authority on behalf of PNAMP for written communications.

VII.       Modification

a.    Business practices will be reviewed by the Steering Committee on at least an annual basis and modified as needed.