Committee signals support for a template quick‑response letter and sets MPC report timeline

Jessica and Arlene described a draft template to enable quick council responses to short comment windows (for example, 30‑day turnarounds). Arlene said the template would provide boilerplate council authority language, a short statement of the council's high‑level concerns (fisheries impacts, benthic habitat, water‑column issues), and a bulleted list of analysis items the council expects in agency NEPA documents. "We can probably just come up with the language that can be template language and, like, boilerplate..." Arlene said, noting the template would not replace longer, project‑specific comment letters where time allows.

Report and cadence: committee members volunteered to draft report sections (California, Oregon, PacFEM items and template summary) and agreed on a timeline to assemble the MPC briefing‑book submission with a target date of May 13. Members discussed proposing a regular cadence for marine‑planning updates to the council (suggested June, November and March) so the council receives periodic updates without asking for reports every meeting.

Next steps: Arlene and Jessica will refine the draft template and circulate it to the Habitat Committee for review; chairs will consult council staff about how best to present the template and the proposed scheduling change for future council agendas.