Representatives from the Makah Tribal Council Office of Marine Affairs visited with the Office of Response and Restoration and National Weather Service (NWS) National Forecast Office Wednesday, March 11, 2015.

ENS Rachel Pryor led the group that consisted of: Katie Wrubel, Ocean Policy Analyst; Laura Nelson, Washington Sea Grant Marc Hershman Marine Policy Fellow; and Keith Ledford, Environmental Consultant. The Makah Indian Reservation has miles of sensitive coastline and Council members have been working diligently with local, state, and federal agencies to establish oil spill preparedness plans.

The day began with a tour of the NWS by Science and Operations Officer Kirby Cook and Warning Coordination Meteorologist Ted Buehner. The guests were shown weather modeling and forecasting tools and learned about emergency alert systems. Following NWS, Office of Response and Restoration Scientific Support Coordinator, Ruth Yender, and ENS Rachel Pryor introduced Environmental Sensitivity Index maps. Main topics of discussion included Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps use in planning and response, decoding biological/shoreline/human use symbols, and location for public download. The day concluded with OR&R Physical Scientist Ben Shorr and Nick Eckhardt presenting the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA^®) by demonstrating the capabilities to illustrate layers of surface currents, fish habitats, ESI’s, and derelict vessels for a given area.

The group thoroughly enjoyed the sequence of events from seeing weather maps and spot forecasting, understanding ESI’s for Neah Bay, and ultimately combining both topics by illustrating their use as a data layer in ERMA. Katie, Laura, and Keith left NOAA with an understanding of the dynamic relationship between NWS and Office of Response and Restoration in spill response; in addition, they established working contacts for future opportunities to coordinate preparedness and response actions for the Makah Reservation.

For further information, contact Rachel.Pryor@noaa.gov.

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