Those present: Larry Sharpe, Tyson Rose, Ginny Brace, Jim Arnold, Mike Kay

1. Logging Site Exams: Mike had one plan for a smaller acreage. It was decided to let Mike take care of this at his convenience.

2. Gypsy Moth: We discussed the December 4, 2008 public informational meeting in detail. Mike presented the agenda and everybody thought this would be fine. Mike will do the introduction section of this program. The members present voted to allocate up to $200 for the refreshments on the assumption that we would have 100 attendees. Ginny volunteered to bring all of the refreshments to the meeting. Ginny will let Mike know if he needs to bring cups for the beverages. Larry, Tyson, Jim, and Ginny said that they would attend the meeting and show up at 6:00 pm to get things ready. Anybody else who would like to help is asked to arrive at 6:00 pm. As advertisement for the program Mike sent the announcement to Karen Gardner at the News Post, Mike also sent and announcement to Kay Schultz for posting on the Monocacy – Catoctin Web Page, Tyson put the announcement and will enter the agenda on the Web Page, John Brognard put an announcement on the Frederick County gypsy moth web page, Judy Lingg indicated that she would send announcements to the local newspapers. Ginny suggested that if we decide to do a direct mailing or email to previous participants we should discuss the economics of gypsy moth such as the cost of selling dead timber vs. living trees etc.

3. Nature Notes: Ginny thinks everything is going well. We discussed possible articles for the winter months and some ideas were: highlight year round resident wildlife and adaptations they have for making it through the winter months, institute a question and answer section.

4. Walnut Collection: We were able to send all the walnuts the Nursery needed and had some left over. We decided to deliver these to Chambersburg and sell them to a vendor for $.10/lb. As a result of this we collected about $350 to be donated to the Frederick and Washington County Forestry Boards. Due to some miscalculations we only derived $350 for the entire amount. Mike sent the check to Tom Anderson for deposit into the Frederick Forestry Board account. Mike was wondering if Tom could cut a check for half that amount and send it to the Washington County Forestry Board. After some discussion the members present thought that it would be appropriate to send the Washington Forestry Board half of the proceeds. Mike will contact Tom and ask him to cut a check made out to the Washington County Forestry Board and send it to George Eberling.

5. Web Site: Tyson received an inquiry from a lady who wants to know how to preserve the large white oak tree on the property she is getting ready to sell. After some discussion it was suggested that Tyson could respond and advise the women to talk to an attorney about putting a covenant on the tree, placing a plaque next to the tree, discussing the care of the tree with the new owners.

6. New Business: Ginny would like to develop and purchase reusable signage to be used in public plantings. After some discussion we asked Ginny to prepare an estimate and proposal and bring it to the next meeting.