Those present: Ginny Brace, Lynne Marquess. George Lewis, Jim Arnold, Keith Schoonover, Tyson Rose, Mike Kay

1. Keith called the meeting to order, a clarification was requested in the April minutes and Mike explained that the 40 spray blocks deleted from MDA’s program added up to 5,400 acres. (The 5,400 acres was not the total remaining in MDA’s program.) Sorry for the confusion.

2. Treasurer’s Report: Tom sent an email with the following information:

   • Balance $10,858.55

   • Jeff Grill purchased a weedwacker for the arboretum for $293.91 leaving a balance of $1,140.82 of funds dedicated to the arboretum in our treasury.

   • We received the MUCFC Grant of $716 which Tom sent to Friends of Baker Park for Waterford Park.

   • We received $500 from the McCartney Family as a donation.

   • The check for $116.40 sent to the Washington County Forestry Board for ½ of the walnut sale was never cashed. Mike will inquire with George about the status of this check.

3. Logging Site Exams: Mike noted that no plans were submitted in time for the May meeting.

4. Frederick County Sustainability Commission: We drafted the support letter for Tom Anderson and Keith sent it to Hilari Varnadore the Executive Director of the Office of Sustainability. No one had heard if Tom was selected for the committee so Mike will ask contact Tom.

5. NRCC Camp: So far we have received 20 applications statewide one being from Frederick County. Lynne has tried to contact the applicant over the phone and via email to interview with the board but has not received a response. Lynne also noted that the application was incomplete and it did not contain her parent’s signatures so Lynne questions the interest of the young lady. Lynne also said that the camp has some funding issues but the State Association is committed to holding the camp this year. Lynne will be attending an upcoming meeting of NRCC and will report back to the board via email or in person at the next meeting. Tyson will post a notice on the Forestry Board web site and Lynne will contact Kay Schultz for the watershed Alliance web site. Ginny said that she will notify her contacts in Scouts.

6. Gypsy Moth: Mike mentioned that we have 300 landowners totaling 5,200 acres signed up for the program. We will begin spraying tomorrow and conclude in about 2 weeks.

7. Nature Notes: Ginny said that she heard back from the editor who requested a more condensed version of nature notes with the possibility of running the column on a weekly basis. Tom and Ginny put together a draft column and Mike submitted some additional information.

8. Signs: Ginny purchased some signs from Frederick Sign and Banner which are being erected in Waterford Park. A 4” x 6” sign will cost between $15-$20 while a 2” x 8” sign will set you back $10. We discussed placing signs around the buffer planting in Baker Park and Ginny estimated that we can do an adequate job for about $250. Ginny will seek permission to do so and contact Chuck Harris to discuss what trees are there and which signs would be appropriate. It was suggested to put the words Frederick Forestry Board somewhere on the sign.

9. Small Woodlot Management Course: Mike will attend the meeting on May 12, 2009. And, the May 19, 2009 will be at Waterford Park where Ginny will display and overview the tree planting, meadow establishment, and weed control projects the Friends of Waterford Park have accomplished over the last couple of years.

10. Web Site: Tyson has added a couple of feature articles and Tyson will be running daily updates on the gypsy moth spray program to keep landowners appraised.

11. Big Tree Program: Lynne had a couple examples of the Frederick County champion tree brochure which she distributed. Our champion “slippery elm” aka English elm was on display in this publication.

12. State Meeting: Lynne noted that Steve Koehn and Gary Allen were there to discuss the Sustainable Forestry Act which they called the most significant forestry legislation to be passed in a number of years. Among other things the SFA gives the Forestry Boards the authority to charge a fee for their services, like workshops, assisting with gypsy moth suppression etc. Steve also spoke about the Governor’s Greening of Maryland Initiative and Lynne had some $25/off tree coupons. Lynne said that meeting attendance was low.

13. Lynne also mentioned that Kay Schultz was retiring and the May 21st Monocacy – Catoctin Watershed Alliance meeting in Thurmont will be her retirement party. Please plan on attending if you would like to see Kay off.

14. Greydon Tolson Award: We discussed the dinner meeting we will be holding in Larry’s honor on Monday, July 13, 2009. Lynne and Ginny volunteered to serve on a planning committee for this event.