2010-01 January meeting minutes

Frederick County

Forest Conservancy District Board

January 11, 2010 Meeting Minutes

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

This month we met at Ginny’s home; and, let me tell you it was much more pleasant than that cold, dank garage up at Gambrill! I don’t know about you but it was much more pleasant for me to take minutes, sipping coffee having the dog lying at my feet in that warm atmosphere. (The cookies didn’t hurt either.) (Don’t get me wrong, Gambrill is nice in the spring when you can open the door and hear the birds chirping, and the butterflies, but its brutal in the winter.) Thanks Ginny!

1. Keith called the meeting to order and November’s minutes were approved as written.

2. Treasurer’s Report: Tom indicated that we have $11,651.79 in the treasury. We had $4.89 interest posted for the month and we made $81.49 interest during 2009.

3. Logging Site Exams: Mike visited 4 sites on 1-5-10 and three met with his approval. One site called for the submission of a Buffer Management Plan and the marking of the buffer. So far, nothing had been completed. The same plan called for the clear cutting of a young white pine stand relying on natural regeneration to develop the future forest. Given these circumstances Mike made approval contingent on the marking of the buffer and submission of the plan and mentioned that the clear cutting resulting in development would trigger the Forest Conservation Act into action. (Thanks Keith and Tom for setting me straight about the clearing of Ag land.

4. Interpretive Signs: Mike mentioned that he tried to put some signs together but ran into difficulty pasting the photographs. Mike also mentioned that Gambrill Park Manager, Erin Thomas accepted a position at New Germany State Park so a new manager will be coming on board. As such, Mike will have to ask this manager whether or not they wish to proceed with the tree ID trail. Tyson volunteered to sort out the tree signs and asked Mike to email him the narrative and photos.

5. NRCC: Lynne and Larry attended the previous meeting of the NRCC Committee. The committee decided to raise tuition to cover the real costs of the program in a progressive manner over the course of three years. For 2010 tuition will be raised to $350 from $300 and the amount the student must contribute will be raised from $50 to $100 so that the total will be $450. Lynne also mentioned that the program remains in the black thanks to a $5,000 grant from the Tree Fund. New application material should be distributed by Wednesday and Lynne will send this material electronically to board members. We will have to decide who does what at the February meeting in relation to getting this material out to schools.

6. Nature Notes: Ginny said everything is going well and she has a small backlog of content which is a good thing.

7. Web Site: Tyson mentioned that the site is up to date and he’s always looking for more content.

8. Hemlock Adelgid: Mike indicated that he sent letters out to all of the Frederick County landowners that have certifiable hemlock stands as inventoried by MDA requesting that the landowners allow the Forest Service inventory these stands to determine its health. (Mike received an 80% positive response.) This winter the Forest Service will inventory these stands to determine their health using methods devised by the US Forest Service. Plans for this program include, kicking it off with a press release, scheduling a landowner information/training program, conducting a public planting at Cunningham Falls, formulating individual restoration strategies for the sites that are inventoried. We will be meeting at the Village Green Grille on 1-20-10 at 9:00 am to discuss how to proceed. Mike indicated that the group could use the Board’s assistance with the planning, and funding of a training session.

9. Residential Lot Tree Planting Program: The committee met right before Christmas and adopted the name “Neighborhood Green” for this program. We plan to meet on 1-26-10 at Frederick County Public Works Department at 10:00 am to discuss further this program. Mike indicated that the County is applying for a NWIFWIF grant for a number of countywide initiatives; and, Heather Montgomery, Shannon Moore are working with Mike to include some funding (possibly $100,000) to implement the Neighborhood Green program. Mike asked the Forestry Board if they would be ok managing these funds from their treasury and Tom said to bring it on.

10. Other Business: Tom said that he submitted the annual County Budget request a bit late this year but his contact said that they will include the request in the package going to the Commissioners. George suggested that we mention how much we need these funds and what good things we do for the county with our county contacts to help ensure that we continue our funding. Tom also indicated that we should post the time and date of our meetings as per Terry Galloway’s request. Mike said he would relay that information to Terry. Tyson also said that he posts the minutes on the web site; and, the minutes list the time and location of the upcoming meeting, so in essence we are notifying the public. Finally, Tom indicated that as Treasurer he might have let the Board down somewhat with his tardy application to the County and said he would gladly abdicate this position to anybody who would want to take over as Treasurer.

11. Other Business Continued: Lynne asked whether or not the Board has thought about apply for a grant from the Forestry Board Foundation as per the new Forest Initiative. Tom indicated that he will look into this. (There appears to be no deadline for applications.) Lynne also mentioned that the State Association has scheduled the Winter Meeting for March 6, 2010 and we can put it on our calendars. Finally, Lynne said that a Garrett County Forestry Board member sent a survey to previous NRCC students to inquire what they thought of the experience and if they intend to, or have pursued a career in the natural resources as a result. So far 20% of the inventories have been returned.

12. Following the meeting we watched a PBS show on hummingbirds.