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

1. Call to order: Keith called the meeting to order and July’s minutes were approved as written. (There was no meeting in August.)

2. Membership: Tom distributed a photograph of a large (28”) northern pike he caught in Canada but truth be told this looked like a minnow next to Mike’s pike.

3. Treasurer’s Report: Tom mentioned that we have $9,965.91 in our Treasury assuming that the check he sent to Friends of Waterford Park was cashed by the Treasurer of that organization. Tom mentioned that he purchased two books of stamps with Treasury funds to conduct official business.

4. Logging site exams: Mike mentioned that one plan had been submitted for the Larry James property on Mt. Ephraim Road. Both Lynne and Tom recused themselves of conducting this site exam since they are neighbors of Mr. James. We plan to visit the site on Monday, September 20, 2010 at 11:00am. Please plan on meeting in front of Stronghold’s office at 11:00 am if you would like to attend this site visit.

5. Neighborhood Green: Mike mentioned that the NFWF grant was not accepted due to the large amounts of applicants for this grant. Mike indicated that the Neighborhood Green Committee is planning a meeting for Monday, September 27, 2010 from 10:00 am – 11:30 am to discuss other funding opportunities, the landowner visits we conducted following the training, and when to conduct another training.

6. Interpretative Signs: Mike and Rich Salvatore (Gambrill State Park) finished producing digital copies of the 30 trees earmarked for the Tree ID Trail at Gambrill. Ginny will look into pricing for 1 – 3 sets of signs. Ginny indicated that she will contact both Waterford and Baker Parks to see if there is any interest in having signs made up. The Cecil Board also showed interest in signs but they need to identify funding and receive permission before they would be able to purchase signs.

7. NRCC Camp: Lynne distributed Thank You notes that our five students sent to the Board. Tyson will scan these notes and put them on the website as a promotional tool. Lynne mentioned that after the dust settled the Frederick Board sponsored two students and three Students were sponsored by the Allegany Board from the grant they received. The Frederick Board wishes to thank the Allegany Board for their generous contributions. Joey from our Board was named as one of the NRCC Campers of the Week. Lynne said that pertinent information for the 2011 camp is now being developed and we should have it soon.

8. Nature Notes: Ginny said everything is fine, Ginny was going to post a photo a Mike’s pike but it was too large to fit in the paper! Yes it was that big. We discussed some potential topics for Nature Notes including paw paws, forest fire danger, the upcoming mast crops, stink bugs, and tree id.

9. Web Site: Tyson indicated that he is including Nature Notes columns to the site. Tyson and Lynne will decide how to enhance the NRCC portion of the site; and, Tyson said that he would work with Mike to determine how to post fire danger warnings on the site.

10. Other Business:

    • Tom mentioned that he and Tyson would be staffing the Monocacy – Catoctin Watershed Alliance booth at the Great Frederick Fair on Monday from 5:00 pm till 8:00 pm.

    • Lynne overviewed the preliminary survey results posed by the State Association.

    • Mike mentioned that we had numerous fires the past weekend including a 40 acre fire near Hancock that burned 7 structures at an abandoned orchard complex including 2 abandoned houses.