Those present: Ginny Brace, Jim Arnold, Claude Eans, Tom Anderson, Steve Thrasher, Lynne Marquess, Keith Schoonover, Tyson Rose, Heather Montgomery, Mike Kay

1. Call to Order: Keith called the meeting to order and February’s minutes were approved.

2. Membership: Keith and the rest of us had the distinct pleasure of welcoming Claude and Heather as official members of the Board. Thanks Claude and Heather for volunteering to be on the Board!

3. Treasurer’s Report: Tom noted a lot of activity during the month with the inflow of funds from Lions Club and MUCFC grants and the outflow of checks sent to nurseries etc.

4. Logging site plans: Mike noted that no plans had arrived prior to the meeting.

5. Larry Sharpe Memorial: We discussed the particulars of this planting and decided to hold the program on Friday April 20, 2012 at 10:00 am. Lynne will find out where we are to meet etc. Lynne volunteered to contact Lindsay Major to invite other boards to the service along with George Lewis. Mike will contact Wolfsville Fire Company. Mike indicated that he will draft a short speech about what Larry meant to him and the Board.

6. Neighborhood Green: Heather mentioned that notices for the upcoming training have now been posted on various websites and she has already received one application. Heather expects to see newspaper articles soon in many local publications and there should be a feature article in the Frederick News Post “Green “section soon. Heather also mentioned that she received some interest in the program from some of the folks that attended the lecture program she and Jessica conducted a few weeks ago. Mike mentioned that there are 125 copies of the Woods in Your Backyard available at Gambrill for this and subsequent programs.

7. Lecture Series: We conducted the first of six lectures on March 1, at the library with Jessica Seipp doing a program on Frederick County’s Green Infrastructure Program and Heather doing a talk on the Neighborhood Green program. We had a good crowd with 25 people in attendance many of which mentioned that they intend to attend most of the programs. Everybody thought that programs were informative and well done and that Heather did a great job acting as the facilitator. Lynne discussed the April program which she is facilitating and Claude and Jim discussed their programs as well.

8. NRCC: Lynne mentioned that 5 people across the state have signed up for the program so far, none of which are from Frederick County. Heather suggested that Lynne consider attending a careers day for 10th grade high school students that will be on May 31, 2012; and, Lynne indicated that she will try to attend this program.

9. Nature Notes: Ginny said that she’s running low on articles and could use some more. Ginny mentioned that she told a lady at the hairdresser that she edits the column and the lady said that that was one of her most favorite columns in the paper.

10. Forestry Board Retreat: Keith will be attending this program which is entitled The Changing Role of the Forestry Board in Forest Stewardship.

11. Ethics Forms: The Ethics forms are due by the end of April. Lynne mentioned that if you do them online you don’t need to have the forms Notarized. Both Claude and Heather should submit an Ethics form within one month of becoming a member.

12. State Association Meeting: The State Association meeting was held on March 10, 2012 and attended by Lynne Marquess and Jim Arnold from the Frederick Board.

    • Treasury: The Forestry Board Foundation Treasury has a balance of $86,949 much of which is earmarked for specific programs. Lynne distributed a copy of the Treasurer’s report that was distributed at this meeting.

    • Big Tree: John Bennett gave a presentation on the Big Tree program and asked that the State Association consider developing a website similar to Pennsylvania’s site dedicated to the Big Tree Program. John’s proposal was approved by members in attendance and the site will be initially funded by the Forestry Board Foundation’s Mel Noland Fund.

    • American chestnut seedling giveaway: Glenn Ferenschak has a number of American chestnut seedlings available for free.

    • By Laws: A new set of by laws is being reviewed by the Attorney General and should be ready for approval by April.

    • Sweet Gum: The Frederick Board received 250 sweet gum seedlings for distribution at the Lorax movie. Mike will deliver the seedlings to Ginny on Friday, March 16, 2012 and a group of members will distribute them Friday evening outside a local theatre.

    • Arbor Day Poster Contest: The due date for poster submission is April 25, 2012. G. Legislature: HB 594 seeks to change the name of Tree Mendous Maryland to Pam Kelly Tree Mendous Maryland in honor of Pam Kelly who was affiliated with the Forest Service and Forestry Boards for a number of years before losing her battle with cancer.

    • Attendance: Lynne noted that 26 out of 250 members belonging to the State Association showed up for the meeting last Saturday.

    • It was mentioned that John Bennett will probably discontinue his monthly statewide newsletter due to increased job demands.

    • Gary Allen reported that a $2,500 grant provided by the Mel Noland Woodland Incentives Fund may be available to each Forestry Board in FY2013. Each Forestry Board must find matching funds with real money from local sources in order to receive this grant, but there will be no restrictions on how each board chooses to spend the money.

13. Web Site: Tyson said that everything is a-ok. The Prince Georges County forestry board contacted Tyson to see if it would be ok to copy Tyson’s format for their new website and Tyson granted them permission to do so. A. Tyson mentioned that he received a request on the website from an individual who would like to see us continue printing out and sending newsletters in the mail. After some discussion a motion was made to discontinue sending out newsletters by mail due to the time and expense of printing and mailing these documents. This motion was seconded and passed by those present. After more discussion it was decided to modify the opening statement saying we will not be sending newsletters by mail rather than drafting an open letter on the site. This motion was seconded and passed by members. Tyson suggested that Mike look for old newsletters and mail them to him so Tyson can scan these and put them on the website archives.

14. Buffer in a Bag: Numerous counties are providing free seedlings to landowners to establish riparian forest buffers. The Watershed Division consisting of Larry Maxim and Melissa Stevens are administering this program in Frederick County this spring.

15. Michelle’s email message: Michelle sent an email to members detailing all the trees she has been measuring for the Big Tree program and asked members to consider setting up a Facebook Page.

16. Woodsboro Park tree planting: Mike mentioned that he will be leading a planting of 1,000 seedlings at Woodsboro Regional Park on Saturday March 31, 2012 from 9:00 am until 12:00 pm in conjunction with Lions Club International, Boy Scouts, and other volunteers.

17. Waterford Park tree planting: Ginny mentioned that she will be conducting a tree planting program at the park on Friday, April 6, 2012.