Those present: Keith Schoonover, Jim Arnold, Claude Eans, Steve Thrasher, Ginny Brace, Tom Anderson, Vince Perrotta, Mike Kay

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

2. Membership: Vince introduced himself to members. Vince attended many of our forestry lectures and Tom invited him to an upcoming meeting so Vince took Tom up on the invitation. Vince has a property on Hargetts Lane in Braddock Heights which has a Stewardship Plan and is enrolled into an Environmental Trust along with many of the neighbors which restricts development. We hope Vince enjoyed the meeting and would consider attending future meetings.

3. Treasurer’s report: Tom indicated that he received and deposited Frederick County’s grant for $325 for the Board. Next year we do not anticipate receiving any funds from the county. Tom submitted two letters to the Commissioners requesting that they reconsider their funding for the Board stating that the Board conducts 20 – 30 logging site inspections in Resource Conservation Zones as per the County Ordinance. Tom stated that this saves the county money should they decide to employ county personnel to do these inspections; and, the Board recycles these funds back into the community with grants to local fire departments, NRCC scholarships, educational programs etc. After much discussion we decided to wait for a response to these letters and consider meeting with the Commissioners to present our case. (During the discussion it was mentioned that the Forest Service charges $100 per inspection on private lands so we could conceivably charge $2,000 - $3,000 for our yearly logging site inspections.)

4. Logging Site Reviews: Mike mentioned that no plans came in time for the September meeting.

5. Neighborhood Green: Mike read a memo that Heather had sent him stating that we are in the process of accepting applications for tree planting projects for the Neighborhood Green program. This program will provide 75% cost share for properties within the Linganore watershed. To apply the landowner needs to submit an application fee to be used to purchase seedlings. Heather expects nearly 20 acres of tree planting to occur during the spring of 2013; and, she provided Mike with three checks for application which Mike gave to Tom. Tom will deposit these checks in the Treasury and await guidance from Heather on how to distribute the funds.

6. Lecture Series: Tom mentioned that we combined our final August lecture with a going away party for Lynne. Tom and Mike presented a program on invasive plants with Tom talking about herbaceous plants and Mike detailing woody species. Tom mentioned that Margery Lantz a member of Frederick County’s Sustainability Commission attended this lecture and thought it was very informative. Vince mentioned that he attended many of these lectures and got a lot out of them. Vince was able to use some of the knowledge he gained when he visited a friend’s property in New York State and advised him about some of the invasives he spotted. Ginny and Jim will meet and brainstorm ideas about future programs. Perhaps we can do more action oriented programs such as tree identification, tree planting, or invasive species control?

7. Nature Notes: Ginny mentioned that the column now identifies Ginny as belonging to the . We brainstormed various ideas about future columns including poisonous snakes, crayfish, beaver, yellow jackets, soil erosion, and fall color alerts. Mike said that he would tackle the crayfish article once he was finished with his char opus. Ginny stressed that we have to produce more “what’s happening outside now” articles. Vince mentioned that he knew a very avid birder who might help compose some articles for the column.

8. Web Site: Mike read Tyson’s memo which said that the site is up to date and that Tyson would like to refresh the site by including some forestry in action photos with captions along with a new group photo. Tyson also mentioned that the Board should consider individual photos with a bio as another option.