Those present: Ginny Brace, Tom Anderson, Steve Thrasher, Andy Driscoll, Keith Schoonover, Claude Eans, Dave Hunter, Jim Arnold, Tyson Rose, Jen Willoughby, Mike Kay

1. Call to order: Mike called the meeting to order. (Keith arrived soon there after.)

2. Membership: Mike collected reappointment forms from, Jim, Tom, Ginny, Steve, Tyson, and Claude. These forms were signed by Keith and they will be submitted for reappointment. We still need Keith and Heather to submit reappointment forms.

3. Treasury: Tom indicated that we received $.30 in interest. Tom received a check for $521 from MUCFC to fund the treatment of one ash tree in Waterford Park for EAB along with some educational signage around the tree. Tom received $70 for the upcoming EAB workshop.

4. Timber Harvest Plans: Mike did not receive any plans but there was a plan in today’s mail for a large property in Sabillasville, (Summit Lake Bible Camp) and Mike expects to receive some more plans. Mike will try to coordinate a review party over email. (Mike and Steve plan to conduct these reviews this Friday, March 13, 2015.)

5. Winter Meeting: Claude indicated that he plans to attend the winter meeting this coming Saturday. Other members expressed some interest and it was decided that we would coordinate car pooling via email.

6. Office of Sustainability: Tom mentioned that he is scheduled to give a presentation on riparian forest buffers to the Commission next week and that he attended a recent program on buffers that he said was very interesting. Tom mentioned that the speaker talked about the detrital input of leaves and twigs into streams as being very important for micro and macro invertebrates which was a new take on why trees are good for water quality.

7. Emerald Ash Borer program: So far we have 28 people signed up for the program. We were able to get Arborist and Forester continuing education credits for this program; and both ISA and SAF posted this program on their websites. (I received two applications from local arborists this morning so the word is getting out in the arborist community.) Mike will get some snacks and bring coffee and hot water in the thermos. Fox Haven can provide tap water but we should bring something to hold the water. Tom Lupp is bringing a lap top for use during the program and he visited Fox Haven to ensure that his computer meshes with their projector. Ginny said that she would bring her lap top as a back up. Mike mentioned that he found a good reference on EAB that he would like to provide and wondered if he should print copies of this. Rather than do all this printing it was suggested that he print one copy and provide a link where others can obtain the publication or email it to those that might want a copy.

8. Scout Merit Badge: Claude mentioned that the program is scheduled for October 24, 2015 at the Walkersville Watershed. Claude sent around a sign up sheet and folks added their names to programs they wished to instruct. Claude will contact Vince to see if he is willing to assist with the tree identification again. Mike will contact Hailu and or Aaron Cook to see if they can assist.

9. Key Parkway cleanup: This program is scheduled for Saturday, April 18, 2015 which just happens to be Earth Day. Jen and Ginny visited the site prior to the program to see what was there and try to devise a plan of action. Jen provided an overview of the effort. She mentioned that the plan is to send two chainsaw operators in at 9:30 am to cut down the large bush honeysuckle, ailanthus, etc., and then have volunteers drag the debris to a truck where it will be loaded and carted away. After the debris is removed then volunteers can enter the site with pruners and manual saws to cut vines and small weeds. Due to extensive underground utilities we are not allowed to do any digging on the site. Frederick County Weed Control personnel will visit the site at a later date to spray any of the invasives that resprout. Numerous Forestry Board members said they will help with this effort and they will coordinate with Ginny and Jen. Members from the Golden Mile Alliance will also be on hand to assist. Jen mentioned that she will be visiting other cleanup sites during the day and hopes that our combined efforts will make a real difference in the city.

10. Uniforms: Ginny purchased two hi-vis vests to show to members, medium and extra large sizes. Members like the design, they tried them on and provided Ginny with there size. We will order the vests and patches and hopefully distribute them at the next meeting.

11. Nature Notes: Ginny is happy with the volume of articles that have been generated. We thought it would be nice to run some “upbeat” articles following all the doom and gloom insect/disease articles we have run lately. The Pando Colony would be my choice for a fun article….

12. Web Site: Tyson said that the site is up to date. Tyson indicated that he received a photo from Keith for the member’s spotlight.

13. New Business:

• Ginny asked the Board to consider the possibility of funding the treatment of some ash trees for EAB. We can discuss this at the next meeting or by email.

• Mike mentioned that our winter sojourn in Frederick City is coming to an end and now we will hold our meetings at Gambrill State Park. Mike reserved the Tea Room for April, May and June and he will inquire if we can use this facility for the July, September, and October meetings as well. Board members gave Ginny and Jana a round of applause for their hospitality. The coffee bakery and assorted treats have been great. Perhaps Mike can step up a bit and we can have some semblance of civility up at the Tea Room?

• Mike mentioned that we have 12 or so Big Tree to measure this spring. Mike, Steve, Claude, and Dave said they would like to help. If anybody else would like to help let us know.

• Dave mentioned that he attended a meeting of the American Chestnut Society and they said that they feel that they are getting close to culturing a blight resistant tree.