HomeMy WebLinkAboutForestry & Parks Committee - Minutes - 3/8/2021
BAYFIELD COUNTY FORESTRY AND PARKS DEPARTMENT
COMMITTEE MEETING
March 8, 2021
Held virtually through Microsoft Teams
Members Present: Fred Strand, Chairperson; Jeffrey Silbert, Larry Fickbohm, Steve Sandstrom, David
Zepczyk
Staff in Attendance: Jason Bodine, Administrator; Lindley Mattson, Office Manager; Steve Probst, Assistant
Administrator, Charly Ray; County Board Member
1. Call to Order of Forestry and Parks Committee Meeting.
This meeting was called to order at 6:01pm.
2. Public Comment: None
3. Approval of the February 8, 2021 Meeting Minutes.
MOTION: (Fickbohm, Sandstrom) to approve the minutes as presented. All: Yes. Carried.
4. Monthly Reports. Discussion of general activities, events, issues and accomplishments. Possible
action on report(s) only.
a. Forestry (all updates):
a) 2021 Budget. Revenues for February are average. Slightly above the three year average. First
quarter is looking good. No unexpected expenses yet. We are beginning to see some repair
expenses pop up with equipment and yurts.
b) Carbon Project. Moving forward quickly. We are in negotiations with Bluesourse. Corp Counsel
has reviewed it, we are now waiting for comments from the DNR. Expecting to be under contract
with Bluesourse in the next 2-3 weeks. Note: we are not able to put non-county forest land into
the project (unless we enroll them in a certification program i.e. SFI or FSC).
c) Wildlife Monitoring Project. Tags for the Sharp-Tailed Grouse have been ordered. NRRI is in
the process o developing the process for capturing and banding. The breeding bird survey is also
in the works. Monitoring should begin this spring hopefully!
d) Stewardship Land Acquisition Project. TPL is still exploring funding sources. Red Cliff has
officially submitted the GLRI application for their next acquisition project. We will wait until we
hear back from Red Cliff and TPL before developing the next steps. There are two parcels of
property near our Lost Creek Falls property that are going to be up for sale. They are high
priority for our department.
e) Access Permits. Two more access permits will be renewed this month. Town of Bayview and
Bell. No changes to the previously approved permits.
f) Trespass in the Town of Bayview. While foresters were establishing a timber sale near Friendly
Valley Road a potential encroachment was discovered. The surveyor confirmed the
encroachment. Bodine presented a Plat of Survey highlighting the issue. A letter was sent to the
landowner. As of the time of the meeting, the office has not heard back from them.
g) Timber Professionals Cooperative Survey. There is discussion within the cooperative to try and
revive/reopen the Verso mill as well as the Park Falls mill. Bodine presented the letter from
WCFA as well as the survey to the committee. Committee would like Bodine to investigate this
further and bring it back to the committee next month.
b. Parks (update). Seasonal balances are due the end of the month. Still a few sites at Delta available.
c. Trails and Recreation:
There is an American Rescue Plan (Federal Stimulus) that is currently under discussion in
Washington. This stimulus package has the potential to bring $3 million to Bayfield County. Mark
asked that the Department develops a list of projects in the $250k-$300k range that would bring
more jobs and encourage recreation in the county.
a) Motorized Trail Updates: Trails closed as of midnight 3/8/2021. There has been a lobby to
increase weight limits on the trails from 2,000 pounds to 3,000 pounds. Generally increased
weight means increased maintenance. As of yet, there has not been a proposal to increase
maintenance dollars.
b) Non-Motorized Trail Updates: The contractors will finish up the work at Siskiwit this spring.
c) Yurt Updates: Bodine presented occupancy rates. Some repairs have been popping up at the
yurts. Door locks, handles, etc.
d) Events. No new events.
d. Delta Landfill Update: More Q & A. We are hopeful we are now at the point that all information has
been provided. We are hoping to have the Highway Dept do the majority of the repair.
MOTION: (Silbert, Fickbohm) Receive and place on file. All: Yes. Carried.
5. Bayfield County Forest Comprehensive Land Use Plan Revision.
a. Review of Public Comment:
i. Received comments from the DNR, all of their comments have been addressed in the
final drafts. Some items to highlight:
i. The DNR recommended removing the language on the public participation
process in Chapter 100 and moving it to a dedicated new chapter. As a result,
Chapter 5000 was created and now contains the public participation process. It
also contains copies of all public comments received to date.
ii. The DNR also requested that a new table be created in Chapter 2000 (2000.3).
This table summarizes the projected sustainable harvest goals over the next 15
year period.
ii. To address some of the more recent public comments, a few modifications were made:
i. Chapter 800, in the aspen section, additional language was inserted to further
emphasize a goal of increasing species diversity within stands.
ii. Also, one of the long-term management goals for aspen is to maintain to slightly
decrease acreage. The slightly decrease part was re-emphasized in numerous
sections.
iii. Chapter 800, in the landscape management section (840), the following paragraph
was added on habitat connectivity (to essentially set the stage for future
developments):
1. The development of landscape level management strategies that recognize
the importance of maintaining connections between habitats will also be
considered. This can include, but is not limited to, short and long-term
management strategies that focus on: mapping existing riparian buffers
(RMZs), and other areas that have already been removed from future
timber harvest considerations (i.e. some SMAs), to analyze for
opportunities to develop, improve and/or maintain connections;
emphasizing the placement of retention areas to enhance connectivity; and
establishing timber sale design protocols that include considerations for
the development of habitat corridors, at both the stand and landscape
level. Refer to the Workplan for more information on habitat connectivity
strategies.
iv. Chapter 700 (access management), also inserted a statement to underscore the fact
that existing infrastructure can be closed and/or obliterated if determined to be a
priority. This is already stated in the document, but it was included in a few
additional locations to further emphasize that fact.
v. All tables have been numbered sequentially and other minor housekeeping edits
have been completed.
b. Approval of Final Draft (all chapters): Link was sent to the committee for viewing all final drafts of
the plan.
c. Approval to submit the Final Draft to the Full County Board.
MOTION: (Silbert. Zepczyk) Formally approve the resolution written by Jason and recommend
its adoption of acceptance at the County Board Level. All: Yes. Carried.
6. Joseph LeBouton, DNR – Congratulations on finishing up that Comp Plan.
The next Forestry and Parks Committee meeting has been scheduled for Monday, April 12, 2020 at 6:00
P.M.
Meeting adjourned at 6:55 PM
Submitted by,
Lindley Mattson