HomeMy WebLinkAboutForestry & Parks Committee - Minutes - 4/11/2022
BAYFIELD COUNTY FORESTRY AND PARKS DEPARTMENT
COMMITTEE MEETING
April 11, 2022
County Board Room
Members Present: Fred Strand, Chairperson; Jeffrey Silbert, David Zepczyk, Larry Fickbohm, Steve
Sandstrom
Staff in Attendance: Jason Bodine, Administrator; Lindley Mattson, Recreation Specialist; Cassie Taylor,
Office Manager
Others in Attendance: Joseph Lebouton, WI DNR; Darnell Belanger; Beth Coverston
1. Call to Order of Forestry and Parks Committee Meeting.
This meeting was called to order at 6:04pm.
2. Public Comment: None
3. Approval of the March 14th Meeting Minutes.
MOTION: (Fickbohm, Zepczyk) Approve and place on file. All: Yes. Carried.
4. Monthly Reports. Discussion of general activities, events, issues and accomplishments. Possible
action on report(s) only.
a. Forestry (all updates): Bodine presented stumpage revenue for March was above average at nearly
$533k. Nearly $175k has already been received in April. Expenses on track. Request from Xcel
Energy regarding temp bypass line, abandoning construction and shifting focus to completing
upgrades within existing corridor. Would require developing minor access route through county
forest.
a) Office Manager Position. Cassie Taylor’s first day is April 11. Working closely with Lindley for first two
weeks.
b) New Rec Position. Lindley begins new role as second Recreation Specialist starting April 11. First few
weeks training Cassie but will start incorporating rec responsibilities and shadowing Jen.
c) Carbon Project. Waiting for snow to go before scheduling field audit of project. Working with Bluesource
on development of a FAQ document.
d) CFL Withdrawal – Red Cliff Land Sale (706 acres). DNR is still reviewing the application for CFL
withdrawal. Hopeful to have decision by end of the month.
e) Burns/Duquette Trespass Land Sale (0.29 acres). Nothing new to report. Still in process.
f) Stewardship Project(s). We have two grant applications for large Ceres Timber project and two for
smaller Lost Creek Project. Lost Creek property recently appraised at $220k.
g) Emerald Ash Borer. EAB officially confirmed in City of Bayfield in March. Approximately 7 million ash
on county forest land. More noticeable ash mortality expected in next 8 to 12 years. Reforestation in ash-
dominant stands will be a new priority.
h) 2021 Accomplishment Report. Report should be done for May meeting.
i) Sustainable Forestry Grant. Recently awarded $10k from this grant. Likely prepare for work to occur in
2023. Grant is good for two years.
j) DNR Audit. DNR scheduled to arrive week of April 18 to conduct routine 5-year audit of forestry
program.
b. Campgrounds and Day Use Parks: Anticipate opening second week of May, weather dependent.
Govpay is ready to go, and Brenda has taken a lot of reservations.
c. Trails and Recreation:
a) Motorized Trail Updates: Snowmobile season now over, trails are closed until ready for
ATV’s/UTV’s. Focus shifted to getting maintenance grants ready and summarizing snowmobile
season.
b) Non-Motorized Trail Updates: Did not receive acceptable bid on orchard pruning project. Will
revisit this fall. Three concrete vault toilets to be installed soon. Work at Lost Creek Falls
expected to occur this spring.
i. Pratt’s Peak Project. Some local opposition - main concern is advertising and number of
tourists. Formal response from Town of Bayfield included in packet. Proposed hiking
trails would be low impact, complimentary to current approved uses, and roughly one
mile away from closest privately owned parcels. Plan to step back from this project for a
few months, revisit in the field, and bring back to the Committee during a future meeting.
c) Yurt Updates: Bodine presented the occupancy rates for each yurt.
MOTION: (Zepczyk, Sandstrom) Receive reports as presented and place on file. All: Yes.
Carried.
d) Events: See below.
d. Delta Landfill Update: Finally getting closer, anticipate mid-summer completion. Highway
Department is still actively working on procuring materials.
5. Spring Timber Sale Offering. Discussion and possible action regarding the approval and offering
for bids of the 2022 spring timber sales. Total of 34 sales covering 2.697 acres will be part of this
offering.
MOTION: (Silbert, Fickbohm) Approve spring timber sale offerings. All: Yes. Carried.
6. 2022 Town Road Aid Projects. Discussion and possible action regarding a summary of Town Road
Aid project proposals and the awarding of funds. Town road aid proposals were due April 1. All
towns submitted proposals. Roughly $123k in requests were submitted; total of $60k is available for
funding. Bodine presented his recommendations.
MOTION: (Fickbohm, Sandstrom) Approve option one/Bodine’s recommendation for Town
Road Aid distribution. All: Yes. Carried.
7. Recreational Use Request: Cable Area Resources in Emergency (CARE)
Requesting permission to host annual running event in the Town of Cable on July 4, 2022. Bodine
recommends approval. Town of Cable wants to charge event fees. Some rec groups are upset about
being charged fees.
MOTION: (Silbert, Zepczyk) Approve event. All: Yes. Carried.
8. Committee Members Discussion.
Committee discussed the EAB issue, option to harvest and sink timber in Lake Superior. Clarify Pratt’s
Peak – taking some time away and will revisit later. Committee thanks Dave for four years. Committee
thanks Lindley.
9. Joseph Lebouton – thank you Lindley, welcome Cassie.
The next Forestry and Parks Committee meeting has been scheduled for Monday, May 9th at 6:00 P.M.
Meeting adjourned at 6:45 PM
Submitted by,
Cassie Taylor