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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAquatic Invasive Species Committee - Minutes - 8/19/2015Bayfield County Aquatic Invasive Species Committee Present: Kenneth Jardine, Mike Defoe, Jim Krueger, Sally Pease, Sarah Boles Not Present: Nan Olson, William Bussey Staff: Andrew Teal – AIS Project Coordinator Others: Pam Roberts, Anne Leafblad, Tom Johnson (Lake Owen Association) Minutes August 19, 2015 (to be approved) 1. Call to Order: Chair Nan Olson was not present, so Jim Krueger agreed to run the meeting. Jim called the meeting to order at 9:10 AM. 2. Introduction of new AIS Committee Members: Jim welcomed Sarah Boles as the delegated business representative to the AIS Committee. Sarah is the owner of Northern Native Plantscapes in Cable, WI and expressed that she looks forward to serving on the AIS Committee. This was also Sally Pease’s first meeting as an official AIS Committee member. 3. Public Comment: None 4. Motion: Approve minutes from May 20, 2015 AIS Committee meeting. Defoe/Pease – carried. 5. Grant Updates: Andrew Teal shared some of the financial details of his AIS grant, as well as the CBCW grants. Each CBCW landing needs 200 hours. Our interns are fervently logging hours at each of the landings to fulfill this obligation, and we’ve also established a contract with Ashland County for their interns to each work 8 hours per week for our CBCW Lake Superior grant. Tom Johnson was present from the Lake Owen Association and had questions about individual lake associations applying for grant money—Jim shared that it is typically $4,500 per lake. Sarah Boles inquired about receiving a report/data at the end of this summer about the lakes we’ve been monitoring and invasive species that have been reported/violations recorded. Andrew shared that there is currently not a source that has this aggregate data regarding reports from the Sheriff/DNR/Lake Associations/AIS monitoring but he would look into providing this. Pam shared about the Chequamegon Bay area Partnership (CBAP) and that she is seeking funding from them for either invasive species prevention or invasive species control. Andrew also shared that he is planning to apply for an extension for the current BC AIS Project ’14 – ’15 grant. This grant is currently set to expire at the end of 2015, but due to the AIS Coordinator position sitting vacant for 6 months over the grant’s life, it is anticipated that there will be remaining funds to use well into the 2016 field season. 6. Discussion/Possible Action: Elect new Vice Chair; possible Committee member term limits: Discussion took place regarding electing a new vice chair for the AIS Committee. Jim suggested having a chair/vice chair every 2 years so the positions are staggered. It was collectively recommended by the committee members to table this discussion until the November 18 AIS Committee meeting, as the committee members wanted chair Nan Olson to be present for this decision. No action taken. 7. Strategic Management Plan Draft/Update: Andy shared that he has been quite busy this summer and \\bayco-fs5\Land Conservation\AIS\Admin\Meetings\Committee\Minutes\2015\8-19-15 AIS Minutes.docx has not had much time to sit down and review any updates to the strategic management plan, but now that summer is drawing to a close he plans to work on this as soon as things start to slow down. It was agreed by the Committee to table the discussion of these updates at the next AIS Committee, scheduled for November 18. No action taken. 8. AIS Coordinators Report: Andy highlighted some of the main things he has been working on. He had an AIS booth at the Bayfield County Fair and did not reach as many people as he was hoping to. He thought the combination of the designated booth location and bad weather did not allow for as much foot traffic as other places on the fairgrounds. Andy also organized a booth at the Iron River Blueberry Festival in July and had a lot of kids who were curious to learn more about the AIS activity pool he had set up; Andy was also Milfoil Man and Pam was Poison Ivy in the parade. Thank you Karen Austin, Logan Neveaux and his friend Brandon, and Brandon Montgomery for helping hand out materials! Andy helped Pam lead 2 Invasive Species ID Days this summer; the first event had a very good turnout, and the second event was ok, but no one brought in any invasive species to identify. Andy also organized a presentation for the 4-H camp, and had a booth set up with the activity pool that grabbed their attention. Tom Johnson invited Andy to attend a Lake Owen Association meeting---they have already held their annual meeting, but he encouraged Andy to attend next year. 9. Partner/department Reports: Pam shared that she is planning a celebration of the NCWMA’s 10th anniversary on September 22 at the NGLVC. Wisconsin Senator Janet Bewley is planning to attend (pending that a possible State Senate meeting is not held that day), and there will be a business meeting, potluck, bingo, and other games. There is also the National Public Lands Day planned for September 26; the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service will come together and work with the public to pull weeds and learn about invasive plants. Participants will receive a free lunch and also get a free pass to enter any National Park/other federal lands with a fee. Pam also reviewed some of the events she’s participated in this summer, such as the two Invasive Species ID days, trainings, and NCWMA trivia night. 10. Future AIS Activities: Andy reviewed some of the upcoming events that he will be participating in— 8/29 AIS Bridge Snapshot Day in Barnes, 9/14 St. Croix River Watershed AIS strategic meeting at the Barnes Town Hall, 9/17 Water Words That Work workshop at UW-Superior, 9/22 NCWMA Annual Picnic at the NGLVC, 9/26 Iron River National Fish Hatchery Open House, the state AIS Coordinators annual meeting, and the AIS round table (date is still to be determined). Jim shared that perhaps it is too late to plan an AIS round table for this year, but thought the committee should try to organize one in mid-May of next year. The objective of organizing a round table is for representatives of lake associations in Bayfield County to come together and have a discussion about aquatic invasive species in their lakes and discuss different strategies for addressing this. Previous AIS round tables have been held at the NGLVC, Drummond, and the Barnes Town Hall, and should be organized approximately every 3 years. The committee agreed to try and set a date for the next AIS round table at the November 18 meeting. Tom Johnson shared that Lake Owen’s comprehensive management plan was recently approved by the DNR. The plan addresses several topics regarding Lake Owen’s climate, lake monitoring, and includes the implementation of a rapid response detection plan, which is a guide on how to respond/remediate invasive plants/species if they are discovered in Lake Owen. 11. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 10:33 AM.