HomeMy WebLinkAboutAquatic Invasive Species Committee - Minutes - 11/18/2015Bayfield County
Aquatic Invasive Species
Committee
Present: Nan Olson, Jim Krueger, Kenneth Jardine, Mike Defoe, Sally Pease, Sarah Boles
Not Present: William Bussey, Pam Roberts
Staff: Andrew Teal – AIS Project Coordinator
Others: Anne Leafblad, Tom Trianoski
Minutes
November 18, 2015 (to be approved)
1.Call to Order: Nan called the meeting to order at 8:59 AM.
2.Introductions: Nan introduced Tom Trianoski to the committee—Tom is involved with Clean Boats
Clean Waters-Long Lake. Everyone at the meeting went around the table and introduced themselves
to Tom.
3.Public Comment: None
4.Motion: Approve minutes from August 19, 2015 AIS Committee meeting. Jardine/Pease – carried.
5.Grant Updates: Andy provided an update on the money remaining in the budget for the CBCW grants
and the AIS grant. The DNR granted him a one-year extension on the main AIS grant, extended through
the end of 2016. He is working on an application for another AIS grant application, to be submitted by
December 10th. CBCW-Iron River, we had $20,000 awarded this year, and we have used up almost all
of the funds-- with the remaining funds Andy has purchased 12 nametags for the CBCW inspectors to
use next year at the Pike Chain, Delta Lake and Long Lake landings. The Delta Area Lakes Association
(DALA) has officially dissolved; before they dissolved, they generously donated $1,033.59 for use in the
2016 CBCW program at Delta & Twin Bear landings. There is still $2,624.74 left in the CBCW-Lake
Superior grant—which will go unused, unfortunately. The main reason for these unused funds is
because we did not have 3 paid interns this year like we were anticipating; we only had 2 paid interns.
Discussion took place about different youth groups that might be able to help with AIS activities next
summer.
6.Motion: Elect Jim Krueger to be Vice Chair of the AIS Committee. Further discussion took place
regarding committee chair term limits—it was agreed that no term limits would be set; however, if any
commitment issues arise, the committee will address them at that time. Olson/Defoe – carried.
7.Strategic Management Plan Draft/Update : Andy has made updates to the AIS species profiles that are
listed in the strategic management plan. He shared that in September he attended the “Water Words
that Work” workshop in Superior, WI and took away a lot of helpful information in regards to
communicating with the public in ways they understand. Since attending the workshop, Andy has re-
evaluated the AIS Strategic Plan and noticed that there are many passive-voice sentences in the Plan,
which may be misleading or hard to understand from the public’s point of view. He spent many hours
re-structuring and re-arranging sentences so that it is easier to read and should now be more coherent.
Andy had emailed the committee the strategic plan a few weeks ago; however, the file was so large
C:\Users\aleafblad\Desktop\AIS Minutes 11-18 DRAFT.docx
that it was unable to be opened. He has consulted with IT to find solutions to send the file again and
will plan to re-send, but break up the file size and perhaps eliminate some pictures. Andy’s goal is to
complete the strategic plan by the end of December 2016. Nan requested that the committee receive
a copy of his updates in Spring 2016.
8.AIS Coordinators Report : Andy shared some of the recent activities he has participated in—reviewed
and on-file.
9.Partner/department Reports : Pam was not able to attend the meeting; however, she gave Andy a few
handouts about the Phragmites surveys she recently conducted at the wastewater treatment plants in
Washburn and Bayfield. We also passed around her most recent NCWMA final report. Mike Defoe
shared that this month he started re-writing his Tribal AIS Management plan. He will also be collecting
Phragmites DNA samples in Red Cliff to send in for testing. The testing is to determine if the Phragmites
at the wastewater treatment plant in Red Cliff is genetically the same as new populations appearing in
that area.
10.Future AIS Activities : Andy is currently working on an application for another AIS grant to continue the
funding of this program. Our current AIS grant is set to expire after December 31, 2016. Discussion
also took place regarding holding an AIS Round Table event in the spring of 2016. The committee
agreed to schedule an AIS Round Table on Saturday, April 30, 2016 from 9am – 12pm. Sally Pease will
check on the availability of the Drummond Community Center. Andy is going to ask Tim Kane if he
would be willing to be the moderator of this event. Jim Krueger offered to coordinate fruit/donuts.
Will finalize details of the AIS Round Table this spring.
11.Other business : The following dates were set for the 2016 AIS Committee meetings: February 10, May
11, and September 14; all are on Wednesdays and start at 9:00 AM.
12.Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 10:31 AM.