HomeMy WebLinkAboutLand Conservation Committee - Minutes - 8/21/2015
Our Mission: To assist the public in protecting, enhancing, and restoring the natural resources of Bayfield County
Bayfield County Land & Water Conservation Department
615 2nd Ave. East; PO Box 126
Washburn, WI 54891
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Phone: (715) 373-6167 FAX: (715) 373-6127 Website: www.bayfieldcounty.org
MINUTES
August 21, 2015 (to be approved)
Present: Bucky Jardine, Chair; Marco Bichanich, Vice-Chair; Bill Bussey; Dennis Pocernich (phone)
Staff: Ben Dufford; Travis Tulowitzky; Dave Schultz; Anne Leafblad; Pam Roberts; Andrew Teal
Absent: Peter Tetzner; Greg Tetzner, FSA Rep.
Attendance: Gary Haughn, NRCS; Tony Janisch, BRWA
1) Call to order: Bucky called the meeting to order at 9:01 AM. Dennis Pocernich remotely dialed-in to the meeting
so there would be enough committee members present to have a quorum. The committee members decided to
move agenda items 6 & 8 to the beginning of the meeting so Dennis (via phone) could leave early if needed.
6) Discussion/Action: MOTION: Recommend approval of FY2015 Budget Adjustments/Amendments as presented, and
move to executive committee and full county board for approval of the following: Clean Boats / Clean Waters Lake
Superior landings – AIS/NCWMA Programs; NCWMA WMA Education Project; Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) DNR
Grant ‘14 – ’15; USFS Weed-Cooperative Main Grant; NCWMA WMA GM Project; Wickstrom Bridge Project; FWS
Restore – Cooperative Agreement 703. Bussey/Pocernich – carried.
8) Discussion/Action: MOTION: Approval of 2016 LWCD budget proposal as presented. Bussey/Bichanich – carried.
2) MOTION: Approval of Minutes (March 5, 2015)- Bichanich/Bussey - carried
3) Public Comment: Bucky asked everyone in the meeting to go around and state their name, as there were some
new faces. No one was present from the public to provide any comment.
4) Agency Staff / Partners Reports:
a. NRCS Update – Gary Haughn passed around a handout of financial data for the Lake Superior Restoration
Project. This year the volume of contracts has increased. He has been very busy and has had a lot of
projects compared to 2014. The majority of projects are barnyard requests, and also other projects for
grazing, stream habitat, and wildlife habitat activities; most of NRCS funds are being spent on agricultural
issues. His office continues to primarily serve Ashland and Bayfield Counties, occasionally Douglas County
and in the future they plan to take on Iron County projects.
b. USFWS Update – NONE
c. WDNR Update – NONE
d. BRWA Update – Tony Janisch was present and shared some current things he has been working on with the
Bad River Watershed Association. He and his staff are currently collecting ongoing data of water quality on
2 creeks that may be affected by the proposed CAFO. They are collecting water quality samples on a
regular basis, and also after any heavy rains to analyze the levels of water quality. They should have an
analysis of the water quality data by the end of this summer. The BRWA has also received $25,000 in
funding from the USFS to address a slump that is occurring on the Marengo River, and they have also
received another large grant for culvert restorations, which will be in the Towns of Lincoln or Kelley.
The BRWA has also started a volunteer water monitoring program to collect water quality data of the
Bayfield peninsula/Chequamegon Bay area.
e. Others – Dave Schultz shared his WDP staff report. The corn is getting to a stage now, so he is anticipating
bear trapping activity will pick up. Statewide, there are approximately 4,000 bear trapped every year. The
deer herd is still recovering, but he anticipates the doe season should increase this year. It will probably be
another 2 years before doe permits are allowed. Dave also reviewed his 2016 budget proposal so that
Dennis could leave early if need be. He explained that costs will be going down in 2016—about $6k less for
2016 compared to 2015. No major changes on anything regarding his budget; however, there is a slight
increase in administrative costs. There is a drop in bear relocation costs due to the numbers in bear traps
going down. The bear trapping numbers this year will have an effect on numbers next year--if he traps
more bears this year, then the cost next year will go up. MOTION: Approve 2016 WDP Budget Proposal as
presented and recommend to full County Board for approval. Bichanich/Bussey – carried.
5) Wildlife Damage Program Update – Dave Schultz, on file
a. 2016 WDP Budget Proposal: Reviewed in agenda item 4e.
b. WDP staff report: Reviewed & on-file.
7) Discussion: Shoreland Mitigation/Rule Updated according to new WI 2015-17 budget: Ben shared that Act 55 has
imposed stricter regulations on shoreline mitigations, and the Planning & Zoning department can no longer
enforce this. The Land & Water Conservation Department (Travis) will no longer be able to charge for shoreland
Our Mission: To assist the public in protecting, enhancing, and restoring the natural resources of Bayfield County
mitigation services. This updated rule will have an effect on many counties within the State, and has stirred up
much debate with lawmakers.
9) 2015 / 2016 Grant Updates: Ben gave a summary of some of the department’s grants. Pam shared that she has
applied for a few different grants, with a larger one through NFWF, and we should find out soon if we will receive
this funding. Last week Ben, Pam and Andy attended a meeting at Northland College regarding the application of
a CBAP grant, which would focus on invasive species prevention or invasive species control (one or the other), and
Bayfield and Ashland Counties may partner together for this grant. 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.
10) 2015 Project(s) Update: This agenda item was reviewed in Travis Tulowitzky’s staff report
11) LWCD Staff Reports:
a. Pam Roberts, NCWMA Coordinator – reviewed and on-file
b. Andy Teal, AIS Coordinator – reviewed and on-file
c. Anne Leafblad, Clerk I – reviewed and on-file
d. Travis Tulowitzky, Conservation Technician – reviewed and on-file.
e. Ben Dufford, County Conservationist – reviewed and on-file.
12) Other business as authorized by law: Discussion took place regarding the extension of the Farmland Preservation
Plan.
13) Next meeting date: The next LCC meeting will most likely be for the Fall Tour. October 9, 2015 was tentatively
decided upon.
14) Adjourn: Meeting adjourned at 10:56 AM.
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