HomeMy WebLinkAboutLand Conservation Committee - Minutes - 5/13/2018
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
___________________________________________________________________________________
Phone: (715) 373-6167 FAX: (715) 373-6127 Website: www.bayfieldcounty.org
MINUTES
May 13, 2018 (to be approved)
Present: Fred Strand; Marty Milanowski; David Zepczyk; Tom Snilsberg; Peter Tetzner (9:50am)-
Citizen Rep.;
Gary Haughn-NRCS; Ben Dufford; Travis Tulowitzky; Melissa Kraft; Andrew Teal
Mike Mlynarek, USFWS; Tony Janisch, SRWA.
Absent: Dave Schultz-Wildlife Damage Specialist; Becky Anderson-FSA Rep.; Ramona Shackleford-
NCWMA Coordinator
1) Call to order: Meeting was called to order at 8:30 am.
2) Introduction of new committee members and new staff were given.
3) Action – Election of Officers: LCC Chair and Vice-Chair
Tom Snilsberg nominated Fred Strand for LCC Chairperson, no other nominations were made,
motion to close and cast, MOTION: Elect Fred Strand as LCC Chairperson – Marty/Tom -carried.
Tom Snilsberg nominated Marty Milanowski as LCC Vice-Chairperson, no other nominations were
made, motion to close and cast, MOTION: Elect Marty Milanowski as LCC Vice-Chairperson–
Tom/Dave -carried.
4) MOTION: Approval of Minutes (February 22nd, 2018) – Fred/Tom – carried.
5) Public Comment: NONE.
6) Agency Staff / Partners Reports:
a. NRCS Update: Gary Haughn introduced his position and what NRCS does. He administers
federal funds for cost-share programs and partners with Land & Water Conservation for them
which helps people make improvements on their land regarding conservations practices. He
manages 4 counties. He also noted the agency is looking at a new farm bill but it’s still in the
works. Also, he mentioned there is an upcoming grant application deadline of May 18th for a
second round of funding which would be distributed in July 2018. He welcomes the board
members to stop by his office.
b. USFWS Update: Mike Mlynarek gave an overview of his position for the new committee
members. His primary responsibility is with the Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife Refuge
property, however, he is also in charge of numerous permanent conservation easements that
the USFWS holds that were transferred over to them from FSA (Farm Services Agency). It
was part of the farm debt reduction program back in the late 1980’s so that farmers were able
to get paid for permanent conservation easements. Generally, they were non-productive ag
lands, specifically wooded lands. Most of the ones he manages are stream buffers located on
Iron River, Oulu, Sanborn and Saxon. His interactions with Gary and others at the table
consist of habitat restoration and enhancement projects. He also has taken care of permit
writing and in the past he has worked with youth conservation core crews that were the labor
force on stream habitat restoration and tree planting. This year he will not have a youth
conservation core crew but will be working collectively on a dam removal project that is on a
feeder to the Iron River. He has a couple of wetland projects that will hopefully get funded
through NRCS. Mike also announced he will be retiring this September.
c. WDNR Update: None
d. SRWA Update: Tony Janisch is the Executive Director of the Superior Rivers Watershed
Association, formerly called the Bad River Watershed Assoc. He noted their coverage area is
now Ashland, Bayfield and Iron County. He announced Mike Mlynarek is soon to be their
newest board member. SRWA began as a citizen science organization collecting water
quality data. They secure funding from the National Foundation, US Fish and Wildlife, and US
Forest Service. Last year’s big project was a bank stabilization project on Altamont Road in
the Town of Lincoln. This year’s projects are in Ashland and Iron County.
e. Others: i) Andy Teal reported. North Woods CWMA (NWCWMA) held a training in April on
KoBo toolbox which is a free pen-source tool for mobile data collection which Andy and
Ramona will begin using. He also attended a training in Arbor Vitae in Vilas County regarding
lake monitoring. Events coming up June 18-21st : partnering to spray for knotweed and yellow
iris through the week of July 4th. Other things Andy has been busy with include classroom
presentations and meetings.
Our Mission: To assist the public in protecting, enhancing, and restoring the natural resources of Bayfield County
ii) 4 County Wildlife Damage Update – Dave Schultz was not present, however he provided his
report which is on file. Ben went over his report with the committee. (See #10 below).
7) Discussion: Ben gave an overview of Bayfield Co Land & Water Conservation Department
including the staff, programs, services, budget, and LWCD grants. The department is primarily
funded roughly 50% by DATCP funds and 50% through Bayfield County funds for 3 full time
positions. Ramona and Andy’s positions are contracted through Premier and are primarily grant
funded. Andy handles AIS (Aquatic Invasive Species) and Ramona handles Terrestrial Invasives
through NCWMA (Northwoods Cooperative Weed Management Area). LWCD receives some
funding through the Department of Agriculture for nutrient management to work with farmers on
spreading plans and management of fields-inputs and outputs. The core cost share dollars LWCD
work with include working with townships on culvert projects, streambanks, or with landowners on
cattle watering facilities or basically anything sedimentation, erosion, or farm related may be eligible
cost-sharing projects for funding dollars from the state for the landowner. Most projects on ag land
get cost-shared at a 70/30 rate. Other projects are typically cost-shared at a 50/50 rate. Partnering
on projects is a big part of the cost-sharing rates. It was noted that there is a big bank project
coming up on Fish Creek that we will be working with USFWS on. Recognition was given to the
Ekholm farm project(s) as it was recently featured in the Daily Press in response to an article that
NRCS had did last summer regarding Larry Ekholm’s asphalt barnyard project. (Article reviewed, on
file.) NRCS had approached Ekholm about doing the project with money from Lake Superior
Initiative. Bayfield Co Land and Water Conservation Dept. worked closely with Ekholm on the
project. Ekholm was very appreciative for everyone involved in the project(s) and it was noted he
did a lot of the construction work himself. The project was successful and his cows no longer have
hoof rot issues.
8) Discussion / Possible Action: NW WI Land & Water Representative. Ben explained the duties of
the representative and the need for someone to replace Becky Anderson. Dave Zepczyk
volunteered. MOTION to elect Dave Zepczyk for NW WI Land & Water Representative- Marty/Tom-
carried.
9) Discussion: Review of Civil Rights Policy per the MOU with NRCS- Gary Haughn reviewed the
Operational Agreement between Bayfield Co and USDA-NRCS and distributed handouts for the
committee members for review. The agreement identifies the roles and responsibilities of the
parties.
10) Discussion: Wildlife Damage Program-Apple and Blueberry price reimbursement rates. Dave
Schultz was unable to attend the meeting, however, he provided the information which was
requested at the last LCC meeting and Ben reviewed the handout with the committee regarding the
breakdown of reimbursement costs for conventional vs. organic apples and blueberries along with
the value of the crops.
11) Discussion: Farmland Preservation Planning Update-Area maps regarding AG areas with forest
connections was reviewed. There hasn’t been a demand for Farmland Preservation in our area but
we were asked to identify potential areas to use forest land to connect between forest/ag land.
12) Discussion: Land and Water Resource Management Plan Revision Update: Ben discussed the
need for funding of around $10,000-$12,000 to help us get a new 10 yr plan. Ben explained that
once every ten years the plan needs to be reviewed and updated. Ben will provide proposals in the
near future and budget dollars will be requested for this in our 2019 budget.
13) Discussion: Field Edge Monitoring Update: It was explained that in 2015/2016 when the large
livestock committee was formed, the county board was interested in the idea to set up stations to
capture runoff and monitor what’s coming off the fields. It was explained that UW-Ext. really doesn’t
have the time for this project and neither does Land and Water Conservation Dept. right now to
pursue it. A funding source would need to be secured as well. It’s thought to have an initial setup of
$20K-$30K and around $10K per year to operate each station. UW Discovery Farms have done
monitoring for several years on farms and could potentially set the systems up in Bayfield County.
More information needs to be gathered for this program.
14) Discussion/Possible Action: Wisconsin Counties Association Resolutions letter- Once a year a
county may submit resolutions for consideration at the Annual Business Meeting held in conjunction
with the WCA Annual Conference. All resolutions must be submitted by June 25th, 2018 to be
considered at the 2018 Annual Business meeting on Sept 23-25, 2018 in La Crosse. Ben asked the
committee to let him know if they have any ideas. There were none at the time.
15) 2018 Grant Updates: Ben discussed grant updates and provided a handout for review. It was
noted that we will be reapplying for AIS grant funding this year.
16) 2018 Project Updates: Brief overview was given of the upcoming projects and it was noted that
construction will start after the road bands are lifted and weather conditions are good. Contractors
are already assigned to projects.
Our Mission: To assist the public in protecting, enhancing, and restoring the natural resources of Bayfield County
17) LWCD Staff Reports:
a. Andy Teal, AIS Coordinator- reviewed, on file.
b. Ramona Shackleford, NCWMA Coordinator-on file.
c. Melissa Kraft, Land Conservation Assistant -reviewed, on file.
d. Travis Tulowitzky, Conservation Technician-reviewed, on file.
e. Ben Dufford, County Conservationist-reviewed, on file.
18) Other business as authorized by law-none.
19) Next meeting date-*Rescheduled to Aug 24, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. in the EOC rm.
20) Adjourned at 10:43 a.m.
K:\LCC Meetings\Minutes\2018\05-13-18 Minutes.doc