HomeMy WebLinkAboutForestry & Parks Committee - Minutes - 6/10/2024
BAYFIELD COUNTY FORESTRY AND PARKS DEPARTMENT
COMMITTEE MEETING
June 10, 2024
County Board Room
Members Present: Fred Strand; Steve Sandstrom; Larry Fickbohm; Jeff Olsen
Members Absent: Charly Ray
Staff in Attendance: Jason Bodine, Administrator; Steve Probst, Assistant Administrator; Deanna Regan,
Office Manager
Others in Attendance: Joseph LeBouton, WI DNR; Tom Galazen
1. Call to Order of Forestry and Parks Committee Meeting.
This meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM.
2. Public Comment: Tom Galazen, Town of Bayfield resident, wants the county to stop using herbicide
on the right of way where Xcel Energy has an easement.
Public comment closed at 6:06 PM.
3. Approval of the May 13th Meeting Minutes.
MOTION: (Fickbohm, Sandstrom) Approve minutes and place on file. All: Yes. Carried.
4. Presentation: Overview of the Bayfield Area Trails Committee. Kate Kitchell, Bayfield Area Trails
Committee Chair. Postponed for a future meeting.
5. E-Bike Policy. CAMBA is requesting that the Bayfield County Forest Comprehensive Plan be amended
to allow the use of Class 1 e-bikes on mountain bike trails on county forest land. Class 2 and 3 would
still be restricted. The policy can be revisited if excessive trail damage were to occur. Bodine
recommends approval. Fickbohm remarked that this issue cam up a few years ago and he wasn’t in
favor. He now owns one and has reversed his views. Olsen remarked that he’s seen a rise in popularity
of e-bikes, and they allow more people to get out, such as families and those with hardships. Fully
supports it.
MOTION: (Sandstrom, Olsen) Amend the Bayfield County Forest Comprehensive Plan to
allow Class 1 e-bikes. All: Yes. Carried.
6. Resolution: Purchase of Land in the Town of Bell. Aurora Sustainable Lands currently owns 160
acres in the Town of Bell (known as the Lost Creek purchase). The purchase price would be $337,200.
The ARPA grant will reimburse up to the appraised value of $256,000 and will also cover the cost of the
appraisal ($3,400) but not closing costs. The total cost of the project is expected to be $332,300. The
remaining funds ($72,900) will come from the non-lapsing land acquisition account. Approximately
$7,500 of the $1.3 million ARPA grant will then be returned to the DNR. The title work is in motion and
the DNR has approved eligibility. If approved, will be sent to the County Board for action. Bodine
recommends approval. Discussion regarding acquisition followed.
MOTION: (Fickbohm, Sandstrom) Approve and forward to Board for action. All: Yes. Carried.
7. Land Use Request. Northwoods Paving. Northwoods Paving is requesting the use of the Sand River
Pit for the temporary staging of a hot mix asphalt plant for road work that will be completed in Red Cliff.
The lease terms would be $10,000. There was an option included for purchasing sand from the pit, but
that bidding deadline had already passed. There is an existing lease agreement with Xcel Energy for
their temporary storage of poles in the pit which expires at the end of this year. Bodine recommends
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June 10, 2024 Meeting Minutes
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approval for staging the hot mix plant contingent upon confirmation from Xcel that the space being
requested by Northwoods is not needed for their poles and the two uses don’t conflict. Short discussion
regarding sand pit ensued.
MOTION: (Sandstrom, Olsen) Approve temporary lease of a portion of Sand River Pit to
Northwoods Paving. All: Yes. Carried.
8. Monthly Reports
a) Forestry (all updates). A total of nearly $440k was received in May, which is above average for
the month. Over $120k has already been received in June. To date, stumpage returns are just
over $2.182, which is still above normal. Harvesting activities are still average to above average
for this time of year. Timber sale extensions were addressed this month, with most receiving
free one-year extension because of frozen ground issues and/or the Highway 13 detour.
a. 2024 Budget. See above. Expenses are on target.
b. 2025 Budget. Work has started on the 2025 budget, primarily identifying potential capital
projects. In conversations with Highway about a shared position or two. The PD for the Rec
Coordinator position will be ready for the next Committee meeting. Bodine recommends that
position be filled in early 2025.
c. Carbon Project. We recently sold a higher volume of credits, involving around 60,000
credits, for roughly $900k. The sales contract was finalized a few weeks ago, though Bodine
still hasn’t seen any paperwork associated with the sale. The general expectation is for the
county to receive a return from this sale around the end of this year of roughly $400k.
d. Other Land Acquisition Projects. We are still in conversations with the Picard family
regarding the roughly 125 acres in the Town of Bell, which includes frontage on the Siskiwit
River. Also following up on a potential 120 acre purchase in the Town of Hughes.
i. Community Forest Grant - Iron River Community Forest. $592,000 was awarded to
the county for the Iron River/Maki Community Forest land acquisition project.
Landmark was recently awarded $190,000 from the Enbridge EcoFootprint grant.
Landmark also applied for the remaining balance (around $400k) from the
Stewardship grant.
e. Encroachment Updates. The Wiitala and Koeplitsch encroachments are both in motion.
Hopefully each will be resolved to our satisfaction within the next month.
f. Forestry Shop Lease - DNR. The DNR has been leasing a stall in the Forestry garage for
the last 10 years to store a heavy unit, trailer, and fire dozer, as well as some tools and
associated gear. That lease is set to expire at the end of this month. They are finalizing
plans for their new shop here in Washburn, but in the meantime would like to renew their
current lease, to be renewed annually under similar terms, until construction of their new
facility has been completed.
g. Barnes Barrens – Discover Wisconsin. Mike Amman spent a day with a film crew from
Discover Wisconsin, who was putting together a piece on barrens management. They spent
their day on the ass Lake Barrens, Barnes Barrens, and Moquah Barrens. The segment is
expected to air in late June or early July. Mike continues to be a driving force for
communicating the importance of the barrens.
b) Campgrounds and Day Use Parks. The campgrounds have been open for nearly a month, with
average use so far. No issues reported to date. Much needed brushing was recently completed
at Atkins Lake with help from the Highway Department. There has been a request to restore the
old beach area there as well. Anticipating completing the Jackman Lake Access/Day Use Park
project this month, which was partially funded with County Conservation Aids.
c) Trails and Recreation.
a. Rec Coordinator PD. In the process of compiling PDs for similar positions across various
other agencies and will begin fleshing out his PD within the next week. It is expected to be
ready for review for the next meeting. Still recommending it to be filled in early 2025.
b. Motorized Trails. With the snowmobile trails not opening at all this last season, we are facing
a rare occurrence: little to no money has been spent on grooming, leaving a huge grant
balance. This opens the door to complete other needed maintenance and/or improvement
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June 10, 2024 Meeting Minutes
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projects. We are in the process of working with the Alliance and various clubs to complete
other needed maintenance projects throughout the trail network, with many already
completed, some with help from Highway. We are also dealing with a similar situation on the
ATV side. In general, these are good problems to have, as there are always areas that need
some attention, including a re-route of the Wally Polk trail. The only issue is funds need to
be encumbered by the end of this grant cycle (end of June). After this heavy rain event,
many trails are inaccessible, but I’m confident we’ll get there.
c. Non-Motorized Trails. The DNR recently completed the prairie burn on the Siskiwit property.
We are hoping for another burn this fall, followed by seeding. A spot for the native plant
demonstration garden was also recently tarped. Various non-motorized trail projects will
begin soon, including general maintenance work at Lost Creek and Jolly.
d. Yurts. Rentals continue to stay strong at the Bayfield locations, especially Terra Cotta.
Reservations are a little lower in June, primarily due to scheduled maintenance. Cable
continues to trend lower than the Bayfield locations in reservations. Will discuss with
Tourism regarding advertising for that location.
e. Events. Nothing new to report.
Committee acknowledges that reports are received and placed on file.
9. Committee Members Discussion. Short discussion regarding caterpillars in forest.
10. Joseph LeBouton, DNR Representative, Comments: None.
The next Forestry and Parks Committee meeting has been scheduled for Monday, August 12th, at 6:00
PM in the County Board Room.
Meeting adjourned at 6:51 PM.
Submitted by,
Deanna Regan