HomeMy WebLinkAboutForestry & Parks Committee - Minutes - 8/12/2024
BAYFIELD COUNTY FORESTRY AND PARKS DEPARTMENT
COMMITTEE MEETING
August 12, 2024
County Board Room
Members Present: Fred Strand; Steve Sandstrom; Larry Fickbohm; Charly Ray; Jeff Olsen
Staff in Attendance: Jason Bodine, Administrator; Deanna Regan, Office Manager
Others in Attendance: Joseph LeBouton, WI DNR; Sue Rosa, County Board Member
1. Call to Order of Forestry and Parks Committee Meeting.
This meeting was called to order at 6:01 PM.
2. Public Comment: None
Public comment closed at 6:02 PM.
3. Approval of the June 10th Meeting Minutes.
MOTION: (Fickbohm, Sandstrom) Approve minutes and place on file. All: Yes. Carried.
4. DNR Sustainable Forestry Grant. This is an annual DNR grant available to all county forest programs.
First preference is projects that are storm related or any projects that are short term but high priority
where temp help/staff is required. All other projects are categorized as second preference. The two
projects Bodine recommends applying for are 1) the hydroseeder; ($15,000 request that would be our
portion in partnership with Highway) and 2) the rec/logging bridge over the Ounce River ($20,000
request). Both projects would be categorized as second preference. Short discussion of both potential
projects by the committee followed.
MOTION: (Ray, Sandstrom) Approve submitting an application to the grant. All: Yes. Carried.
5. 2025 Forestry and Parks Department Budget. Overall revenue is roughly 1.8% less than 2024
budget. The budget for timber sale revenue remains very conservative; expenses around 2.2% higher
due mostly to increases in wages/fringe. Net levy contribution is roughly 6.8% less than 2024. Capital
request items were also discussed in detail. Carbon revenue is in the budget for the first time and will
contribute 50% to the new budgeted Coordinator position.
MOTION: (Olsen, Fickbohm) Approve budget as proposed. All: Yes. Carried.
6. Recreational Use Request. CAMBA. CAMBA is requesting permission to host the Festival of Trails
mountain bike event on county forest land located near Mt. Ashwabay. The event would take place Aug
23-25. They have held a similar event previously, but it has been a while since their last one. Their
events are always well organized. No issues. Bodine recommends approval.
MOTION: (Olsen, Sandstrom) Approve recreational use request. All: Yes. Carried.
7. Monthly Reports
a) Forestry.
a. 2024 Budget. Record level of stumpage revenue (over $3.57 million) has been received
during the first half of this year, with over $820k received in June and $610k in July alone.
Everything received over the next 5 months will be surplus. Expenses are still on target.
b. Carbon Project. There is another large sale brewing, but nothing new to report yet. We
continue to work with ANEW on reporting period 2 and 3 summaries. ANEW is considering a
visit this fall to film some promotional material, targeting early October.
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August 12, 2024 Meeting Minutes
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c. Other Land Acquisition Projects.
i. Private Landowner Outreach. We identified privately owned parcels that would make
solid additions to the county forest and/or parks and rec programs. A one-page letter
with a rough map of the parcel of interest was mailed to identified landowners
explaining why we are reaching out and enquiring if they have any interest in
discussing a potential sale.
ii. Lost Creek. Aurora just signed the PSA and we expect to close before the end of the
month. We can then immediately seek reimbursement from the ARPA grant.
iii. Community Forest Grant – Iron River/Maki. Landmark will be presenting this 860 acre
project to the Town of Orienta in September. If approved, that would open the door for
Stewardship funding and closing would take place in late 2024 or early 2025.
Ownership would then be assigned to Bayfield County for entry into County Forest
Law.
iv. Siskiwit River. The Picard family has confirmed willingness to move forward with a
sale. We will be exploring various funding options along with other parcels for future
consideration.
v. Lindgren Road. A private owner has expressed a willingness to sell 120 acres off
Lindgren Road to the county. This is one of the targeted properties with excellent
connection to county forest land and some minor water features.
d. Encroachment Updates. The Wiitala and Koeplitsch encroachments have both been
addressed. Wiitala has paid in full and Koeplitsch should be rectified soon.
e. Forest Certification Audit. The county forest program had a full re-certification audit this
week (Vilas, Price, Rusk, and Oneida counties) and was blemish free. They will be coming
here for the audit in 2026.
f. Herbicide Overspray Issue. We recently discovered herbicide overspray damage caused by
a contractor which involved roughly 8 acres of county forest land in two different locations.
Unfortunately, a portion of the damage occurred on private land (about 6 acres) on the
northern portion of Flag Road in the Town of Port Wing. We are in the process of
determining damages and the contractor and their insurance agency have been notified.
Bodine is confident that the issue will be resolved amicably.
g. Barrens – Discover Wisconsin. Discover Wisconsin released the short segment on barrens
work in Bayfield County. Again, kudos to Mike Amman for continuing to be a strong
advocate for barrens maintenance and restoration!
h. Stewardship Program – WI Supreme Court Ruling. Stewardship applications are no longer
required to be reviewed by the Joint Finance Committee (JFC). Once funding has been
appropriated, the grantors (DNR) have fill authority to determine if the application meets
program requirements and to award available funds based on the merit of the project.
b) Campgrounds and Day Use Parks. Camping has picked up over the last month. Applications
have been submitted to complete the last retaining wall projects closer to the lake at Twin Bear.
The Jackman Lake project has also been completed and has been very well received with use
skyrocketing.
c) Trails and Recreation.
a. Rec Coordinator Position. HR will be presenting the new position analysis form to the
Personnel Committee. This position has been included in the 2025 budget. Bodine
recommends a Grad M wage classification primarily due to the heavier emphasis on
coordination, planning, and program admin duties, as well as some supervisory
responsibilities.
b. Motorized Trails. Lots of trail repairs and maintenance over the last few months, including:
new bridge installation on snowmobile trail 1 outside of Port Wing; completed the Wildcat Rd
snowmobile trail re-route near Drummond (which was grant funded); re-routed a portion of
the snowmobile trail on the Reha property outside Herbster; major rehab of the ATV trails on
the Brule River LLC property near Barnes; starting on major upgrades to the Wally Polk trail
(snow and ATV) that included re-connecting to Almstead Rd; and much, much more.
c. Non-Motorized Trails. Various repair projects were required at Siskiwit and Jolly following
the heavy storms in July. Highway assisted with most of those repairs. Discover WI was also
up a few weeks ago filming on location in the Bayfield Peninsula, which included a stop at
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August 12, 2024 Meeting Minutes
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the Siskiwit property. We are in the process of mowing the field in an attempt to build fuel
loads for a site prep burn (as part of the prairie restoration project). Working with Wild Ones
on the native plant demonstration garden.
d. Yurts. Rentals in July and August have peaked at the Bayfield locations. Cable yurt rentals
have also increased though still less than half of the occupancy rates of the Bayfield
locations.
e. Events. Nothing new to report.
Committee acknowledges that reports are received and placed on file.
8. Committee Members Discussion. None.
9. Joseph LeBouton, DNR Representative, Comments: None.
The next Forestry and Parks Committee meeting has been scheduled for Monday, September 9th, at 6:00
PM in the County Board Room.
Meeting adjourned at 7:07 PM.
Submitted by,
Deanna Regan