HomeMy WebLinkAboutForestry & Parks Committee - Minutes - 4/14/2025
BAYFIELD COUNTY FORESTRY AND PARKS DEPARTMENT
COMMITTEE MEETING
April 14, 2025
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; Kris Moxley, Wallace Moxley, Joe Maki, Jeanne Rieger,
Dan Gronquist
1. Call to Order of Forestry and Parks Committee Meeting.
This meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM.
2. Public Comment: Public Comment opened at 6:00 PM. Kris and Wallace Moxley spoke in opposition
to spring timber sale offering tract 9-25 regarding the proposed road to be put in adjacent to their
property. The concerns were not regarding the planned timber harvest itself, but the access road. Their
primary concerns included the length and location of the rustic lake access road, an increase in public
use, potential threat or negative impact on the natural resources, and over-fishing or negative impact to
the fish population on the 25 acre Richardson Lake. Three others also spoke in that regard, with one
wanting the county land sold after logging. Jim Mieritz, a co-owner of property on Richardson Lake,
sent in a letter which was received and placed on file, regarding his primary concern of over-fishing the
lake. Public comment closed at 6:16 PM.
3. Approval of the March 10th Meeting Minutes.
MOTION: (Fickbohm, Olsen) Approve minutes and place on file. All: Yes. Carried.
4. Spring Timber Sales. There are a total of 31 timber sales covering 2,479 acres in this offering,
including 5 re-offers and 1 non-county forest sale. The total minimum bid value is nearly $1.2 million.
Roughly 40% of the new timber sales have some sort of potential interface with existing recreation,
whether motorized (more common) or non-motorized. As we increase rec on county forest lands, this
interface will continue to increase. Once approved, the sales would be advertised on Tuesday with bids
due the morning of the May Committee meeting. Bodine recommended approval. Committee
discussion of offering ensued.
MOTION: (Ray, Olsen) Approve 2025 Spring Timber Sale Offering. All: Yes. Carried.
5. Town Road Aid Requests. The annual request for town road aid projects was due last Friday.
Proposed funding is similar to last year. Committee discussion regarding Bayview ensued.
MOTION: (Fickbohm, Sandstrom) Motion to approve requests as presented. All: Yes. Carried.
6. 2024 Accomplishment Report. 2024 was another very productive year. Bodine has a career goal to
add 10,000 acres to the county forest and should meet that by the end of the year!
MOTION: (Fickbohm, Ray) Motion to approve accomplishment report. All: Yes. Carried.
7. Monthly Reports
a) Forestry.
a. 2025 Budget. Stumpage returns for March were again above normal at just over $554k.
March is traditionally the strongest month of the year due to contractors moving into higher
dollar sand ground during spring break-up. Nearly $1.244 million has been received to date,
which is also above average for this time of year. Delivery of the F600 dump truck is
expected within the next few weeks. Expenses are on target.
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April 14, 2025 Meeting Minutes
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b. Carbon Project. Still working on another sale involving nearly 13,000 credits. Bodine is
anticipating official word on it this month, with possible revenue in May or June.
c. Land Acquisition Projects.
i. Stewardship Application. Submitted application. The last appraisal was completed
yesterday. The appraised value of every parcel was higher than our purchase price
for each. Additionally, the match property appraised at $348k, which was higher than
expected. This means that $174k will be used in the grant as an offset of our share.
Still no word on the Coastal grant for the Siskiwit River parcel. If that grant falls
through, there would be no grant funds associated with that purchase, and we may
need to reconsider our options/priorities. At the very least, we’ll likely need to delay
which would require an extension of our purchase agreement with that landowner.
ii. BCPL 40 Acres. The purchase of this parcel officially closed last week. It will now be
enrolled in CFL.
iii. Community Forest Grant-Iron River Community Forest. Working with Landmark on
deed language involving the Stewardship and Coastal grants. This purchase has
already been extended once and may need to be again. Bodine is still confident that
everything will come together to get this one closed out within the next few months.
iv. Whittlesey Creek. Similar issues. Still hoping to close at the end of May but will likely
need to be extended again.
d. Chapter 4000 (Barrens Management). Some progress was made on updates to this chapter.
The biggest changes will be to the maps since the general management direction will still
apply. Bodine hopes to have everything ready to share during the May meeting. The
Committee has the authority to approve changes to this chapter of the comp plan.
e. Herbicide Overspray Update. The final settlement payment was received late last month.
Corp Counsel is in the process of distributing payment. This matter is nearly closed.
f. Nature Conservancy MOU. TNC provides wildland fire management and non-fire
management assistance on county forest lands as part of their emerging fire and
stewardship partnership program in the Northwoods. Their crew can provide 3-6 weeks of
assistance on a variety of other projects, like invasive species control, wildlife habitat
improvement projects, trail maintenance, TSI work, oak wilt control, etc. We’re working on
an MOU with TNC to finalize the arrangement. For the first few years, this would come at no
cost to the county. If successful, this could be another option for assistance that we can
consider over the long term.
g. Delta Landfill Update. FEMA is in the final review stage and will soon be closing this project.
We’re expecting full payment based on our actual reported costs with the final word within
the next month. This one has taken a very long time, but the end is finally near.
h. WCFA Board Member Update. WCFA is engaged with the budget process and trying to get
funding for their initiatives. WCFA has sold over 160 license plates so far. Olsen attended a
conference in Marshfield in March. Lots of topics were discussed. Has info if anyone is
interested. Amman was in Madison talking to legislators regarding importance of programs.
b) Campgrounds and Day Use Parks. Highway just started work on the final section of retaining
wall at Twin Bear. Also planning other spring projects within Twin Bear, Delta and Big Rock prior
to the official opening. All these projects will involve assistance from the Highway Department.
c) Trails and Recreation.
a. Motorized Trail Updates. In addition to the standard annual maintenance grants, we’re in the
process of completing three one-time motorized project grant applications to the DNR: 1)
significant repairs to the old railroad trestle bridge outside of Grand View; 2) replacing our
temporary timber sale bridge over the Ounce River with a permanent stand-alone dual use
(snowmobile and logging) bridge; and 3) a new snowmobile trail to Pagac’s. If approved,
most of these projects would likely not commence until 2026. We are also in conversation
with the Forest Service regarding the transfer of their annual ATV/UTV maintenance funds
to the county, which is similar to how the snowmobile trail program is currently administered.
A transfer would simply involve both parties informing the DNR of the change, then the
maintenance funds would be transferred to the county. In the future, we would apply for the
entire network. We already have a solid relationship with all ATV clubs, so the transfer would
be seamless. Unless there is an objection from the Committee, Bodine is planning to accept
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the transfer of ATV/UTV miles from the feds. This will require a budget amendment at the
end of the year, with revenue and expense offsetting.
b. Non-Motorized Trails Updates. CTC volunteers completed another round of pruning of the
apple orchard on the Siskiwit property. We are also working with Landmark Conservancy on
a new informational sign that will be installed on the kiosk at the Lost Creek Falls trailhead.
Lindley and Sara will be attending the International Trails Summit in Madison next week.
This weeklong event is hosted by American Trails and the Professional Trail Builders
Association and will be a combination of hands-on training and presentations.
c. Rec Coordinator Position. Sara Hudson officially starts on Monday though she will be in
Madison participating in the Trails Summit for most of her first week. Excited to start this
next chapter of the rec program!
d. Yurts. Occupancy rates are normal for this time of year.
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, May 12th, at 6:00 PM in
the EOC.
Meeting adjourned at 7:27 PM.
Submitted by,
Deanna Regan