Minutes of the most recent meeting of the Board of
Directors. This meeting is open to the public. |
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Date: Thursday, July 15,
2010 Conference Room at North Fork CDC 1. Pledge of Allegiance, roll call and self-introductions Chair Tom Wheeler called
the meeting to order at 12:20. Present
were Board members Ernie Beck, Neil McDougald, and Allan Rosasco.
Also present were Larry Ballew, Jennifer Stanley, Jeannie Habben,
Jenny Johnson, Chuck Sikora, Sharon Wedro and Elissa Brown. 2. Committee Reports: a. Watersheds: i. Central Sierra Watershed Committee The next CSWC meeting will
be on Wednesday, July 28 at 9:00 at the Sierra Ambulance Building.
Jonathan Kusak from the Upper Merced Watershed group will be presenting
the watershed assessment report at this month’s meeting.
Elissa B. reported on the Forest Collaborative grant with Sierra
Nevada Conservancy. ii. Chowchilla/Fresno Watershed: Jeannie H has finished the annual report which covers 2 years. There is 1 year left on the Watershed Coordination grant, ending June 30, 2011. She is working with NRCS and Curtis T. for funding for student intern help with orundo and invasive weeds. b. Legislation: High-speed rail proposal
was briefly discussed. Tom
had a meeting with the Forest Service on closing trails.
They say they will open soon.
He also asked the Board of Supervisors to drop their appeal, but
was denied. He is asking that
over 270 miles be left open, and that the Forest Service coordinate with
the County before closing trails. The
proposed Chukchansi service station and its impacts were discussed. c. Grants: i. Prop 84 Healthy Forests Initiative Elissa B. reported that the
next round of funding for planning grants has a September 13 deadline.
Road 274 fuel reduction is a possible target for this funding, to
include brushing and fuel break from Highway 41 to North Fork.
Elissa will talk to Mandy Vance.
A grant is available through USDA and CalFire for the 2011 Western
Wildland Urban Interface Grant. It
is due on July 27 to CalFire, and August 3 to the region’s coordinator.
Sierra Nevada Conservancy is using Yosemite/Sequoia RC&D as
their fiscal sponsor for their rural enterprise grant for technical
assistance on biomass projects. The
North Fork mill site is one of two proposed sites being considered.
RFP’s will be out soon, with several categories of funding
available. Discussed staffing
and a grant writer position potential.
PG&E land is coming available, and the CRCD will register to
state their interest in managing land.
The County applied for a Nature Education Grant Program to
rehabilitate a building in Ahwahnee Park to house the Native Oak Education
Center to share information from the California Native Oak Federation and
signage along trails in the park. The
CRCD is one of the partners, and can hold workshops in the building.
A subcommittee was formed to work on grant strategies – Chuck,
Sharon, Alan, Neil, Jeannie, and Elissa.
Chuck will meet with Elissa this Friday at 10. ii. Upper Fresno River Watershed Assessment Project: This
project is completed and was reported on last month. The UC Fresno report
was shared. A link will be
added to the CRCD and Upper River Watershed websites. d. Yosemite/Sequoia RC&D: Tom
reported that this group is reorganizing in order to move forward, and he
sees the opportunity for the CRCD to go forward too.
He met with office staff and Executive Committee members yesterday,
and has scheduled weekly meetings, with full Council meetings every 2
months rather than quarterly. Brittany
Dyer will be hired ½ time to work with the Council, and ¼ time with
Jennifer to work on the Tribal Liaison grant. The following item was moved up in the agenda: 8.e. NRCS Cooperative Agreement and Other Madera County Conservation Easements: Jenny J. has copies of the
signed agreements. NRCS is
still giving out money, and the 2008 years is ready to close out, so start
thinking of projects for future funding.
Air Quality money may start being available.
She is working with Jeannie and Curtis on projects including orundo
eradication. She is planning
next year’s Youth Workshop, and the California Envirothon will be at
Fresno State the first week in August. 3. Approval of Agenda: Two items were added to
New Business: NEON and
Facility Report. A motion was
made by Allan, seconded by Eric to approve the agenda
as amended. 4.
Approval of Minutes: The
minutes were approved. 5.
Treasurer’s Report: No
report. 6.
Public Comment: No
public comment. 7.
Correspondence: No
correspondence. It was
decided to reimburse Jeannie H. for the California State Conference she
will be attending in Ventura Beach. 8. New Business: a.
Fishery Plan for Redinger Lake/San Joaquin River:
No report b. Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) Program: No report. c. Coordination with Federal and State Agencies:
i. Sustainable Forests
and Communities Collaborative: The
next meeting will be held on August 5. d.
RAC Funding: No funding information is yet available. f.
Sierra Meadows and Madera Rock Quarry Easements:
Tom spoke with the owners last week.
They have 40 acres, and would like to have the CRCD manage the
easements. g.
NEON: The National
Environmental Study on climate change covers the lower elevations of the
San Joaquin range from Blue Canyon to the Courtwright area.
They chose the San Joaquin site, brought power into the area,
assigned 2 scientists, 4 techs and 2 operational positions for next year,
and put in a tower with sensors for wind, water, air, etc. h.
Facility Improvement: $2
million was requested to retrofit structures a few years ago.
$800,000 less was awarded, which was determined to be insufficient,
so the money will be sent to another area. g.
Monument for Walter “Dyke” Fink:
No new information. 9. Old Business: a.
Kinsman Flat: They had
Natural Resources Law Enforcement do a program on dealing with pot
growers. CalFire will be
doing fuel reduction this fall, with 20 acres possibly purchased from the
subdivision after the burn season. b.
NRCS Update: This was
covered in 8.e. c.
Minarets High School Conservation Easement including comments from
local Tribes: No further
information is available. d.
Living Among the Oaks: Workshops
are being planned, with programs on Oaks and on Pines. e.
Noxious Weed Management: No
report. f. RWMG for IRWMP in the Madera Region: A meeting was held Monday,
and Yosemite Springs Parkway is the lead agency.
They will provide co-chairs and a note-taker. Jeannie H. will turn over all files to them.
The State has separated the 3 counties so that they can file their
own grant reports this year. In November, each group will need to file again to be
separate. We would like to
encourage the counties to work together.
In the meantime, we can move ahead to file for grants. Madera County will apply for implementation grants. g. Monument for Walter “Dyke” Fink: A fundraiser will be planned. Wood has been hand hewed and a large plaque prepared. 10.
Next Meeting: August
26, 2010 in the CDC Conference Room 11.
Executive Session 12. Adjourn – 2:30 |
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Minutes of Thursday, June 24, 2010 1. Pledge of Allegiance, roll call and self-introductions Chair Tom Wheeler called
the meeting to order at 12:10. Present
were Board members Nancy Beavers, Ernie Beck, Neil McDougald, and Alan
Rosasco. Also present were
Larry Ballew, Jennifer Stanley, Jeannie Habben, Jenny Johnson, Chuck
Sikora, Jere Miller, and Sarah Rah. 2. Committee Reports: a. Watersheds: i. Central Sierra Watershed Committee The next CSWC meeting will
be on Wednesday, June 30 at 9:00 at the Sierra Ambulance Building. The
Upper Merced is not going to be presenting at this month’s meeting
because they are not yet finished with their report. They have requested
to present in either July or August.
Jenny J stated that she will do a presentation about the national
Envirothon event that will be in August at Fresno State and she will also
be soliciting to get volunteers. ii. Chowchilla/Fresno Watershed This month ends the second year of this grant round. At the end of this month Jeannie H will be preparing the annual report and the quarterly invoice. So far, the state has not extended grant funding past this month. There has been a verbal promise of an approval of funds through December 2010 but nothing in writing yet. Jeannie H, with the assistance of Janet Kroeger the county Auditor, wrote a letter to the Madera County Controller to present to the Madera County Board of Supervisors to see if they could raise the amount of the threshold of requiring an audit and/or the frequency of which it is required. Jeannie H is working on this for all of the RCDs in Madera County. Jeannie H brought a letter for a donor to the fundraiser for Tom to sign. She also created new brochures and brought the draft to the board to Jeannie H brought a letter for a donor to the fundraiser for Tom to sign. She also created new brochures and brought the draft to the board to review and make comments. Another draft will be brought to the next meeting. b. Legislation ·
Editorial in the Fresno Bee that there is an effort by the California Legislative Analyst's Office to curtail some
aspects of the Brown Act to save money. The people must loudly and clearly
advocate for continued funding of the Brown Act so that government
business operates openly and plays by the rules. · There is proposed legislation in California to register long guns/rifles. ·
Home Rule in Madera has surfaced
again. There are three main resolutions that need to be brought into one
document. There is a need to retrieve historical records to make a good
case. c. Grants i. Prop 84 Healthy Forests Initiative Nothing to report. ii. Upper Fresno River Watershed Assessment Project This
project is completed and was reported on last month. For any further
information go to: www.fresnoriver.org.
The final report presentation will be made in July or August at the CSWC
meeting. CRCD board requested the link to print/read the report on line
this was sent out to them by Jeannie H. d. Yosemite/Sequoia RC&D Their
next meeting will be their annual meeting held on September 9. They just
held their meeting on June 10 and they shared information from a
non-profit management workshop. Six
members attended a learned about laws, roles & responsibilities, fund
raising dos and don’ts, etc. The Chipping project is on hold until they
receive a response on the grant application they have submitted. They will
hopefully receive this grant which will be additional funds in June.
Taylor (VISTA) left for Alaska on June 10 and the RC & D received the
approval to keep the other two VISTAs if they cost share. The Executive Committee met
to clarify the duties of the Coordinator in the office. They now have a better understanding of what is to be
expected. Jennifer S reported that
NFTCD in partnership with CRCD and NRCS demonstrated clearing land for
fire hazard and fuels reduction in North Fork. Dorothy Mason a Tribal
Elder and citizen of NF Rancheria Mono Indians of CA Tribe land was
covered with fallen trees and brush that was hazardous to the landowner
and surrounding land owners. CHIP program not funded
again and since this is an important program, they will continue to look
for other sources of funding. 3. Approval of Agenda · Add as a monthly item “Monument for Walter “Dyke” Fink” ·
Change: 10. New Business - f. to
say- Sierra Meadows and Madera Rock Quarry Easements (add easements to
title) · Add to New Business: 274/200 fuel break · For future agendas: delete Old Business b. Other Madera County Conservation Easements and combine it with #10 f. Agenda
is approved with the changes – First by Ernie B and second by Alan R.
– so moved. 4. Approval of Minutes The minutes were approved
as presented – First by Ernie B and second by
Alan R. – so moved. 5. Treasurer’s Report Treasurer report was
presented by Nancy B. After
discussion it was suggested to remove the line at the end of the report
– “Combined Assets as of...” Tom W, Jeannie H, and Nancy
B have all been working with Janet Kroeger and her staff to work with the
issue of annual audits for CRCD. Tom
W would like to thank Janet Kroeger for all of her assistance with
correcting this issue and presenting the letter in regards to audits to
the County Board of Supervisors. Jeannie
H is also working with Janet K to assist the other three RCDs in Madera
County. The Treasurer’s Report
was approved as presented – First made by Alan R and second by Ernie B
– so moved. 6. Public Comment Sarah R stated that she
heard that RCDs had the ability to ask for taxes to fund projects in their
area so why have they not asked for taxes to cover fuel brakes and
brushing for the area? It was explained that at the time of the formation
of CRCD they all agreed that they would never tax the people in their
districts and that they would find funding in other ways. Sarah R then
stated that the RCD should start something like a brush clearing club
because it is an important issue and many are unable to clear their own
properties. 7. Correspondence Paperwork for the annual
meeting of the CARCD on November 17-20 @ Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ventura
Beach, CA. They will have the
2010 CARCD Speak-Off Contest there and the subject for this year is “How
RCD’s Can Assist Schools with Natural Resource Education” Tom W shared a notice in
regards to the new rate for volunteers. The Independent Sector announced
that the estimated value of a volunteer hour reached $20.85 in 2009, up 60
cents from 2008. The estimate is based on the average hourly wage (plus 12
percent to allow for fringe benefits) of all non-management,
non-agricultural workers as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statics. 8. New Business: a. Fishery Plan for Redinger Lake/San Joaquin River No report b. Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) Program There were two projects/programs proposed for this funding: Willow Creek project –
Dave Martin and the Forest service and a project down on the Kings River.
The Willow Creek project was not selected for this year’s funding
and Kings River was selected for the first round.
Dave M. will reapply for the Willow Creek project the next round. c. Coordination with Federal and State Agencies i. Sustainable Forests and Communities Collaborative They held their meeting
last week, June 16. They
noticed that landowners were absent from the meeting and need to be
present. They are going back to their original regular meeting date, the
first Thursday of every other month. They will also be trying out
alternating meeting locations between Mariposa and Oakhurst. d. RAC Funding The RAC has begun meeting
again and the applications for funding will be out soon. There is anywhere between $140k and $160k in funds.
This is a possible source for the CHIP program, the clearing
project on 274, and the Noxious Weed Field Guides. e. NRCS Cooperative Agreement Jenny J has reconciled the last two fiscal years for CRCD
funding through the NRCS. There
are still funds available for work in the 2008 and the 2009 agreements.
Hours are needed for in-kind match for 2008 and 2009. Part of the work
that was funded was to survey and map Eastern Madera County. It was
requested that once all of the work is completed that a letter goes out to
the landowners in the area explaining what was done. Neil M moved to accept the
draft agreement with correction and changes, Allan second. All voted-
motion passed. Nancy B is now
the Liaison for the agreement between NRCS and CRCD.
Jenny J will work with Nancy B to get all of the paperwork
completed to send to Davis for payment. f.
Sierra Meadows and Madera Rock Quarry Easements The Quarries have been passed at the County level. Tom W is working with the landowners on behalf of CRCD to manage the conservation easements for these projects. The conservation easement for Madera Rock has been ok’d for CRCD to manage. Tom W will look into the Sierra Meadows Conservation easement. g. Monument Addition in North Fork Tom W would like to have a monument raised in the name of Walter “Dyk” Fink. He requested that the CRCD board will do a fund raiser to get the monument made and erected. They will work on designing an appropriate monument and have it placed in North Fork. This will begin by looking at rock, bunks, etc and other items appropriate for a logger. h. 274/200 Fuel Break It was suggested that
there needs to be a 274/200 fuel break. The CRCD can find out the cost to
complete this area by Nancy B looking up the old paperwork for the last
clearing of this area. The CRCD could request RAC funds for clearing these
areas. Also the old paperwork should have the list and information of the
landowners along that area. This would encompass 222/274 intersection
North end to 222/225 at the end. 9. Old Business a. Kinsman Flat Still trying to find a
source to complete the walkway. b. NRCS Update As of today, the Madera
Office has received $1,793,000.00 for the combination of EQIP, CSP, and
WHIP funding. This is to fund
63 contracts. This is not the final number because there are continued
additions to this list daily. Jenny
J suggested bringing in Ray Ledgerwood again to do a planning meeting with
the RCDs in the area. She
will keep the RCD posted on the scheduling of this workshop.
Jenny J shared that the NRCS/ CARCD/ Cal Fire/ Forest Service
signed an MOU for Fuel Reduction and fire. c. Minarets High School Conservation Easement including comments from local Tribes. Neil will write a letter to
get this moving forward. d. Other Madera County Conservation Easements In
the future this will be combined with #10 G. e. Living Among the Oaks No report f. Noxious Weed Management The last meeting for the
Noxious/Invasive Weed group was on June 16.
They did a tour of Southern California Edison Forestry Department.
They are also working on a new program that is a trial run to map
the Star Thistle in the foothill. They held a workshop the day before that
was held in Auberry in regards to Yellow Star Thistle Control. Neil M will send
information in regards to areas that have a solid stand of star thistle,
Klamath weed, and Medusa head. Tom W will go to the County Ag Department
to see what can be done to work on eradications of these areas.
EQIP will have money for noxious weeds eradication on Ag lands. g. RWMG for IRWMP in the Madera Region The
next meeting for the RWMG is on July 12 at 1:30 to be held at Yosemite
Lakes Park Clubhouse. On June
16 there was a meeting with the three proposed regions in the Central
California Area with representatives from the Department of Water
Resources (DWR), both state and local. After all of the presentations and
discussions were completed; the individuals from the Department of Water
Resources deliberated and came to the decision that for the first phase of
the grant process the three counties that make up the Central California
Region will work as three individual regions – Madera, Merced, and
Mariposa. This will allow each of these areas to move forward in their own
way and apply for the grants in the upcoming round; soon to begin.
Each of these groups are to continue to work in partnership over any
shared areas/watersheds and continue to collaborate efforts where there is
any overlap in area or projects. Each of these areas will then be
required to go through the Regional Acceptance Process (RAP) at the end of
this year to re-designate their region and re-justify their boundaries
based on the work completed throughout the remainder of this year. 10.
Next Meeting: July 15,
2010 in the CDC Conference Room (Note the change in meeting date) 11.
Executive Session (if needed) 12. Adjourn – 2:45
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