DRAFT MINUTESFriends of the State Line Serpentine Barrens
Board Meeting |
Friends of the State Line Serpentine Barrens Attending: Bob Gray, Chris Hoess, David Ross, Henry Whitesel in person; Molly Anderson, Mike Bertram, Kent Wagner by conference call convened at 3:30 at David Ross’s house. A) Key Dates 1. Our next board is tentatively scheduled for Conference Dial-in Number: (716) 748-0224 (potential toll call) 2. Hikes, Talks and Other Commitments
B) Action Items Going Forward Molly Anderson Will confirm stakeholder meeting dates with Jay Gregg and draft save-the-date email for Bob to sent out. Will share Bob’s Lower Chrome draft planning document with Liz Johnson. Will work with Liz and Bob to organize a meeting before February 7 to discuss next steps related to burning on barrens sites. Mike Bertram: Work with Henry on two-year maintenance work program with goal of having a preliminary report for the January board meeting. Will let Bob know when Henry is returning from his holiday trip. Point person for our history initiatives Bob Gray: Bob will request $25 from Marci as support from PPFF. Will review scanned map files on the CD provided by BoF and identify those that should be stored on Dropbox (estimated time, 1 hour). Will talk with Marci about finding systematic way for PPFF to share networking opportunities with chapters (so Anna isn’t responsible for bugging Jen). Will remind Jay that we are waiting for feedback on draft MOU for shared equipment cost, maintenance expense and permanent storage. Will remind Jay that MOU about shared equipment acquisition cost, maintenance expense and permanent storage is in his lap. Will renew request to Molly and Liz to draft a shared agreement (based on similar agreements we assume exist at other TNC sites) between TNC and BoF granting Friends access. Will schedule follow up phone sessions with Henry to update Site Tracker for Goat Hill and New Texas for winter Break Point person for monitoring our strategic plan. Anna Hull: If able, will send a save the date email to our research/academic partners for stakeholder meeting. For accessing PA Heritage gateway
Spring: Schedule late spring 2015 search for hairy chickweed at Pilot
Point person for science, education and membership/outreach initiatives.
David Ross: David will contact Anna to see if she can host at Lincoln University and is able to take on connecting with researchers for stakeholder meeting. Will obtain information about pipelines to share with Hannums. Will follow up with Brandywine Conservancy on Goat Hill – NCP trail. David will keep Dockstader Foundation grant application on the agenda Point person for administrative initiatives. Kent Wagner:
Point person for recreational uses and trail planning initiatives. Henry Whitesel: Work with Mike Bertram on two-year maintenance work program with goal of having a preliminary report for the January board meeting. Assemble workday reports and statistics for annual report (due to PPFF – 1/31/2015) Will work with Bob to update Site Tracker for Goat Hill and New Texas. Point person for our restoration activities
C) Agenda Items Considered 1. Approved Minutes from Board Meeting of 11/09/2014. 2. Approve revised agenda. 3. Planning for Bi-annual Stakeholders Meeting a. January 31 won’t work, Molly will propose February 7 (14 snow date) to Jay Gregg. 9-2, with lunch provided by TNC b. Reviewed the invite list – agreed Molly would draft a save the date email to go out from Bob. David will contact Anna to send a similar invitation (based on Molly’s draft) to our research/academic partners. c. Agenda – continued brainstorming with goal of pinning this down at January board meeting 1) Update on what we have done over the last few years 2) The 2-year maintenance plan that Henry and Mike are doing 3) Burning – presented as one of the credible approaches to managing grasslands 4) Strategic Planning Effort
5) Research activities The Board asked Mike and Henry to accelerate their effort to develop a set of priorities for a two-year maintenance work program. We are looking for a preliminary report during the January Board meeting. We had a general conversation about short- and long-term options for meeting our maintenance goals/obligations. Our immediate strategy: We’ll attempt to recruit veteran workday participants to share the responsibilities for individual maintenance workdays. Challenge: participation by a number of our veterans is sharply limited during the academic year. Kent allowed as we likely could count on him for one such day. We’ll approach Mike Walz and Mick Economos as other possibilities. Longer-term brainstorming ideas Tap into a larger group of people if we can broaden our appeal to the local community Our current membership is focused on participation in workdays. Expand membership to folks interested in the science, history, and beauty of the barrens. Move toward a dues/contribution expectation and use funds raised in this way to supplement volunteer maintenance activities. Engage partners with access to a richer mix of mechanical equipment (e.g., Herrs, Wilson King) to provide maintenance services. Expand grasslands as buffers to truly-Serpentine sites. Use a (longer-run) less-labor intensive management strategy for the grasslands: Mechanical clearing once a year; herbicide woodies during times of maximum effectiveness (late summer through early winter). 5. Set January board meeting date, time and location. Sunday, January 18, 3:30-5:30.
6. Goat Hill Shed Henry obtained a price of $380 for the gravel mix needed to make the floor of the shed usable. If we want assistance in spreading it around, cost might rise to $500. Will need to find a time of year when ground is frozen on well dried to avoid damaging field. Will consider further at January or subsequent board meeting. Bob Will renew request to Molly and Liz to draft a shared agreement (based on similar agreements we assume exist at other TNC sites) between TNC and BoF granting Friends access. 7. Restoration Strategies We had a lively conversation about meeting our goals for restoring and protecting the barrens in light of
8. We briefly reviewed and updated existing action items (see B above) Bob reported that engaging Temple senior seminar seems infeasible because of distance. Kent reported that there will be a discussion of pipeline issues related to Horseshoe Trail on January 13. Mike expressed his on-going willingness to lead hikes as way opens.
9. Adjourned at 5:33 with thanks to David for hosting.
|