Thursday, August 18, 2011

Minutes - August Council Meeting


The Winston County Natural Resources Council met on Thursday, August 18, 2011, at the U. S. Forest Service Office in Double Springs. Present were: Ray Rice, Tony Avery, Carl Godsey, Mike Henshaw, Jim Hughes, John Creed, Johnna Franks, Chris Wright, Allen Varner, Jeremy McDonald, James Burnett, Tom Counts, and Elrand Denson.

Allen Varner and Dr. Ray Rice gave us some updates from the Alabama Natural Resources Council about the three regional field days that are being held across the state. A number of details are still being worked out at the state level, but all of the regional programs promise to be very educational.

The Council discussed a details regarding the Regional Field Day that will be held at Bill and Jeanie Snoddy's Loblolly Farm on Friday, October 7, 2011. Highlights from the discussion include:
  • An urgent task is the development of a flyer for the North Region Field Day. Mike Henshaw is responsible for this flyer. It will be posted online as soon as possible for review.
  • Another urgent task is reserving a large tent for the event, if possible. Tony Avery will check on getting a tent reserved as soon as possible.
  • An excellent slate of speakers is scheduled, and these will be detailed soon in the upcoming flyer.
  • Future planning meetings were scheduled: Friday, August 19th at 1:30 p.m. - Meet with Bill Snoddy about locations for parking, learning stations, meal, and awards program. September 1st, September 15th, and September 29th, will be the dates of additional planning meetings. Thursday, October 6th will be a set up day in preparation for the field day on Friday.
  • No "rain date" was selected due to the difficulty in rescheduling this event.
  • Commercial Vendors that have exhibits will be required to provide a $75-$100 value door prize. Allison Cochran was nominated as the Commercial Vendor coordinator.
Other items included:
  • Rock Creek Watershed Management Plan Best Management Practices Sign-Up will start on September 5th and end on September 16th. Further details will be posted in the blog and published in area newspapers.
  • FAWN Program discussion focused on getting dates set with the school systems and providing funding for FAWN t-shirts.
  • Johnna gave an overview of the Professional Logging Manager program held on August 12. There were 18 individuals that obtained Continuing Forester Education Credits, 41 individuals received Professional Logging Manager Points, and there were 24 speakers/volunteers. There was a total of 83 participants. Registration fees covered all costs for the program, with a small surplus for the treasury. The council voted to give $100 to the American Legion for the use of the Legion Hall.
  • Johnna said the balance in the treasury is $14,049.62
  • Elrand Denson gave the Council some details about the Shortleaf Symposium to be held in Huntsville on September 20-22. A field trip will be held in the Bankhead with lunch at Brushy Lake on the 21st. More information is available here.
  • Elrand announced the dates for the rescheduled Hardwood Restoration Workshop. It will be held on Saturday, September 24, 2011 at the Black Warrior Work Center at 9:00 a.m. Details are available at this link.
Mike Henshaw, Secretary
WCNRC

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