Minutes of September Meeting

Photo by Allison

The September meeting of the Winston County Natural Resources Council was held on Thursday, September 17, 2015, at the U. S. Forest Service Office.  Present were Allison Cochran, Andy Baril, Matthew Brock, Mike Henshaw, and John Creed.  The following items were discussed:

• FAWN program is set for October 8 - 9.  There will be eight learning stations.  The schools will send six classes of students both days, with one home school group on Friday.  The walk-thru will be on Wednesday, October 7.
• Andy noted that the North Region Forestry Field Day will have PLM points, and there will be another event in Pickens County on October 30, that will also have PLM points for loggers.
• Andy attended the Stewardship Management Conference in Jasper.  He said that about 115 people attended, and a large percentage were foresters.
• Will Liner joined the Alabama Forestry Commission recently, and will be working as the Urban and Community Forestry Partnership Coordinator.  He will work with such programs as the Arbor Day Foundation, and Tree City USA.  His number is 334-240-9306.
• Matt gave an update on the state general fund budget; cuts were not as severe as feared.  He said that only a few hogs had been killed in the special hog hunt that ends Saturday.  His staff is working on planting wildlife food plots on the WMAs this month.  
• Allison said the Bankhead is also planting wildlife food plots, installing soil and water protection projects, and conducting site prep burns.  A recreation realignment group is studying recreation assets on the district and will make recommendations.  Nationally, there are efforts to shift costs from the most damaging wildfires to FEMA, and away from the U. S. Forest Service.  This could benefit eastern and southern national forests, since so much of the wildfire costs are in western states.  
• A Hunter Education class will be held on October 19-20, at the U. S. Forest Service Office.  Contact Allison at 489-5111 for more information.  

Mike Henshaw, Secretary

WCNRC

North Region Forestry Field Day/Landowner Tour

Printable flyer available at this link.

September Council Meeting

The Winston County Natural Resources Council will meet at 9:00 a.m., on September 17^th,  at the U. S. Forest Service office in Double Springs.  We will have some draft agendas for the upcoming FAWN programs that will be held on October 8^th and 9^th.