March Council Meeting Minutes

The following members were present for the March 19th meeting of the Winston County Natural Resources Council: Charlie Price, John Creed, Johnna Franks, Mike Henshaw, Laverne Matheson, Carl Godsey, James Burnett, Jim Hughes, and Wade Hill.

Glen Gaines, District Ranger for the Bankhead National Forest, is on special assignment for six months at the Forest Service regional office and will be working on forest restoration and collaborative efforts in the Southern Appalachians. Charlie Price will be acting ranger on the Bankhead for the next three months.

The council discussed the items related to the Forestry Field Day to be held at Bill and Jeanie Snoddy's Loblolly Farm in Double Springs on Friday, May 1st, 2009:

• Air Evac Helicopter Exhibit
• Thursday, April 30th Walk-Thru at 9:00 a.m.
• Wildland/Urban Interface Exhibit
• Promoting the Field Day with Garden Clubs and other groups
• A small planning committee will visit Loblolly Farm to select learning stations and plan other details for the Field Day
  

In addition to the Field Day, the council covered:

• Need for educational program on Carbon Credits
• Update on activities related to the Rush Darter in Winston County
• Update on the Assign-A-Highway program
• Ideas for future Council tours-Burnett Quail Farm and Winston Hardwoods Mill
• Cogongrass program in Franklin County on April 23rd at 1:00 p.m. at the Franklin County Forestry Commission Office.
• Surplus tree seedlings-Johnna Franks has some hardwood seedlings and Jim Hughes has some pine seedlings.
• Regional TREASURE Forest Meeting. Our Council has agreed to help the Cullman County Forestry Planning Committee host this program that will be held on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at the Rubin Williams TREASURE Forest in Jones Chapel.
• Winston County Smith Lake Advocacy Inc. will have a public meeting at 7:00 p.m. on April 3rd at the Traders and Farmers Bank in Addison. At this meeting, they will present the Council with a $1,000 check for the FAWN Program.
• Laverne is working to get the U. S. Coast Guard Flotilla organization to present a water safety program at the FAWN Program.
• James Burnett, Emergency Management Agency Director, mentioned the Be-Ready Camp for 6th Graders at Redstone Arsenal.
• Johnna Franks announced that she had successfully applied for a $240 postage grant to support the Forestry Field Day.
• The Arbor Week Tree sale netted the council $852.00. Johnna heads up the tree sale, and she is already planning next year's order of seedlings, nursery stock, and fruit plants.
• The balance in the treasury is $3,406.72
  

The next Council meeting is planned for Thursday, April 16th.

Mike Henshaw
Secretary