October Council Meeting

WCNRC Meeting at Emergency Operations Center

The Winston County Natural Resources Council met on October 17, 2013, at the Emergency Operations Center at the Double Springs Municipal Building.  The following persons were present: Chris Wright, Andy Baril, James Burnett, LaVerne Matheson, Mike Henshaw, Johnna Franks, and Laura Ulz.  The balance in the treasury is $10,573.

The following topics were discussed:

• Chris reported on the Soterra sale of nearly 20,000 acres of forest land in Winston County to an unidentified buyer.  He said the property was scattered around the county, and there was a large portion of it in the Black Pond area.
• Report on feral hog meeting.  Approximately 45 people were in attendance.
• A feral hog trap is available for loan to landowners with feral hog problems.  Matt Brock said that the Department of Natural Resources Conservation can assist landowners in the setup of the trap as needed.  It is part of the technical assistance that they can provide to landowners.
• Federal shutdown is over, and forest service employees are returning to work on the Bankhead National Forest.  
• GPS Workshop in Jasper.
• Johnna said that Alabama Forestry Commission State Forester, Linda Casey, is stepping down after seven years as head of the commission.
• LaVerne Matheson reported on Winston County Smith Lake Advocacy Inc.'s October Cleanup on Smith Lake.  The cleanup was successful and WCSLAI continues to encourage local residents to volunteer to work on their part of the lake, with support from WCSLAI.
• Marion County FAWN Dates: October 24 and November 1.
• Laura Ulz, representing the Arley Womens Club, gave an update on activities at Hamner Park in Arley.  The club has adopted walking trail portion of the park as a club project.  Several activities are in the planning stages to assist the club with the park, including a visit from Dr. Eve Brantley, a professor at Auburn University, and an Urban Tree Evaluation Training for park workers and volunteers.  The council will mostly likely assist with some of these events and possibly some tree planting for the park.
• LaVerne said that Tom Snoddy was directing Adopt-A-Highway workers to clean litter near Smith Lake bridges.
• Andy Baril said that Logger Training opportunities will be held in Lowdes County soon, and in Fayette and Lamar County on December 4.
• James said that construction work on a wastewater lift station for the Addison municipal wastewater system was underway.

Mike Henshaw, Secretary