Minutes of the July Meeting of the WCNRC

The Winston County Natural Resources Council met on July 16, 2015, at the U. S. Forest Service Office in Double Springs.  Present were James Burnett, John Creed, Allison Cochran, Andy Baril, Mike Henshaw, and John Sudduth.
The following items were discussed:

• Johnna Franks, treasurer, emailed the balance in the treasury, and it is $5,633.57.
• The Council helped sponsor the Winston County 4-H Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Teams.  There were two junior teams and one senior team that attended from Winston County.  The senior team placed second in the state competition in Auburn.  Congratulations to the team, and thanks to their parents, volunteers, and Jay Conway, 4-H Foundation Agent.
• James gave an update on the heat advisories from the U. S. Weather Service.  He noted that the heat index is predicted to reach 102 degrees by 10 a.m. on Saturday morning.  He recommended that we check on anyone working outside in this heat.
• A feral hog trapping demonstration at an Addison farm resulted in five hogs being captured.  Thanks to Matt Brock for transporting the trap and providing technical assistance to the landowner.  This effort no doubt prevented damage to the farmers vegetable crops.
• Allison said that about 90 feral hogs have been controlled on the Bankhead this year.
• Jonathan Stone has been promoted to Lieutenant with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.  He will be supervising conservation enforcement officers in several counties and is based out of the district office in Tanner, Alabama.
• Andy said the date for the Walker County Logger Training will be on September 16, 2015, at Bevill State College, and will include 6 PLM credits.  He will send a flyer as soon as it is available.
• A Certified Burn Manager Course will be held at Camp McDowell August 11-14, 2015.  A re-certification workshop will be held on August 10. More information is on the AFC website.
• Allison said that the Forest Service will have two stewardship contracts that will be held soon.  They are recruiting local individuals that can provide services such as logging, gate installation, invasive plant control, etc. to bid on these contracts.
• James gave an update on debris removal during severe weather outbreaks.  Contracts are put in place before the emergency so that services can begin sooner after the storm event.
• Allison noted that there are two remote weather stations in Winston County, one at John and Mary Sudduth's Farm, and another at the Black Warrior Work Center.  James said that the County Commission was working on getting one near the courthouse in the near future.
• John Sudduth brought flyers for the TREASURE Forest tag that will be available at no charge the first year.  More information is available about the tag at this link.
• Possible tour of the barrel plant in Decatur, and the barrel stave mill in Stevenson.  Andy is going to try to find a contact for the tour.  These mills use white oak to construct wooden barrels.

Mike Henshaw, Secretary
WCNRC