The Winston County Natural Resources Council met on April 18 at the U. S. Forest Service Office in Double Springs. The following members were present: Casey Hammack, Tina Burnett, Matt Hannah, Maggie Johnston, John Creed, Mike Henshaw, Chris Horne, Andrew Shae, Lauranne James, and Jamie Segroves attended by phone. The following topics were discussed:
- Mike and Casey gave an overview of the Recreational Pond Workshop held at Bill and Jeanie Snoddy's Loblolly Farm. Rusty Wright, Extension Fisheries Specialist, conducted the program with approximately 25 local pond owners. He also demonstrated electro-shocking the pond as a means to assess the fish population in the pond.
- Jamie and Casey gave an update on the Landowner Field Day planned for Friday, May 31, at the Riley Jacobs property in the Moreland community. It was suggested that the May council meeting be held at the Jacobs property on May 16. This will be confirmed with the landowner and directions to the property will be sent out with that meeting notice. A number of speakers have been engaged, but a few more are needed. Andrew offered to conduct a tour stop related to Water Quality.
- The Bio-blitz held at the Natural Bridge Park was featured in an article in the North West Alabamian, and Maggie gave us a update on how successful that effort was. The article noted that there were 1,833 observations of 573 species from 110 observers.
- Also featured in the NWA was the 4-H Litter Cleanup.
- Lauranne discussed the NW RC&D Council Grant process and how the WCNRC could benefit. Casey will be leading the efforts to work with the RC&D to secure funding for our landowner field day and future projects in FY25.
- Andrew told us about the upcoming Alabama Water Watch training that will be held at Camp McDowell.
- Tina gave an update on the 1st Annual Poster Contest with the theme "May the Forest be with you Always". 61 entries came in this year, which was excellent for the first year.
- The Soil and Water Conservation District also plans a hands-on exhibit at City Fest called "Farmer for a Day". They also plan to take part in Farm Safety Day at the Moody-Hill Farm.
- Chris mentioned Forest Service activities including the up coming Lake Clean up on Smith Lake by Renew Our Rivers, and prescribed burns planned.
- Casey and Jamie will be working on controlled burns and tree farm audits.
- Casey said the balance of the treasury was $6,771.97
Mike Henshaw
Secretary
