Protect-Preserve-Enjoy
Little Manistee Watershed Conservation Council
P.O. BOX 52 - Irons, MI 49644 - Web site: LMWCC.org
Minutes from the May 2, 2009 Meeting
Present: Tim Phillips, Roger Buckingham, John Gorys, Gordon Lewis, Dave Gendler, Evelyn Furman
Absent: Bill Sikkinga, Kaye MacDonald
Audience: Thirteen people were present in the audience
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 10:00 am.
Joe Rogers I Family: The first order of business was to hear from the family of long-time LMWCC member, Joe Rogers I. The family presented the association with money collected in lieu of flowers at Mr. Rogers’ recent memorial service. Anna Rogers stated that the money was to be used for a project to benefit the river that her father-in-law loved and enjoyed for so many years. Tim thanked the family for the donation, stating that they would receive a letter from the LMWCC regarding which project would be funded with the donation. John Gorys stated that the association had also received monies by mail in Joe Rogers I name.
Review of last meeting minutes: A motion to approve the minutes of the April 4, 2009 meeting was made by Gordon L. and supported by Roger B. Motion passed unanimously by those present.
Treasurer Report: Tim Phillips reported that the budget available from CRA to LMWCC this year is $3704.85. Additionally, there will be a donation from the Little River Band to LMWCC for projects. Since Bill S. was absent from the meeting, there was no formal treasurer’s report.
Project Status: Bank Restoration
3 Below Johnson Bridge (McElheny property owner): Will be completed after the Driftwood fish cover is completed
3 Above Spencer’s Bridge, north side off James, 6 Mile, Astor: Major bank undercut with erosion. Property owner does not want project completed so project is still on hold, but might be taken off list.
3 Indian Club site #3: Per Gordon L., project status not known as of today’s meeting. Gordon L. also asked that the Gary Skinner memorial funds be applied to site #6 project. The Indian Club will provide the supplemental income and labor for the site #6 project. Tim reported that LMWCC would pay for the permit for this project.
3 Driftwood Campground: Tim reported that the project should be close to completion. Roger B. reports that he has talked with the person doing the project (Shawn) and because the river has been high he is bouncing between the Driftwood project and work on the Sauble. Logs and old pine trees are at Driftwood, but there are no rocks on site.
Future Projects:
3 Tim handed out a cooperative agreement (contract) form to be used when LMWCC entered into an agreement with another organization. A motion was made by Gordon L. and supported by John G. to accept use of this form. Passed unanimously by those present.
3 Future possible bank restoration sites have not been identified yet. Two sites below Bear Track have been identified as river obstructions and not bank restoration projects.
3 The restoration site above Johnson’s Bridge on USFS property is up in the air yet because of turnover in personnel. Tim is in the middle of the adjustment and will report back to the council when things settle a bit.
Fish Cover:
3 Nate Winkler is the new CRA representative to LMWCC.
3 A float from Bear Track down to 6 Mile Bridge will allow for observation of bank problems.
3 One volunteer project using LMWCC equipment is planned per year. Beyond that, an additional project will be accomplished via CRA. The volunteer project is set, training will be done June 13 and finish up late July-early August. Training will be done at Fox Bridge. Dave M. suggested that if no trees can be cut at project site, it will take another day to cut and haul trees that are off-site to be ready for the actual project.
3 Sayers Creek and the NFS property have been identified as possible sites to contract out for completion. After discussion, Tim stated that the Sayers Creek project would be put off until next year.
3 Other possible sites for future work will be held until this year’s projects are completed.
Bridges needing attention/repair:
3 CRA reports that 6 Mile Bridge will be replaced. It is currently closed.
3 MDOT will replace the M-37 Bridge this year.
3 The Frank Smith road culvert (above Luther dam) will be repaired.
3 Two (2) other culverts will be repaired
3 Others listed for repair are Spencer’s Bridge, Queens Bridge, Lincoln Creek road over Lincoln Creek and Two Ponds road over a creek
Sand Traps:
3 Cool Creek and Old Grade are both NFS projects with LMWCC monitoring only.
3 Streamside Systems Sediment Collector: Dave Bratz provided LMWCC with a $20,000 check as a donation toward the sediment collector project. Since the project draws no enthusiasm from the DNR/DEQ, the money should be returned to the donator. After discussion, a motion was made to return the money to Dave Bratz and cancel the project by Dave G, supported by John G. Motion passed unanimously by all present. Tim will contact Bill S. regarding the return check.
Miscellaneous:
3 Nate Winkler is the new CRA representative to LMWCC.
3 A float from Bear Track down to 6 Mile Bridge will allow for observation of bank problems.
3 Discussion occurred on sand traps and dams that will be eliminated.
Old Business:
3 LMWCC still has Trustee positions open. The council will announce this at the coming annual meeting and try to fill those opening with volunteers that show an interest.
3 New Signs: Tim is still working on a mockup of new signs to be put up at river crossings that include the LMWCC logo and the name of the river. The LMWCC might include the wording “Preserve - Protect - Enjoy”. Dave G. will take pictures of bridge signage at other rivers.
3 Annual Meeting:
o Picnic: Bill absent, John G reported that a notice will be sent around the 1st of June that members need to be signed up for the meal ahead of time. Tickets for the meal will not be available at the Annual Meeting.
o Raffle tickets: John reports raffle ticket sales are slow, but some progress has been made. Ticket distribution to membership will take place this week.
o Speakers: John G. has contacted Brenda regarding climate change and the effect on the Great Lakes Watershed. Motion made by Roger B. and supported by Evelyn F. to ask Brenda to do a 20 minute presentation on the above stated topic. Passed unanimously by those present.
o Annual report: Per Evelyn F., the annual report will be completed after the Annual Meeting.
3 Website update: Joyce Durdel reported that the website was getting up and running. Things have been inactive and Steve Halinski, the website host, has updated the program software so that it can be edited in an easier manner. Johnel has emailed the latest newsletter to Steve. Steve has been doing the updating, but now Joyce has a user name and password and she will soon take over that part. Joyce will maintain the updating and Steve will update it in all other ways. The council, per Joyce, should approve content of the website. Anyone can email to John G. and he will forward it to the council and on to Joyce.
3 Decision on membership renewal and cost: Per John G., at the last meeting the council determined that the membership cost will go up $5.00. There will still be two levels of membership. The option of creating a multi-year membership was not decided on. Gordon L. stated that it was not a problem for his staff to get the mailing out every year, but that trying to keep track of a multi-year membership would consume too much of the staff's time. Tim stated that the multi-year membership would not be offered at this time.
3 Bug Survey: Joyce Durdel reported what would happen at her 2 p.m. program today. She will give a presentation on macro invertebrates. Whether or not they end up being able to get into the river will depend upon the weather and the depth of the water. The high water, a result of the much-needed rain, has made it a bit more difficult at the streamside. A survey should probably be taken after the water level goes down a bit.
3 Water Quality Survey: Tom reported that the survey will be completed by the Monday after July 4th. See the newsletter article for more information.
3 Report by Dave MacIntyre: Dave reported that he and his son seeded & planted shrubs over the Wagley Sand Trap area. Two hundred trees have been planted, so that sand trap is finished. Dave submitted an invoice for seed for the entire area.
3 Salmon in the Classroom: Evelyn reported that she does not know what will happen with that program since two elementary schools are closing. No teachers have been laid off during the school district cutbacks, so she will have to see if the teacher that was monitoring the program will be available to do it again next year. If the teacher is not able to run the program, the DNR will not allow another teacher to step in until the new teacher has been trained.
New Business:
3 Listing of Tasks: Tim distributed a sheet with tasks that are completed yearly by a board member or volunteer.
3 John LeClaire (from audience): Owns property on Twin Creek. He reports that there is very little stream left in his area because the ORV trail crossed the stream and caused the bank to completely erode. Motorcycles used to run right through the creek. John states he needs help, either with a name of someone he can go to, or other help from LMWCC with the very major project of restoring the creek banks. John has wood that could be used for restoration. John G. suggested that Mark Tornello and the CRA specialist to look at the area to make suggestions. Tim asked that John talk with him after the meeting. He also stated that LMWCC would help with any permits (funding) needed for whatever repair they would suggest.
3 Possible new newsletter editor: Tim was contacted by Mike Lewis, the news director for U of M. Mike stated that he would do whatever he needed to do as a volunteer editor for the newsletter. Tim gave John G. Mike’s telephone number and John will make contact.
3 Little Manistee Partnership meeting: Tim gave a report to the council. Next meeting is July 20th.
3 Grayling Expo raffle ticket sales: Ticket sales slow, as mentioned before.
3 Dave Gendler report:
o Attended Earth Day event in Ludington: Fish & Wildlife Services had a booth with live lampreys in an aquarium. It was very interesting. Dave talked with the Fish and Wildlife people about bringing the live lampreys and doing a short presentation at the LMWCC Annual Meeting in July. Tim suggested we ask him to do a presentation (20 minutes). We will ask the global warming speaker to do a 30-minute presentation.
o Dave is to attend a booth at the Spirit of the Woods Music Festival. Dave needs a check for $25 for the booth and he would like volunteers to man the booth. He would also like something to be in the newsletter and be on the website about the festival. He sold $400 - $500 of raffle tickets in each of the past 2 years. A motion was made by Roger B. and supported by Evelyn to give Dave a $25 check for the booth. Passed unanimously. The festival will be held June 20th.
3 Discussion Annual meeting of river councils report: Tim attended the annual meeting of river councils. Concerns were expressed about what is used on the road. If brine is used it should be stopped in areas where it would run into the river. Our water quality report should be able to tell us if there is a problem. A
Motion was made by Roger B and supported by John G. to pay for a change in the water quality report so the issue of brine/chloride can be looked at.
Gordon moved to adjourn the meeting. Supported by Tim. Meeting adjourned at 10:47 a.m.
Respectfully Submitted: Johnel Buckingham
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