ACTION ITEM: Agenda approved.
ACTION ITEM: Minutes of last meeting reviewed, approved.
Discussion Item: Coordinator's Report
The fall schedule of workdays was discussed. A question was raised about the timing and procedure for conducting burns of piled scotch broom debris.
Walt commented that debris left to sit over the winter would moulder and not dry out, and be difficult to burn in the spring.
It was agreed that the best strategy for burning is to burn as soon after cutting as possible.
Once a fire is hot enough the freshly cut material will burn.
Walt stated that CDF crews bring starter material to get the fire going to sufficient temperature.
Piling debris for burning is not planned for the October 21-22 workweekend- debris from this session will be taken to the transfer station.
Task 1. Lynn will request a CDF crew to conduct the burns of debris pils for workweekend(s) that may occur during the winter (TBD). Immediate revegetation is not planned for the sites where broom is removed in order to allow seedlings to be managed by flaming. Tara noted that the Inland Mendocino Weed Management Area has funds to purchase a backpack propane torch that will be available to the MCWMA. In answer to questions about the source of resources for further work at the demonstration site, Tara confirmed that Caltrans has expended nearly $9000 already, and it would be best if other sources could be obtained for the remainder of the weed removals and revegetation. Tara will contact Bob Melendez about demonstration project plans.
One of the deliverables for the PTI project is 5-10 miles of roadside and 20-50 acres treated. State Parks plans to conduct removals of European beachgrass this fall on an area estimated at over 60 acres, thus satisfying the second part of this deliverable.
Task 2. Lynn and Ray have conducted roadside removals of yellow starthistle that they will report using the MCWMA In-Kind Reporting Form. Peter has already reported on the Albion Ridge project, which extends over 5-7 miles of roadside.
Phase III of the NFWF PTI Project is complete except for documentation of the treatments described above, and distributing educational materials to nurseries.
Phase IV includes preparation of the WMA Annual Report. Tara requested input on the content, with the aim to develop a template that could be used for future annual reports. It was suggested that each Workgroup and Committee contribute a report on cooperative efforts, and that MCWMA partners contribute a report on their individual efforts.
Discussion Item: Education & Outreach Brief Report
Task 3. 3 educational presentations in schools are needed to complete Phase III. Peter will discuss this with Lori and Teresa.
An interaction with the SONAR program suggests itself as a venue. Lynn will forward here Powerpoint presentations to Peter for use in developing the school presentations.
Tara proposed a strategy to meet the deliverable regarding outreach to nurseries. The Inland WMA has funding to prepare a "Don't Plant a Pest" type
material(s) (not required to be in the Cal-IPC format) that will serve the North Coast Region. Collaboration has already been initiated with Humboldt-Del Norte WMA,
and the MCWMA is also encouraged to collaborate. Nurseries are a key component to this effort, as their buy-in is important to the success of any effort to
change the behavior of home-onwers and landscapers to select non-invasive species- in particular, non-invasive species must be available in nurseries, and expert
advise on the selection and care of non-invasives is required. A state-wide effort [Cal-HIP], spearheaded
by Cal-IPC, to engage the horticultural industry has had some preliminary success, including a recommendation of voluntary adoption of the [St. Louis Declaration on Invasive Plant Species].
Peter will work with Lori to draft a letter for the nursery outreach mailing. Materials that could be included in the mailing are Cal-IPC Don't plant a Pest materials,
the Navarro Weed brochure, Cal-HIP newsletter and Saint Louis Declaration Codes of Conduct.
Ray will forward to Tara a list of all nurseries in Mendocino County, which must register with the Ag Dept to be licensed.
Discussion Item: Information Management Brief Report
This Workgroup has met the PTI deliverables within its scope, and there is no immediate need of action or a meeting of this workgroup.
Discussion Item: Projects Brief Report
Although the PTI deliverables have been met, technically speaking, the demonstration project that was begun under the PTI grant is in need of significant
amount of additional work, including removal of broom and miscellaneous weeds, follow-up treatments and revegetation. This will be accomplished
on volunteer workdays, starting with the October 21-22 work-weekend. The October work will be conducted only on Caltrans property, and thus requires
coordination only with Caltrans.
Task 4. Tara will write up a publicity statement to be posted on websites, and send it to Peter for posting on the CNPS-DKY site.
Workdays to be scheduled for the winter will take place on Group II property (the owners of the vacant lot to the west of Highway 1), and include collection of Douglas iris bulbs, removal of broom on a 10 ft wide strip inside the fence and burns of piled debris.
Task 5. Before this work is conducted, a written agreement with Group II must be arranged. The issue of liability for volunteer workers must be addressed. Tara will ask Lori about the possibility of CNPS coverage of work events. Otherwise, we will request volunteers to sign waivers, although it is recognised that such waivers are not considered binding. Peter will send Tara, and Lynn, the language that State Parks uses on sign-in forms for their volunteers at work events.
Task 6. Tara will draft the statement and present at the next Planning Committee for approval before sending to Group II.
Discussion Item: Completion of Remaining Deliverables for NFWF PTI project
In addition to the items mentioned above under the various workgroup settings, the Planning committee is expected, according to the deliverables of Phase IV,
to meet twice to discuss the development of a long-term planning document. This discussion will commence at the next Planning Committee meeting.
Discussion Item: Upcoming Funding Opportunities: State WMA funds, NFWF PTI
More specific information about the WMA funding from the State legislative budget is expected to be received at the State-wide WMA meeting on September 19-20
in Woodland (near Davis). Tara will attend, and Peter might also attend. This information will be presented at the next Planning Committee meeting.
Preliminary guidance suggests that the funds ($1.5 million for the state) will become available as of January 1, 2007 and must be expended (or perhaps encumbered) by the end of June, 2007. The funding is expected to continue at this level ($1.5 million/year) indefinitely. The weeds that are eligible under this program have been variously stated to be Noxious Weeds, or Noxious Weeds plus those on the Cal-IPC list, and different constraints have been mentioned for A,B and C-rated weeds.
The MCWMA has developed a project that should be eligible (confirmend by personal conversation with Steve Schoenig) for the containment of the Caspar gorse population (including invasive outliers such as the Caspar Transfer station and Doyle Creek infestation). Please see the link for details of the program as developed so far Gorse Containment Project Update Walt described some obstacles encountered during the previous CDF cost-sharing program for fuel-load reduction. One was the practice of requesting CDF brush-clearing prior to selling the property, and then lack of follow-up on treatment by the new owner, rendering the gorse control ineffective. A second problem was the issue of inadvertent dispersal of propagules- the JDSF gorse population can be linked to contaminated equipment that was taken to a fire after a cost-share gorse clearing without proper cleaning of equipment. Mechanisms to reduced these problems need to be incorporated into the program.
Task 7. All WMA partners and associates are requested to send locations of gorse infestations in order to make our gorse distribution map more accurate. This will assist in the selection of properties to be eligible to receive monetary incentives in this program. Only properties on the perimeter of an invasive infestation are eligible in a containment strategy. (Perimeter includes patches that are dispersing into inaccessible areas, such as steep coastal bluffs.) A particular bluff property was discussed ( from Peter: This location is along Pt. Cabrillo Drive, on the bluff and immediately south (but on the "west" side of the road as it generally runs north-south) of a small State Parks unit at Caspar Beach (at the outlet of Doyle Creek). from Walt: The location is below (North of) Point Cabrillo Drive above the South end of the beach, where the road attains the bluff at the sharp left hand switchback. ) and the question of ownership came up. Tara remarked that she was unable to assist with this determination because she has still not received the GIS layer from State Parks with the polygons of Management Units.
The possiblity of requiring disclosure of gorse (a B-rated Noxious weed that may be treated as an A-rated weed by the discretion of the Ag Commissioner) was discussed. Tara brought up the resolution passed by the Caspar Community Association but not yet signed by all Board members will be sent to the Agricultural Commissioner requesting that he use his discretionary authority to treat gorse as if it had an "A" rating. The resolution was drafted independent of the MCWMA, although we provided information on technical matters. The issue was hotly debated at a general Caspar Community meeting. The objections weakened when the issue of absentee gorse-lords was raised. These land owners have large gorse infestations and make little effort to manage the gorse population. The resolution requests the authority of the Ag Commissioner in requiring these landowners to participate in the gorse containment project as necessary to achieve success of the project. (Note from Tara: I don't have a final copy of the resolution, so I can't give the exact wording of the request, but I've tried to capture the intent.) One Caspar resident suggested that such a property was owned by the Governor of California.
Another funding opportunity that is coming up shortly is the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Pulling Together Initiative (PTI), the source from which we received our start-up funds. Preproposals are generally due at the end of October. A new proposal from us would be expected to be heavily slanted towards implementation, and the gorse containment project is a likely candidate. NFWF seems to favor innovative approaches, and the gorse program in Caspar has several such features including the monetary incentive approach and strong community involvement. NFWF usually sends a representative to the State-wide WMA meeting, so we may have further guidance on this years RFP by the next Planning Committee meeting.
ACTION ITEM: Next Planning Committee Meeting set for Monday September 25, 2006, 3:00 to 5:00, JDSF Learning Center. Agenda items for next meeting include