BAYFIELD COUNTY FORESTRY AND PARKS DEPARTMENT COMMITTEE MEETING October 8, 2018 County Board Room

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1 BAYFIELD COUNTY FORESTRY AND PARKS DEPARTMENT COMMITTEE MEETING County Board Room Members Present: Fred Strand, Chairperson; Jeffrey Silbert, Vice-Chairperson; Harold Maki and David Zepczyk Members Absent: Larry Fickbohm Staff in Attendance: Jason Bodine, Administrator (via telephone); Steve Probst, Assistant Administrator; and Pat Bruno, Office Manager Others: Joseph LeBouton, WI DNR Liaison and Brenda Garrett, Parks Manager 1. Call to Order of Forestry and Parks Committee Meeting. The meeting of the Forestry and Parks Committee was called to order by Chairman F. Strand at 6:00 P.M. 2. Public Comment. Chairman Strand called for public comment. No one came forward. Closed public comment. 3. Approval of the September 10, 2018 Meeting Minutes. MOTION: (Silbert, Zepczyk) to accept the minutes from the last meeting. All: Yes. Carried Bayfield County Campground and Parks Summary. Brenda Garrett. B. Garrett summarized the 2018 camping season. The season had a late start due to winter conditions extending into May and the season was interrupted due to the June 24 storm s flooding conditions which generated reservation cancellations. Projects completed at the campgrounds include outbuilding painting and added parking at Twin Bear Lake; and storm damaged tree removal with some camper damages, dock flooding and wind damage at Delta Lake. Improvements were made to transient sites, beach, driveway and painted outbuildings. Improvements at Big Rock included the removal of a hazardous tree, outhouse painting and new picnic tables. The 2019 seasonal site reservation call-in will be held October 13. Boat launch vehicle parking is a growing problem. Visitors have been turned away due to the lack of parking for boat launch and playground access. The issue is exacerbated by additional guests arriving for non-camper pontoon launching. It was suggested to charge for all visitor parking and carpooling would be encouraged. The Committee would like to address this issue again at a future meeting. MOTION: (Maki, Zepczyk) to thank Brenda for the good job she s done and to continue if she so desires. Discussion: None. All yes. Carried.

2 Bayfield County Forestry and Parks Committee Page 2 of 5 5. Monthly Reports. A. Forestry (all updates): 1) 2018 Budget. The timber sale revenues were at $560,000 in September and the stumpage revenue have exceeded the budget. Expenses are on target. Budget amendments are anticipated to address the FEMA claim and the 10% to Towns account. Jason Holmes and Mike Amman were recent presenters as part of the Natural Resources Board tour and represented the county well. J. Holmes presented at the WI Society of American Foresters (SAF) annual meeting with a presentation titled Regeneration Monitoring and Deer: The Bayfield County Experience. This presentation will be made to the Committee soon. S. Probst took part in the annual Log-A-Load event for area high school students. Erika Lang, Landmark Conservancy, contacted J. Bodine to advise the Fire Hill Project will be moving forward by November 2, the application deadline date. There has been no response received from the DNR regarding the County Forest Law withdrawal but results are expected in two weeks. 2) Stewardship Grant. Still no decision has been received. The project remains under objection. It is unlikely any changes will take place prior to the November elections. 3) Oak Wilt. Oak wilt test samples from trees in Barksdale and Drummond were recently gathered. Results are pending. The known infected tree in Cable has been treated. Timber sale disclaimer language has been added to the fall timber sales containing oak. Harvesting between April 15 and July 15 would be restricted if a known infection has been determined. Coordination efforts have begun with the Towns, County Highway and other agencies and clubs (ATV, snowmobile, etc.) that could possibly cut oaks during the infectious period. J. Bodine thanked Paul Cigan, WI DNR Forest Health Specialist, for his assistance in public education and future planning. An article addressing the disease was recently covered by the Ashland Daily Press. Strong preventative measures are the most effective way to limit the spread. B. Parks (update). The predicted net revenue could exceed $105,000; a record setting season. All improvements have been very positively received. The next challenge will be to attract mid-week transient campers. C. Trails and Recreation (all updates). 1) Motorized Trails. There is nothing new to report. Recent attention has been on the FEMA storm damage projects. 2) Non-Motorized Trails. Recent attention has been on the Siskiwit Falls project.

3 Bayfield County Forestry and Parks Committee Page 3 of 5 3) Yurts. The UDC and Health Department inspections are completed for the third yurt. Finishing touches are being completed and the goal is to publicly list the yurt for rent mid-week. The wood shed will be built October There has been an increase in the number of reservations for fall and early winter at the original two yurt locations. 4) Events. No new events were approved in September. 5) FEMA Projects. FEMA staff will be on site on October 9. Request for proposals were let with site meetings concluded and the bids are due October 10. Another FEMA meeting, post-bid, will be scheduled. Some repairs will begin soon. Regarding the Delta landfill site, FEMA is in the process of determining eligibility; however, there is an active/functional site qualifier. Also, a site management entity assignment needs to be identified. There is no woody encroachment allowed. Approval for this project grant funding is tenuous. There is a minimal risk that more garbage could wash down the stream if an extreme flooding event would occur prior to any repairs. Discussions with the DNR have not indicated that an immediate stop gap treatment is necessary. Between funding that will be received from FEMA and funds that have already been committed by the state, the projects that are or will be approved are expected to be 100% grant funded. Another major repair of the Drummond Connector will be addressed by partnering with the U.S. Forest Services (USFS), similar to the project in The repairs will be 100% grant funded through a combination of state grant and USFS funds. Jen Bratsch and John Mesko have done an excellent job taking the lead on all the projects. H. Maki returned to the oak wilt subject, referencing a specific timber sale tract with a restriction of harvesting and is concerned that $100,000 of timber value that oak wilt restrictions will prevent harvesting for five months and how much residual will be left standing. A discussion revealed the restriction is for the protection of two bird species and not oak wilt. He is contending this decision is not made by the full board but by the department. He would like the board to have the information on why there are protections imposed for two birds. The species identification cannot be discussed in open meeting. J. Bodine offered to bring a list of all protected birds, plants, animals to a future meeting that the department must be cognizant of when setting up timber sales. MOTION: (HM) to have a closed session at next month s meeting to learn what bird is being protected. No second to the motion. Motion failed. F. Strand proposed discussion of the identification of the bird at the next meeting.

4 Bayfield County Forestry and Parks Committee Page 4 of 5 MOTION: (Silbert, Zepczyk) to receive and place reports on file. All: Yes. Carried. 6. Siskiwit River Preserve Project Update. Projects completed to date are the razing of the yellow cottage and the site was leveled. Basic mowing and trimming in the parking area on the east side of the river was completed. J. Bodine discussed the recommended preliminary improvement plan to be submitted to Wisconsin Coastal Management for approval before any other improvements can begin, if approved by the Committee. The plan includes the designation and preparation of a primary and secondary parking area, culvert replacements, and access road (old driveway) improvement. MOTION: (Zepczyk, Silbert) to approve the initial development plan for the Siskiwit River. All: Yes. Carried. 7. Fall Timber Sale Offering. This 2,500-acre offering includes 1,800 acres in new tracts; 500 acres in re-offered tracts (all are frozen ground acres) and 200 acres that were recently taken back from a timber contractor. The minimum bid total values are nearly $1.5 million. J. Bodine explained that more and more restrictions are imposed on timber sales and frozen ground sales are restrictive. Keeping everyone active all year long is an on-going issue for all public land managers. Currently, all current sales do not contain any known oak wilt infected stands. The language is added in the event that oak wilt is discovered on any given tract. MOTION: (Maki, Silbert) to approve the timber sales for offering. All: Yes. Carried. 8. County Conservation Aid Grant. To help cover the costs associated with various conservation related projects, an annual allotment is made available to counties. This year, the plan would be to use the $3,993 grant to assist in the county s jack pine seeding program. A formal application to the state is required. MOTION: (Silbert, Maki) to approve application for the county conservation aid grant. All: Yes. Carried Budget. J. Bodine explained how averages are used to estimate annual stumpage revenues, with other factors included that incorporate unpredictability into the equation. The final product is typically very conservative, as can be seen with the large overages over the past few years (primarily due to very strong markets). However, now that we have seen a few years of poor markets, budgeted revenues are very close to the predicted. The results of the fall offering will give us some indication of what to expect next year. The seasons also play a major role on when timber sales are harvested. If markets for 2019 are still poor, next year s revenues could come in below the budget. It has been a very long time since that has happened, but we need to be prepared. Unpredictable markets, combined with unpredictable seasons and long-term contracts (two to five years) are the primary reasons we have traditionally been conservative when estimating budgeted stumpage revenues (and it much easier to budget for the future with banked excess revenues received from the past). Under runs are factored in also which have been 4-6% over the last few years. After analyzing data back to 2011, the model created is getting closer to predicted accuracy for He believes 2019 will be very close to the budgeted number.

5 Bayfield County Forestry and Parks Committee Page 5 of 5 No action taken. 10. Recreational Use Request. Iron River Area Chamber of Commerce. J. Bodine reported that the Iron River Chamber has been working with Northern Pines Golf Course and Tim Landgreen to identify a route for the event in the Town of Hughes. The routes have been investigated and J. Bodine has no issue with them using them. MOTION: (Silbert, Zepczyk) to approve the request for the Iron River Chamber Northern Pines Sled Dog Race. Discussion: Concern was expressed that timber hauling could be restricted during the race if the course runs on a town road or fire lane. F. Strand said that a portion of the course is on Sand Road; however, it is not a town road. Motion Vote: All: Yes. Carried. 11. Joseph LeBouton, DNR Representative. The DNR is anticipating to soon fill the last three open positions on the team that serve Bayfield County. Regarding oak wilt, Bayfield County staff have done a fast and wonderful job preparing how the issue will be addressed on these timber sales. The species is important for wildlife habitat, loggers, and the county in general. The meeting adjourned at 7:02 P.M. The next Forestry and Parks Committee meeting and timber sale bid opening will be held Monday, November 19, 2018 at 6:00 P.M. at Bayfield County Courthouse, County Board Room, Second Floor, 117 E. 5th Street, Washburn, Wisconsin. Submitted by, Pat Bruno