Meeting+2013+Oct+3

//**WakeNature Preserves Partnership Meeting**//
Thursday 8:30-10 Department of Environment & Natural Resources 217 W. Jones Street Green Square Conference Room 4001 (aka Cardinal Room)

Our meeting will be in DENR Green Square Conference Room 4001 (also known as the Cardinal Room). Attendees will have to enter at the front door, (facing W. Jones Street), and sign in at the reception desk.

There is some free on-street parking right in front of the DENR building on W. Jones Street. A couple of blocks west on West Jones Street (the 400 block) also has free on-street parking, as well as N. West Street and N. Harrington (these are all clustered together). It is first-come, first-served, which should work in our favor. Just to avoid a little confusion, the free on-street parking on the 300 block of West Jones Street doesn’t start until 9:00 am, so please pay attention to the signs where you park. Paid parking is available at the Green Square parking deck, corner of Edenton and McDowell Streets, behind the Nature Research Center. The entrance to the deck is on Edenton between Salisbury and McDowell Streets. **Note:** Parking rates at all Downtown State Government Complex parking facilities have increased to $2/hour. Chris Snow has offered to provide parking vouchers to the county lot (near 243 W Davie), if folks were willing to walk five blocks.

There's lots of bicycle parking.

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 * Attendance Notes**

Pohlman (presiding), Hess (notes), Blank, Connors, K Smith, Hammerbacher, Trickle, Beedle, Massa Visiting: Hilary Morris, Jessica Mayer, Katie Conlon (all NCSU), Kevin Burke (U Penn)

// **Steering** // ** Committee ** (Scott Pohlman, chairman) GOAL: ** Increase momentum ** by growing active signatory membership.


 * Report on Parks Director meeting etc
 * Discussion of a proposal for follow-up activities


 * Report on graduate student study project (see notes for September meeting)
 * Observers from the team will be at our meetings for the rest of the year
 * We are proposing meeting observations and document analysis (using the partnership documents on the wiki). In addition, we will survey of all members of the listserv and conduct in-person or phone interviews of voting members. We're examining how members perceive the success of WakeNature, and diagnosing next steps/focus areas to improve the success of the partnership.


 * NOTES**
 * Hess reviewed Parks Director meeting
 * Noted that there was interest but that nature preserve are not on the radar in the parks systems for the most part - they are dealing with many other issues
 * Parks systems are not hearing much from people who want nature preserves. K Smith noted that the park staff who are working trails and managing programs do hear about these issues, but they get lost on the way up to park managers because of other things seen as more pressing
 * Hammerbacher noted that many kinds of parks and greenways have Levels of Service that must be attained, but there are no levels for nature preserves (wee saw this when working with Raleigh on nature preserves) - suggested that we find a way to develop such levels so they start to be seen as critical parts of any park system
 * Follow-up activity is to start meeting with directors individually; Wake Forest is already in process through Evan Keto, their urban forester. Suggs Farm in Holly Springs is set to be a nature preserve - they should be on the list
 * Can we talk to the directors in terms of the numbers of visitors nature preserves will attract?

//**Promotion Committee**// (Kaytee Smith, chairwoman) GOAL: ** Tell the story ** of the highest quality natural areas in Wake County and the stewardship they have and need.


 * Share printed final brochure - discuss nuance and cost
 * Spring event - debriefing local naturalists - documentary


 * NOTES**
 * Website need updating - we need to work on mapper if we want that to be an integral part of website
 * K Smith will look into whether the Museum's Teen Television Team can help us with the local naturalist documentary - she'll develop a focus paper

//**Inventory Committee**// (Scott Pohlman, chairman) GOAL: ** Places on the ground ** - designate publicly accessible WakeNature Preserves.


 * Wake Forest potential site - need to get someone up there
 * Need to develop a team of people who are "on call" to visit potential sites
 * Swift Creek Bluffs update


 * NOTES**
 * Connors, Hammerbacher, Pohlman, Beedle will arrange to visit Wake Forest site with Evan Keto, their urban forester
 * SCB is still in process - no ETA.
 * When we visit parks directors we should take Wildlife Resources Management document with us

//**Capacity Committee**// (Gary Blank, chairman) GOAL: ** Bring resource managers together ** to carry out appropriate stewardship of the highest quality natural areas in Wake County.


 * Workshop - Managing Open Lands & Early Successional Habitat - schedule for 1 November - registration is open, announcements going out
 * Registration limit? 10 people have already signed up!!
 * What continuing education credits should we apply for? In the past, we have had International Society of Arboriculture, NC Board of Landscape Architects, NC Environmental Education, and Pesticide
 * Lodging for Chris Matthews on Thursday night - we had two offers last time - are they still open? Should we try to have dinner with him?


 * NOTES**
 * Change bird walk to 8AM for November workshop
 * Present Wake County a sign and congrats for Turnipseed at the workshop
 * Limit to 2=50 people
 * Pesticide certification not appropriate for this workshop - get the rest [ Hess ]

//**Other Business**//

 * Volunteer coordination (time permitting)