Meeting+2016+Dec+1

//**WakeNature Preserves Partnership Meeting**//
Thursday 8:30-10 Walnut Creek Wetland Center, 950 Peterson Street, Raleigh - [|Google Maps Link]

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 * Attendance Notes**

Shouse (presiding), Hogwood, Pohlman, Blank, Teten, Hess (notes), Fowler, Connors, B. Smith

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


 * ANNUAL REVIEW MEETING**


 * Here are our 2016 Goals (from our 7 Jan meeting)**


 * WakeWonders ** [ We did most of these ] **
 * Robertson Millpond Grand Opening - DONE - well attended
 * Annie Wilkerson Nature Preserve - DONE - well attended
 * Prairie Ridge - twilight hike for frogs, woodcock - date will be 20 or 27 February - Connors will work with K Smith to pick the date - NOT DONE
 * Hemlock Bluffs for March - Fowler will contact Mark Johns about an event at Hemlock - maybe amphibians in mid- to late-March - possibly adding a herp walk at 4P after their botany workshop on 19 March - DONE - poorly attended
 * Perlmutter will do a lichen hike associated with Longleaf festival at Harris on 21 May - DONE - good participation - worth doing every year?
 * TLC's Temple Flatrocks - DONE - well attended
 * TLC's Swift Creek Bluffs - DONE - well attended


 * Training sessions ** [ We did NOT do any of these ] **
 * Hemlock Bluffs might be a good one - visitor management - fall
 * Robertson - beaver management - maybe March; Massa will follow up in WRC
 * Prairie Ridge or Harris - prescribed burns - maybe Harris can do a small demo - need to do during week - Fowler will follow up with Harris; Connors with Prairie Ridge - maybe May
 * Swift Creek possibly for invasive plants


 * BioBlitz ** [ Did Walnut Hill bioblitz in June ] **
 * Lobsinger will talk to TLC about bioblitz to occur possibly in early June; watch to avoid conflict with Mount Mitchell bioblitz being scheduled by State Parks on 29 June - well attended and successful in terms of the experts participating in the inventory; public hike on Saturday led by Connors attended by about 15 people


 * Another WakeNature Preserve ** [ We did NOT designate another preserve ] **
 * Wake County has plenty of properties - Southeast Regional Park has bluffs on Middle Creek off highway 42
 * Maybe reach out to Raleigh to see if they want to develop a management plan for something
 * If we're going to be doing a bioblitz a Walnut Hill, why not focus on that property
 * How about Umstead Park?


 * Planning for 2017**


 * **2017 Meetings:**
 * 1st Thursdays, 8:30AM-10:30AM
 * February 2
 * April 6
 * October 5
 * December 7


 * **Possible sites**
 * Prairie Ridge (burning) - Feb - backup is Wildlife Resources
 * Hemlock for visitor management - April
 * Wildlife Resources - October - early succession
 * Wilkerson - December - WakeWonder OR accepting donated land OR conservation easements and restrictions


 * **Meeting Structure:**
 * 8:30AM-8:45AM Networking
 * 8:45AM-10:00AM Agenda items
 * 10:00AM-10:30AM Site visit or expert topic discussion


 * **2017 Workshop: Friday, September 15 proposed 10A-3P**
 * Conservation easements and accepting donated land - implications for stewardship
 * Aquatic management - beaver, wood ducks, hydrilla


 * Action Items**
 * Fowler will follow up with Massa in WRC for workshop and hosting meeting information
 * Hess to create and post on wiki steering committee dates for 2017 [ last Thurs of each month ]
 * Hess to post meeting dates on wiki
 * Hess will ask Jeffries about promotion committee [ asked 1 Dec ]
 * Hess will ask TLC to re-up MOU [ asked 1 Dec ]
 * Smith & Connors will create process for bioblitz request
 * Connors will contact people at Meredith in terms of involving their students to Teten
 * Teten will contact Meredith and Shaw [ Dr. Eric Butler responded 1 Dec - meeting to follow ] to invite to subsequent meetings
 * Teten will contact Garner about subsequent meetings [ asked Katie Spencer, Outdoor Education and Parks Manager, Town of Garner, 1 Dec ]
 * Teten will contact Mark Johns about Hemlock meeting [ asked 1 Dec ]
 * Connors will contact Prairie Ridge about meetings
 * B Smith will set up meeting with Wilkerson


 * Develop goals for 2017**
 * One workshop [ Steering ]
 * One bioblitz - get requests from agencies in time for February meeting and then we review - need short description - B Smith & Connors will create process [ Inventory ]
 * One Workday [ Capacity ] - would be great to involve Shaw and Meredith students as well as NC State students
 * Work on communication and visibility - need to re-make promotion committee [ Promotion ]

//**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.

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

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