Meeting+2013+Sep+5

//**WakeNature Preserves Partnership Meeting**//
Thursday 8:30-10:30 1671 Gold Star Drive Raleigh, NC 27607
 * Prairie Ridge Ecostation **

Link to directions and map.

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 * Attendance Notes**

Attending: Pohlman (presiding), Hess (notes), Lobsinger, Snow, Hammerbacher, Salter, Beedle, Connors, Massa, Blank; Guests: Hilary Morris, Jessica Mayer, Jing Li, and Katie Conlon


 * Welcome to Prairie Ridge Ecostation**
 * At 8:30 we will gather by the kiosk for a brief introduction to the grounds and outdoor classroom.
 * The main meeting will begin by 9AM in the outdoor classroom, and we might be a few minutes late finishing, for those who can stay past 10A.


 * NOTES**
 * John Finnegan, from Natural Heritage, gave a brief tour - thanks, John!


 * Introductions as needed**
 * Introduce Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management students


 * NOTES**
 * Hilary Morris, Jessica Mayer, Jing Li, and Katie Conlon were introduced to the group

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


 * Case study of WakeNature by students in a Parks, Recreation, & Tourism Management course**
 * We were contacted by Hilary Morris, at graduate student at NC State, in a graduate course about collaboration and partnerships. Her team would like to look at WakeNature as a case study.
 * Hilary and about 3 other students will attend our meeting today and introduce themselves and their project
 * Action to be taken:
 * Vote on whether to work with the students
 * If affirmative, are there any things we'd like them to examine that can help us improve our effectiveness?


 * NOTES**
 * Hilary Morris presented the project, which is to be a case study about some aspect of a partnership. Her team has selected WakeNature.
 * They are interested in how we interact, how our performance is evaluated.
 * Asked about what we might like studied
 * How do you sustain a partnership like this, especially when partners have such varied missiones
 * Have the workshops had any effect?
 * Motion to participate in study with conditions that anyone can refuse to participate and that anonymous comments are allowed made by Snow, seconded by Blank, passed unanimously.


 * Parks Directors Meeting**
 * Planning for the Parks Directors Meeting continues - the meeting is schedule for Tues 24 Sept at Yates Mill County Park
 * WakeNature has been invited to participate and Hess, Pohlman, and Snow will attend. Snow will be "wearing two hats": both as WakeNature member and as Director of Wake County Parks, Recreation, & Open Space
 * We have time for a 10-15 minute presentation, plus we will be able to participate in a roundtable discussion in which organizations can talk about current activities, opportunities, and challenges
 * The steering committee met on 30 Aug and propose the following:
 * During the presentation, give a brief overview of WakeNature's history and focus mainly on our long-term vision of a network of WakeNature-branded nature preserves. We will use handouts rather than a PPT, including the latest version of the trifold brochure and updated versions of our one-pager and FAQ
 * During the roundtable, we will focus on our search for active partners among the parks departments and our desire to create a cross-jurisdictional corps of nature preserve volunteers


 * NOTES**
 * Beedle - scheduled for 24 Sept Tuesday
 * Attendance looks good, though not everyone has RSVPd yet
 * This is the first time the directors have been together in about 4 years
 * Umstead and Falls Lake have also been invited
 * Hess layed out vision of how to do the presentation - this is what the steering committee came up with last week
 * Presentation - focus on vision of uniform brand of nature preserves
 * Round-table - seeking active partners and to build a volunteer network
 * Comments on that
 * characterize being a WNP is an honor
 * Each park system gets to keep their credit
 * Use example of birding trail and MST
 * Long term goal is management of nature preserves

//**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.


 * Any comments on the final draft of the trifold brochure? We'd like to use this at the Parks Directors Meeting on 24 Sept

From Kaytee: I have had some comments on the final draft. If you haven't sent me comments please do so by Sep. 11. In the previous meetings there was some discussion of printing these as needed. I think that would be fine but we will need to double check with Leigh Ann, because I feel like there was money in the grant for the printing costs if we wanted to have a company do it. Is this something we could get NC State print Wolf Xpress service to do for a small quantity? Also, I think there may have been money in the grant for a rack card also...is this something we are still interested in?

Don't forget! Send me media releases, workshops, or any other event that your organization would like to feature so I can post it to the blog and facebook.

Thanks!


 * NOTES**
 * Have a version with all partner logos in the blank space on the back, with label "WakeNature Partners"
 * There was no money left in the grant to print
 * OK to spend WakeNature funds to print a couple dozen for the Parks Director meeting

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


 * Update on Swift Creek Bluffs
 * Locally important conservation areas: at our last meeting, an issue arose that WakeNature might be able to help with. The folks at WRC noted that there are some areas that are important locally but don't rise to the level of importance necessary to be tracked by the Natural Heritage Program. Should / can we create a map of such areas? Are there any in Wake County?


 * NOTES**
 * Swift Creek needs a little more review from TLC - should be done soon
 * We should move forward on other nominees


 * Locally important conservation areas - there are places out there that are important in Wake County but do not rise to the level of natural heritage elements. Examples include good habitat for marbled and spotted salamanders, which are currently common but could easily become rare.
 * We don't have any kind of solid inventory of these places - how do we do that? Can we brand them as WakeWonders (what if they're not publicly owned?)?
 * People in the community know about these places - how can we collect that information?
 * What if that were the focus of our spring workshop? Put out a call to local experts and citizens to bring that information to the table and get them into a GIS database.
 * This would feed into the green growth toolbox and WRC could use that for outreach
 * Someone suggested that a video of this process might be a neat product

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


 * October workshop on managing successional habitat
 * We need a date
 * At last meeting, preferred location was Anderson Point Park, in Raleigh - is that still going to work? Alternate is Prairie Ridge
 * Hess has reached out to Michael Kirschman in CharMeck to see if there's anyone they could send to present
 * Who else would we like to have?
 * Other planning activities?


 * NOTES**
 * Blank suggested Jimmy Dodson could help present and organize
 * Hess has been in contact with Mecklenburg County to see if they can help - there is someone who is interested - currently playing phone tag
 * Suggestion was to invite upper management (morning only) and crew leaders (all day) - present big picture information about why this is important in the morning, then nuts and bolts kinds of things in the afternoon
 * Mecklenburg has a "portfolio of habitats" approach including early successional - how do you decide what's in that portfolio?
 * Hammerbacher and Salter will look at dates and draft an agenda - dates being considered are 25 Oct and 1 Nov, both Fridays.
 * Prairie Ridge first choice for venue; Anderson Point alternative

//**Other Business**//

 * NOTES**
 * Hammerbacher suggested that continued discussion of volunteer management be placed on the agenda for a future meeting. Pohlman, Connors, Salter said they'd work with her.
 * Lobsinger now working for NC State U EcoLearning Village - has a number of students who are available for volunteer hours as well as capstone projects