Meeting+2011+Apr+7

Thursday 8:30-10 1214 Jordan Hall, NCSU Campus
 * Wake County Nature Preserves Meeting**

**Attendance Notes**

Hess will be absent. Meghan, Jamie, Toddi (presiding, taking notes), John, Leigh Ann attending

**Annotated Agenda Items**

//Please add items you'd like to see on the agenda by 5PM Tues before the meeting.//

//Please add your pre-meeting discussion of these items under the item right here on the agenda, or on the appropriate linked page.//

**Introductions as needed**

The WakeNature Preserves Partnership was selected as the winner in the Regional category of the City of Raleigh’s 2011 Environmental Awards.
 * WE WON!!!!**

Please plan on joining us at the City of Raleigh’s 2011 Environmental Awards program on Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 6pm at Marbles Museum. An electronic invitation is attached for your use and to forward to others that may want to attend with you.

Would you please send us 3-5 pictures to use in the PowerPoint presentation at the Awards ceremony?

Thank you for your interest in this City of Raleigh program.

JAMIE, GARY, GEORGE, MEGHAN WILL ATTEND. TODDI WILL FOLLOW UP WITH CHRIS TO SEE IF HE CAN ATTEND. TODDI CAN'T ATTEND BECAUSE OUT OF TOWN.

HEMLOCK BLUFFS FOLLOW UP-- George

For WN discussion: Just how to deal with Laura's response - we have too many visitors and don't want more recognition. Also her request for benefits offered and what's expected of them.

George,

I am so sorry. I am short staffed and so busy. I just haven't got time to get together right now. I'd like to consider what WakeNature Preserve Partnership has to say. Is it possible for you to send back a brief summary via e-mail? Perhaps you could just provide me with what benefits the partnership could offer the Town of Cary and what would be expected from us. I can then pass that on to my supervisor for further discussions.

Our visitation is astronomical lately and bringing more visitors to the site is not an advantage to us. We have already exceeded carrying capacity eight of the last ten weekends this year without adequate staffing levels to interact with patrons with appropriate guidance for their behavior while on the trails. The parking lot has been full and people have been circling looking for a spot to park.

Volunteer participation is at an all time high with community groups contacting us asking to provide community service work. We are working on a $20,000 REI trail improvement project which is using volunteer labor to repair trail edgers and boardwalk boards.

Groups from local schools, scout troops, churches and civic organizations are reserving our staff to lead them on trail hikes and group programs throughout the spring. These requests are coming in at record numbers. This is exciting, but meeting the demand is difficult.

Summer camp season is just around the corner, registration has already begun and many sessions are already full.

Frogs are calling, salamanders are breeding, spring ephemerals are up and we are about to be overrun.

I hope you understand. My deadlines are stacking up.

Laura

GROUP CONSENSUS ON THIS WAS THAT WE NEEDED TO RESPECT THIS OPINION UNTIL WE HAVE SOMETHING MORE CONCRETE TO OFFER HEMLOCK BLUFFS. RIGHT NOW THERE IS NO UPSIDE FOR THEM. AS WE MOVE FORWARD ON SWIFT CREEK BLUFFS, FUTRELL AND DOT, HEMLOCK MAY BEGIN TO SEE THE BENEFITS OF THE PARTNERSHIP. WE NEED TO KEEP THE DOOR OPEN.

GEORGE-- CAN YOU COMMUNICATE BACK TO LAURA ON THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY?

DISCUSSION OR RALEIGH DRAFT NATURE PRESERVE DOCUMENT


 * West CAC:** Tuesday, March 22, 2011, Powell Drive Center, 740 Powell Drive, 7pm

TODDI CAN'T MAKE THIS DUE TO PTA CONFLICT-- GEORGE CAN YOU MAKE IT?
 * North CAC:** Tuesday, April 7, 2011, Millbrook-Exchange Park, 1905 Spring Forest Road, 7pm

TODDI CAN MAKE THIS ONE
 * Northwest/Umstead CAC:** Tuesday, April 12, 2011, 8016 Glenwood Avenue, 7pm

TODDI CANNOT MAKE THIS ONE-- OUT OF TOWN
 * Northeast CAC:** Thursday, April 14, 2011, Marsh Creek Park, 3050 New Hope Road, 7pm

TODDI CAN MAKE THIS AND IS WORKING WITH EMILY ON THE PRESENTATION FOR THIS MEETING
 * Presentation to PRGAB:** Thursday, April 28, 2011, Jaycee Module, 2405 Wade Avenue, 5:30pm

JAMIE WILL DRAFT A LETTER ON BEHALF OF WNPP. SOME ISSUES WE DISCUSSED: WHY IS ANDERSON PT NOT A NP? BALL FIELDS ARE NOT PROGRAMMED, THEY ARE PICK UP. NEUSE WEST WAS SUPPOSED TO DESIGNATED BALL FIELD. COULD ANDERSON POINT BE LIKE LAKE JOHNSON?

WNPP OFFERS A TECHNICAL RESOURCE/CAPACITY BASE FOR A CONTINUED EFFORT ON THE RALEIGH PROPERTIES. WE CAN HELP INVETNROY, WRITE MANAGEMENT PLANS, ETC... THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR US BECAUSE OF THE SERVICE LEARNING ANGLE, THE NEED TO PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY SITES FOR OUR STUDENTS/CLASSES. WE HAVE MUTUAL INTERESTS IN BUILDING A STRONGER RELATIONSHIP.

PUBLIC COMMENTS SHOULD BE TRANSPARENT AND IN FINAL REPORT.

WE WOULD LOVE RALEIGH TO BECOME A FORMAL WNPP PARTNER-- SIGN MOU.

SHOULD WE ENCOURAGE A REPORTING REQUIREMENT? DATES FOR ACCOMPLISHMENT? UPDATE OF WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT PROPERTIES CONSIDERED?

WE SHOULD ENGAGE OUR PARTNER MEMBERS TO SUBMIT LETTERS. JAMIE WILL TAKE LEAD WITH PARTNERS. TODDI WILL TAKE LEAD WITH FACULTY.

FROM COLLEEN BOCKHAHN RE: DATABASE

Hello, I've attached the excel template for data entry. I am still working on the instruction sheet to accompany it, since it has to be more in-depth than I originally thought. I will be working on it next week, and hope to have all the information necessary for you to use the template by next Thursday. This may work out for the best, since I plan on attending nest week's meeting, and can clarify things and answer any questions you may have in person. Sorry for the delay, but we are still in the process of finalizing things, and want to make sure all our ducks are in a row before sharing with the rest of the world! Thank you for your patience, Colleen Bockhahn Assistant Park Manager - Programs Lake Crabtree County Park

DATABASE TEMPLATE HERE

Hello,

Sorry I couldn't make the meeting this morning! Here is the instruction sheet to accompany the Excel spreadsheet. Please do not circulate outside of the WNPP group...we will make it more widely available once our staff is more comfortable with the system and once the final version is approved by our group. This should be pretty close to (if not exactly) what the final version will be.

(See attached file: NRID Excel Directions.docx)

Please send any completed spreadsheets to Meghan Lobsinger. She is the coordinator for data for the open space properties. Once she has had a chance to look at the data and communicate with you if needed, she will then send the sheets to me for uploading, since I am the administrator for those properties.

GEORGE, CAN WE ESTABLISH A PLACE ON THE WIKI WHERE THESE DOCUMENTS ARE POSTED AND WITH DIRECTION THAT THIS IS HOW WE NEED TO CATALOG INFORMATION IF WE WANT TO SUBMIT TO WAKE COUNTY? THANK YOU.

-- Toddi

Toddi,  I have almost no comments on the MOU (see attached). Admittedly, some of the stuff I didn’t fully understand (e.g. under “Other Provisions” and the “Non-Fund Obligating Document,” but that is why I am not an attorney). I was wondering why it expires after five years, and also why we emphasize publicly-owned under “Purpose”, but that emphasis is not consistent throughout, especially in the objectives and what I think would be goals (i.e. “Identify and designate as “WakeNature Preserves” protected open spaces in Wake County that contain important ecological resources that meet WakeNature criteria and qualify them for this distinction; Create more public awareness and appreciation of the highest quality natural areas in Wake County; Develop the organizational capacity to conduct natural resource inventories on and develop management plans for nature preserves; Develop an organized, volunteer base of citizen-scientists to inventory, monitor and steward nature preserves..” ). I think it looks good, and I appreciate the time and effort you all have put into it. Thanks. Scott

From George Hess 2011 Apr 4: Like Scott, I have few comments. I also don't understand some of the legal jargon or why we really need it. I don't think we can do much more with this and that we should either (a) run it through legal or (b) start seeing if anyone will sign it. On the issue of our mission statement ... // To organize and provide resources to identify ecologically valuable, publicly [and privately? (e.g. TLC)]owned open spaces within Wake County and to build capacity for appropriate management and long-term stewardship of those areas. ... ﻿ wow, how have we missed that for so long? I'm not sure what to change it to. ... ecologically valuable, protected open spaces ... Because public + private is everything, but saying ecologically valuable open spaces doesn't get at the point that there's lots of open space that's not conserved / protected. //

TODDI WILL MAKE FINAL CHANGES AND WE WILL START TO MOVE MOU THROUGH OUR RESPECTIVE PROCESSES FOR APPROVAL. WE EXPECT THAT ADDITIONAL CHANGES MAY NEED TO BE MADE AS DIFFERENT GROUPS EVALUATE THE DOCUMENT.

LUPINE PLANING SCHEDULED??

TENTATIVE DATE OF MAY 5 FOR LUPINE SEED COLLECTION, MOU UNVEILING AND GENERAL CELEBRATION AT TURNIPSEED. JAMIE WILL TALK TO CHRIS AND SEE WHERE THIS LEADS.