Meeting+2012+Apr+5

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

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Steelman not attending (in AZ) Hammerbacher not attending - Invasive Species Awareness Week event event at TLC's Irvin Farm
 * Attendance Notes**


 * Attending:** C. Smith, Blank, Hess (presiding), Connors, Lobsinger, Misty Buchanan, Perlmutter, Carr, Leung, A. Miller


 * Introductions as needed**

Misty Buchanan, Natural Heritage Program

//**Promotion Committee**//
GOAL: Create more public awareness and appreciation of our highest quality natural areas in Wake County. In 2012 we will: 1) develop a website (completed); 2) maintain/update the website (on-going); 3) promote WakeNature through one or more Stewardship Awards; 4) Promote WakeNature by holding a training session for resource managers; 5) Create promotional materials to get the message of WakeNature out to a broader audience; 6) Work on fundraising provided key fundable priorities are identified

Steelman had a very good conversation with Cindy Holmes on 3/2. She said there is opportunity for becoming associated with the Urban Stewardship Award. We could have a named award, e.g. The WakeNature Urban Stewardship Award We could re-jigger the current language that describes the award to suit our purposes more. Enhance the description so it is oriented toward the stewardship and management of more ecologically significant lands Sponsorship could come in monetary or in-kind form-- we could serve on the jury (they really need scientists), volunteer in a different capacity, help on the night of the Awards ceremony, etc... They would like someone to represent us on 4/24 which is the night of the next Awards ceremony-- show of support (Tuesday 6-8 pm at Nature Research Ctr) Next step would be for us to come to agreement on this and then run it by Cindy so she could run it up her flagpole.


 * NOTES**
 * In favor of pursuing further
 * One concern was whether there's any issues about giving awards to organizations, including municipalities, outside of Raleigh
 * Blank and Hammerbacher have indicated they can attend on 24 April and will talk with Cindy Holmes about this.

Steelman had follow up convesations with Yu-Fai, Charlynne, Aram, and then Kofi Boone about incorporating into a class in the fall the opportunity to lay out some interpretive signs for some key features at the Turnipseed Preserve, Swift Creek Bluffs and/or Lake Johnson.

The upshot: Aram Attarian is teaching an interpretive education course in Spring 2013 and that might be an option. Still waiting to hear back from Aram on this front. Yu-Fai teaches a recreation planning course in the fall. Our project is not a perfect fit, but could be a project for a group in that class. Kofi hasn't set his fall curriculum yet for his studio, but will be working on an advanced landscape architecture studio and will be working in SW Raleigh so there is potential for some overlap. He wants to talk further.

I would like general feedback from WakeNature at this point about how to pursue this further. Should we aim for something in the fall or spring. Aram's course is probably the best fit, but it is in the Fall. Yu-Fai and Kofi's courses are a less good fit, but more immediate. Thoughts?


 * NOTES**
 * Leung's course is not a good fit - Attarian's Interpretive Education course is the best fit and is offered in spring 2013. Hess can follow up with him about this. There does not seem to be any urgency on the signs other than the question of actual funds for signs - the TLC funding must be spent by end of 2012. We would need to provide input on ley features and help with basic content.
 * Turnipseed is not a good target right now, because the County is not able to move quickly to open it to the public. Swift Creek Bluffs could use some signage on the golf course (west) side of the preserve. Doing some work at Lake Johnson could be a good step in deepening relations with Raleigh.
 * Some discussion of getting promotion on TV through "Our State" or on WUNC radio
 * Questions about press kit - main issue is that there's no leadership on this

//Inventory Committee// GOALS: 1) to compile a list of potential WakeNature preserve sites that contain examples of excellent ecological resources that either are being managed for their sustainability or are in need of management, 2) select two potential sites to focus on resource inventory building and management plan development for WakeNature Preserve designation. Focus sites for 2012 include TLC's Swift Creek Bluffs (nearly complete) and City of Raleigh's Lake Johnson Park. With Swift Creek Bluffs nearly complete, a third site for focus is an assemblage of properties in the Marks Creek watershed near Turnipseed: Beech, Williamson and West tracts.

From Melissa Salter (City of Raleigh Needs): ** Lake **** Johnson ** Flora and/or fauna inventory – we don’t even have a good bird list for Lake Johnson Mapping of plant communities Inventory of resources such as lichens, fungi… Inventory and prioritization of invasives Supervision of volunteers during work days Analysis of trail system – formal and informal trails

** Anderson Point ** Flora inventory in wetlands and Progress Energy/Public Utilities easements Supervision of volunteers during invasive removal (pulling Chinese privet seedlings, removing Japanese honeysuckle, Eleaegnus control)

** Barwell Road **** Michaux sumac site – small and sensitive site – need reliable conscientious volunteers ** Kudzu removal Mimosa seedling removal Japanese honeysuckle removal Selective small tree and shrub removal around sumac plants Coordination of “Sumac Task Force” to develop an appropriate management plan for the si__te__


 * NOTES **
 * This year's focus on Swift Creek Assemblage and Lake Johnson for detail inventories - need some leadership and organizational help with this
 * C. Smith agreed to do website development in her GIS class during the Fall 2012 semester
 * Basic idea is to develop an interactive, web-based map of natural areas throughout Wake County, including content about best times to visit to see different things, and items of interest at each site.
 * We need to develop that list to turn over to the student team and some basic specs about what we'd like

From G. Perlmutter: I've sorted out the CVS data into two spreadsheets: one for Swift Creek Bluffs and one for Mitchell's Mill State Natural Area. These in turn have split tables per sampled site, plus a compiled vascular plant list per area. These lists were also cross-referenced with the current NHP Rare Plant List (Franklin Buchannan & Finnegan 2010). Totals are:


 * Swift Creek Bluffs:** 114 taxa in 61 families with 6 listed (rare / watchlist) species.
 * Mitchell's Mill:** 111 taxa in 60 families with 3 listed species.



//**Capacity Committee**//
GOALS: 1) To compile a list of volunteer activities which need to be undertaken on WakeNature Preserves (or targeted sites), 2) build list of potential volunteers willing to devote time to developing nature preserves (with interests and skill sets), 3)Plan at least two more volunteer workdays for 2012.

Update on volunteer workday (Service Raleigh, March 24): Unfortunately the workday was rained out. A special thanks to Meghan, Ross and Chris, who helped with organization and showed up early Saturday morning despite the rain! Now that we have a plan for a trash removal workday, it will be easier to get the materials together to try again, we’ll just have to recruit our own volunteers this time.

Survey sent to mailing list asking for input on training opportunities.
 * 11 responses (email sent to 49, including many of us regularly in the room) for a 22% response rate
 * Forest restoration
 * invasive species
 * management plan creation
 * rapid inventory
 * management of sensitive issues (deer, logging, etc)
 * volunteer capacity building
 * Rapid inventory received most 1st and 2nd choice selections (4 each) followed by invasive species (2) and management plan creation (2)
 * We asked what people could help with - several can help with invasive species; Natural Heritage offered some help with inventory.
 * What next?


 * NOTES**
 * Noted low response numbers - sent to WakeNature list only - Hess to ask Snow to send to park directors and see if we can get more input
 * Bad timing for rapid inventory until spring. Rapid inventory would be focused on doing a walk through a property to identify areas that are important and need further attention, as well as where people can get help with working through the details.
 * Current thinking, pending any further input on survey, is to offer an invasive species workshop in the fall (September 2012) and a rapid inventory workshop in the spring (April 2013).
 * Idea: Can we set these workshops up as continuing education opportunities that would provide credits to people needing continuing education credits, and charge a fee for this? This could attract people from a broader area and possible help with our name recognition.

//**Other Business**//
Wake County closed on the Medlin in-holding at Turnipseed on 3/20/2012. Turnipseed Nature Preserve is no longer a donut! Also, the lupine is blooming at Turnipseed as of 3/23/2012! -Lobsinger