Meeting+2009+Sept+03

Thursday 2009 Sept 3 8:30-10 1214 Jordan Hall, NCSU Campus
 * Wake County Nature Preserves Meeting**


 * Attendance Notes**

Jackie Trickel Colleen B. Leigh Ann Cienek Louise Alexander Kaytee Holcombe John Connors Toddi Steelman George Hess Gary Perlmutter Tim Lisk Kathyrn Reis Jamie Ramsey Sabrina Thomas Chris Snow


 * Annotated Agenda Items**

Procedurally, we will at the September 3 meeting. Voting options include "Yes", which would indicate support for the definitions/criteria, "No", which would indicate opposition to the definitions/criteria and "Abstain", which would indicate that you do not have enough information to make a decision or you are not comfortable with yes and don't want to vote no to stand in the way. Majority rules. You can vote by email too.
 * 1) The Vote!**

15 Yes 1 Abstain


 * 2) Marks Creek Lichen Survey -** Gary Perlmutter will brief on progress of this inventory project.

The lichen data sheet is located under the Marks Creek Assessment. Gary will get with John and see how it integrates into the management plan.

OSAPAC, County Commissioners, Kirschman visit. We need to come up with a date if it is going to be a major event.
 * 3) Timeline**-- Turnipseed Road Countdown-- what are we doing when to make this happen?

- Gary is going to attend the OSAPAC meeting and present lichen data - Chris and Tim update OSAPAC on what is going on at Marks Creek - Bass Lake interested in designation -Form sub-committee to see what approval process looks like (Leigh Ann, Tim, Kathryn, Toddi, Jamie, George) Kathryn will update. -What is internal process? - And how does that couple with the agency's process?
 * (from Jamie) After our last meeting, it occurred to me that it would be great to have Gary Perlmutter and perhaps someone from the University (Toddi/George?) or John Connors come to an upcoming OSAPAC meeting to give the group a briefing on the inventories that have been done on the Turnipseed Road property, as well as the management plan that has been drafted. I think OSAPAC would welcome this and be very interested in this information. I checked this by Sig (chair of OSAPAC) and he said he would like this to happen in September. Does this sound possible? Is the management plan draft done?

- Wake county still in planning phases regarding NP designation of parks - Look into more volunteer recruitment for stewardship -


 * Kirschman visit** (from Mecklenburg) - is anyone taking the lead on this? We really need someone to. When we last spoke, he was expecting a Sept visit, but that seems to be changing toward Jan/Feb 2010. We need someone to lead this effort, esp if we're going to turn it into a major event with sponsors and all. I have sent him an email letting him know about the uncertainty and that he is free to release any dates he has been holding on his schedule. Our outline for a 2-day visit appears in the notes from our 18 June meeting . (posted by george)

- Possibly speak at TLC Open Space Summit - Enhance public outreach and press regarding the designation; collaborate with PROS and TLC - Leigh Ann will get possible dates of summit and send out to others and Kirschman

Also, this was to be our **capacity-building event** for September. Given that we're not doing that, what should we do in September for capacity-building - I'd hate to lose momentum on those workshops. Do we want to present our criteria to a broader audience (ie, all munis) and discuss approaches to making it happen (including a WNPP board, possibility of TLC-held easements, etc)? We need to announce this very soon, as 17 Sept is almost too close already (that would be our normally scheduled date - we could push into Oct).


 * 4)** **CNR Volunteer** Issues-- what are the priorities for a work day/technical training this semester? Need feedback from Tim, Chris, John.


 * NOTES:**

Shumate made a few comments - Sarah Slover needs a project for winter. We agreed that we would tell Sarah that she could set up an effort to remove the trash from a potential salamander breeding pond on the Marks Creek property off Turnipseed Road.

- Possible clean out pond


 * 5) Raleigh Comp Plan Update.**

- As far as Jamie knows, the classification of Nature Parks and Preserves designation will be put into the Raleigh comp plan -


 * 6) Lake Johnson/Walnut Creek designation options**.

-


 * 7)** **Triangle Nature Preserves Partnership??** (posted by george 2009 Aug 13)

In conversations with folks at Triangle Land Conservancy about designating some of the Wake County property as Wake Nature Preserves -- which they are keenly interested in -- they raised the possibility of a wider network of such places, including some of their property in other Triangle Counties. One possibility would be that "sister organizations" could be created in each county, using our approach as a model ... so there would be Chatham Nature Preserves, Durham Nature Preserves, etc. Each could link to one another under an umbrella such as Triangle Nature Preserve System.

Another approach would be to think about expanding / renaming to create a Triangle Nature Preserve Partnership right now, with TLC being among the first to accept the brand on some of their properties throughout the Triangle, followed (or led) by Wake County. One of my concerns with this approach is whether we could reasonably use that name without adding a bunch of other members to our partnership first (people from around the Triangle) - which could be problematic, given the critical juncture we're approaching. But I also recall (1) Ed Johnson (Garner Parks) promoting this larger concept and (2) a request from some folks in Clayton / Johnston County about getting involved; (3) if TLC does this Triangle-wide, it might show the benefits of the branding to county and muni governments and help promote our efforts; (4) we do have representation in our partnership of agencies that act beyond Wake County, so it might not be that much of a grab to start talking about Triangle NPs. ... so I started to wonder if this idea has any legs. Also, it might (1) alleviate some of the concerns about calling a (eg) Raleigh park A Wake Nature Preserve; (2) alleviate potential confusion between Wake Nature Preserves and Wake Wonders (each county could have Wonders and the name would be distinct from Triangle Nature Preserve ... Wake Wonders, Chatham Wonders, etc ... the rest not as catchy as Wake Wonders, but ...)


 * What do you think of this line of thinking? A good way to go, or the seeds of confusion and distraction?**

I like the idea, especially as it sidesteps the city/county signage confusion and because we have been and will be approached by others to spread the umbrella. Another point occurs to me: like it or not, "The Triangle" gets a lot more recognition than "Wake" outside this region. Linking the area's high tech reputation to our ecological initiative might have valuable ramifications. GBBlank

I like the idea of spreading this out to a larger network, like a Triangle NPP, but I do think there is some benefit to keeping a County focus so we don't get too big and unwieldy and then decisions are too difficult to make. Each county could have their own partnership, and we could encourage consistency between us all, as well as coordination. We could lend some TA to other counties wanting to do the same thing and help provide some umbrella function. I think "sister organizations" is a great way to put it. Perhaps this could be the capacity building workshop for this fall? Maybe invite the Chatham Conservation group and the Durham Co folks to talk about this idea. I definitely think it is good for there to be some County focus, though, as people can relate to that and it also helps strengthen the function and importance of County government in this area. (Jamie)


 * NOTES:** Hess gave brief overview. Discussion postponed.

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 * Introductions as needed** (5 minutes)