MINUTES FOR THE MEETING

ASHLAND FOREST LANDS COMMISSION

April 11, 2006 – 5:30 PM

Community Development, 51 Winburn Way

MEMBERS PRESENT:         Richard Brock (Chair), Anthony Kerwin, Jim Lewis

                                                                                    Dan Maymar, Joseph Vaile

Members Absent:                              Frank Betlejewski, Diane White

Staff Present:                                                  Keith Woodley, Nancy Slocum

Non-Voting Members Present:         Cate Hartzell

I.                   CALL TO ORDER: Chair Brock called the meeting to order at 5:40 PM in the Siskiyou Room.

II.                APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Vaile/Brock m/s to approve the minutes of February 15^th as submitted. Motion passed unanimously.

III.             PUBLIC FORUM: None

IV.              ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA – Woodley added Commissioner Reappointments and the 2006/07 Budget Request to the agenda.

V.                 OLD BUSINESS

A.     Commissioner Reappointments – Woodley announced that although Anthony Kerwin would be seeking reappointment to the commission, Frank Betlejewski would not. An ad was placed to fill the vacancy, but no one had applied.

B.     2006/07 Budget Request – Woodley distributed a memo detailing this year’s budget request. The proposed budget was submitted for $200,000. The itemization was as follows:

Chris Chamber’s position, if approved, would be funded via a raise in water rates. The original grant went a long way toward getting property owners in the interface area to treat for fire hazard reduction, however, future maintenance would need to be paid by property owners and would require someone to continually sell the benefits of fuel reduction. Woodley said community support for the position was imperative. Kerwin asked if it would be beneficial for members of the commission to attend the appropriate budget committee meeting. Hartzell said yes. Slocum would email the time and place of the budget meeting. Brock volunteered to write a letter of support.

The commission discussed how the $30,000 forest management activities money might be utilized. Woodley said the money could be used for inventory and/or fuels reduction work. Brock’s idea was to use the funds for noncommercial thinning in the Winburn Parcel.

C.     AFRCAT Update – Woodley was disappointed that there was no response from the Forest Service yet on the joint prescribed fire project.

The FEIS had been delayed because of a recent court ruling. The Forest Service cannot move forward until a Red Tree Vole and mollusk inventory had been completed (scheduled for this summer). The FEIS is now scheduled for publication December 2006, comment period March and April 2006, the ROD by June 2007 with implementation in July 2007.

Vaile suggested the Forest Service do some preliminary marking of units during this delay. Hartzell asked Brock to talk to Linda Duffy to determine what, if any, work could be done on AFR while waiting for the additional survey and management requirements to be competed as required by the January 2006 court ruling. She suggested it would be a good community outreach project. She also suggested inviting scientists to contribute to research in the watershed.

D.     Monitoring Subcommittee Update – Brock reported that no additional meetings have taken place. He wondered if Main could inventory the lower watershed treated areas for vegetation (including invasive species), ground cover, down small wood, mortality and transcripts. Vaile / Maymar m/s to direct Main to initiate post treatment plot and transcript monitoring on the city-owned lower parcel to determine the effects of the 2004 restoration project. Motion passed unanimously.

E.      AFR City Council Study Session Agenda – Hartzell said that because the FACA issue was resolved, there was no need for the study session to be rescheduled. Woodley agreed and noted that in addition Linda Duffy did not see a need for a study session, but she had offered to answer any questions the commission or the AFRCATs might have. Hatzell asked Woodley, once he received a response from Brock, to send Council a memo on the status of the prescribed fire issue, the status of AFR and what work the City and/or the Forest Service could do in the meantime.

F.      Continued Discussion on MOU Draft – Brock and Kerwin were disappointed that their comments were not incorporated into Draft No. 2. Because Betlejewski was leaving the commission, Slocum would integrate any comments received before May 1^st. There was disagreement as to whether Council would want to review the MOU before or after legal and Forest Service approval. No decision was made.

G.     Review Winburn Inventory Data and Prescriptions – Vaile noted that it would be helpful to discuss Main’s overview and analysis of the Winburn Parcel on site. Brock said the ultimate goal was to come up with a plan of action based on Main’s suggested prescriptions. Did the commission want to change any of the prescriptions?

Commission set Saturday, April 29^th as the date for a hike to the Winburn Parcel contingent upon Main’s availability.

VI.              NEW BUSINESS

A.     Update Commission Glossary – Tabled.

B.     Noxious Vegetation Inventory – Slocum researched samples from other jurisdictions and will email them to Brock to review for future discussion.

VII.           OTHER

VIII.        ADJOURN: 7:13 PM

Richard Brock, Chair

Respectfully Submitted, Nancy Slocum, Clerk