Chippewa Flowage Invasive Species Education and Management(CFISEM) Steering Committee |
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Minutes
from the meeting of (Minutes taken by Jen Bunker and typed by Erik Olson) (Minutes are not exact quotes but shorthand versions) In Attendance: Not in Attendance: Mic Isham, Michael Koehler, Steven Spickerman, David Berard, and Cheryl Treland. Erik- Welcomed everyone and handed out agenda and attachments. Erik- Showed Committee the project website and where to obtain meeting minutes. http://www.lco-college.edu/public/ext/water/WaterQuality.htm Erik- Discussed how input from steering committee led to a Tribal College Research Grant application (still pending). This was written to address the issue of “entry points” into the Chippewa Flowage for invasive species. Handed out Project Summary. Deb- Discussed Objective One of the project, which
focuses on surveying and mapping the existing areas of AIPS (Aquatic
Invasive Plant Species) on the East and West Forks of the Tracey- Discussed Objective Two and Three of the
project. Objective Two
focuses on researching the distribution and frequency of boater traffic
into and out of the Chippewa Flowage and the West and East Forks of the See- The Aquatic Invasive Plant Species Entry Points Research Project Erik- Went over CFISEM Steering Committee By-Laws. Pointed out section VIII. Hopes that this Committee will evolve into an inter-agency/organization forum on Invasive Species Education and Management on the Chippewa Flowage. See- CFISEM Steering Committee By-Laws Erik- Asked for feedback on Project Timetable that was handed out at the last meeting. None. See- Project Timetable Erik- Moved meeting into Project Updates: Discussed collaboration with Sawyer County Lakes Forum and introduced Bruce Meyers, Chair of the Sawyer County Lakes Forum. Bruce- Explained Invasive Species Outreach Project.
Planning a luncheon for licensed guides and bait dealers in Bruce- Also attending the Annual Hayward Lakes Convention and Visitors Bureau Meeting to provide them with educational materials for reference and with “posters” for hotel and resort rooms. Erik- Thanks Bruce. Erik- Elders Association invited him to present at their February meeting on invasive species. He did and got a great response, with many questions and some expressions of concern. Erik- Purple Loosestrife and Eurasian Watermilfoil Methodology: Went over Purple Loosestrife Volunteer Survey Guide and Purple Loosestrife Data Sheet. Explained that this year surveying will be done on the Eastern half of the Chippewa Flowage and that the Western half will be surveyed in the summer of 2006. Volunteers will be recruited to do purple loosestrife monitoring. They will be trained and will be asked to observe and record infestations of purple loosestrife on a section of shoreline once between mid-July and August. See- Purple Loosestrife Volunteer Survey Guide and Purple Loosestrife Data Sheet Craig- Suggested having Volunteers use their personal GPS units to obtain coordinates of infestations. Neal- Keep safety in mind when training volunteers, especially when around bogs. Dale- How many Volunteers do you hope to get? Erik- 10-20. Jerry- Offered to volunteer for a survey section through the Tribal Historic Preservation Office since he will be working on the East half this summer anyway. Erik- Eurasian Watermilfoil Survey Guide and Eurasian Watermilfoil Data Sheet. Using point intercept to collect data on eurasian watermilfoil and to create distribution maps. See- Eurasian Watermilfoil Survey Guide and Eurasian Watermilfoil Data Sheet Erik- Asked for input on grid size. This will determine the number of survey points on the flowage. Keep in mind; time, accuracy, and value. Tracey- Provided Committee with maps showing difference between 200meter, 300meter, and 500meter grid sizes. Dan T. - Suggested that the 300meter grids would work but the 200meter grid size would be preferable. Craig- Concurred with Dan, and suggested looking at
setting a limiting depth which would reduce number of points to be
surveyed. Erik- Liked the 200-300meter grids and mentioned that we will also be recording native plants which really hasn’t been done yet on the CF and will help with future management decisions. Craig- If you are already doing rake drags to sample plants it may be nice to do a density test also. Abundance Values. Erik- Explained water clarity sampling sites. Jerry- Suggested looking at old maps before flooding to find original lakes and rivers and test those areas for water clarity. Dan T. - LCO Conservation is already doing water clarity tests in 35 sites on the CF and are in prominent bays and open areas, related to pre-flooding lakes and rivers. Erik- Training of Interns and Volunteers will be
done by Erik- Introduce Jerry Smith. Jerry will be helping the CFISEM Project by creating a map layer of traditional names of the island, points, bays, etc. Jerry- Tribal Historic Preservation Office has a grant to locate tribal historical sites. He will then be able to create a map layer of sensitive areas to be provided to agencies. With this map, agencies will be able to take extra caution in those sensitive areas when doing field work, and will be able to help monitor them. Erik- A protocol could also be developed to assist agencies in case they come across any historical artifacts. Erik- Opened the meeting for Discussion. Dan T. - Suggested that it would be beneficial to invite Excel Energy to the Committee, to look at possible management techniques. Jerry- Knows someone who may be very interested in attending the meetings. And there may be funding through them as well. Discussion of draw downs; Pro’s and Con’s, Double Edged Sword. Chuck- Who controls water level now? Response- Excel Chuck- They should be apart of this committee. Neal- They have been open to suggestions in the past. Chuck- Why is there no collaboration to decide annual draw downs? Erik- Will contact Excel and offer them the opportunity to sit on the Committee for the fall meeting. Erik- Thanks to everyone for coming. Minutes will be on the web site. Next meeting will be this fall (time and place TBA). Post Meeting Erik- This Committee
focuses on the Chippewa Flowage Invasive Species Education and
Management Project, which is doing education/outreach within |
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Next CFISEM Steering Committee meeting is September 28, 2005. |