FORESTRY COMMITTEE MEETING
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
USDA Service Center, Watertown, NY

Present: Bob Keller, Carl Golas, Gary Eddy, Linda Gibbs, Scott Burto, Mike Burns, Reg Purrington, Aaron Earl, Scott Cook, Ken Hopler, Glen Roberts, Dave Larrabee, Chanda Lindsay, Becca Hare

The meeting was brought to order at 10:32 and introductions were made.

Minutes:
Glen made a motion to accept the minutes as written from the previous Forestry Committee meeting. Carl seconded. Motion carried.

Unfinished Business:
Tug Hill Trails and Trees (Dave Larrabee)
Dave distributed the Business Plan for Non-Motorized Winona Forest, Barnes Corners, and Carpenter Road Trails. Discussion ensued. Bob made a motion to help foster other groups and communities to assist with the project as well as assist with administering grant monies. Reg seconded. Motion carried.
Northern Forest Partnership Grant/Lumber Grading Workshops
The dates have been set for the upcoming Lumber Grading Workshops (October 6th &7th; November 4th &5th). There will be 4 workshops. Three of these workshops will be held in the Black River St. Lawrence RC&D area (Camden, Moira, and Harrisville) and 1 will be held in the Greater Adirondack RC&D area (Warrensburg). Carl will continue to work with Sloane Crawford to organize sites possibly closer to Amish communities.
Annual Plan of Work
The forestry related items contained in the Annual Plan of Work were reviewed.

New Business:
Scott Cook NRCS
Scott gave an overview of the EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) opportunities for technical assistance.

Other Business:
Mike Burns NY Logger Training
New York Logger Training (NYLT) is a cooperative effort of timber harvesters; forest industry, government, educators, and foresters working together to deliver resources that will allow loggers to learn environmentally sound practices and improved skills, enabling a safer means to greater productivity, increased profitability, and a better quality of life.
NYLT was incorporated in 1994 as a non-profit organization, allowing it to function with a clear mission and focus, and making the program responsible for its own financial viability. Public training grants have allowed us to subsidize the costs of several courses, and registration fees are designed to cover direct workshop expenses. Contributions from Supporters and Sponsors have allowed the program to continue for nearly 10 years.
A volunteer Board of Directors oversees the activities of NYLT. The Board has a diverse make-up, with timber harvesters having the most representation of any group. Regional Chairs are also represented on the Board, thereby assuring input from all parts of the state. The Board of Directors meets several times a year to decide on program direction and design.
Mike informed the group of the upcoming education through NY Logger Training (www.nyloggertraining.org) if there are any ideas that the group would like to collaborate with, contact Mike (518)463-1297.
Forests of NY Placemat
Wayne is working with the Newton Falls Paper Mill in an attempt to get the paper donated for this project.
There is $1600 to reprint the placemats ($1000 International Paper Grant, $500 NYS Society of American Foresters, and $100 NY Woodsmen&#iso_39;s Field Days).
Linda Gibbs will check with the Nature Conservancy to see if they have any information on invasive species that may be included on the placemat.

Upcoming Events
Tupper Lake Woodsmen&#iso_39;s Field Days; July 11th and 12th. RC&D will have a booth if there are enough volunteers to staff it.

NY Woodsmen&#iso_39;s Field Days; August 21st 23rd. Please send any recent pictures to the RC&D business office so that the display can be updated.
Game of Logging; Target audience is maple loggers May 9th and 16th. Cost is $125, location to be determined (in Worth area).

The next Forestry Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 2nd. Site to be determined.

Respectively submitted,

Becca Hare
Recorder