ACTION ITEM 1: Agenda approved.
ACTION ITEM 2: Minutes of February and January meetings reviewed, approved with corrections.
ACTION ITEM 3: Upon reviewing the minutes of the previous Planning Committee meetings and hearing the Brief Presentations from the Workgroups, Tasks 1-3 were developed to implement outstanding tasks from previous Planning Committee meetings and to meet the needs identified by the Workgroups.
Task 1. In order to develop an MCWMA policy on liability coverage for volunteers, Lynn and Peter are researching the rules on insurance for volunteers in the State Forest, as there may be a uniform policy for California State Department of Resources. In addition, Tara will contact Mendocino Land Trust and Point Cabrillo Lighthouse Keepers for information on their policies regarding insurance for volunteers. These tasks are carried over from the January Planning Committee meeting, and should be completed as soon as possible. Peter commented that CNPS guidelines for announcements of events requires that carpools are not to be arranged by the organizing body, and the level of difficulty of the event should be announced. Peter has talked to Lori about CNPS coverage of volunteers, and that is one possible avenue to cover MCWMA volunteers. Peter also noted that long-term State Parks volunteers are required to get medical clearance and are treated similar to employees.
Task 2. In order to conduct outreach to consulting foresters, Lynn will scan the list of RPFs and e-mail to Tara. Tara will send partner invitations to the RPFs, including copies of the MOA and MCWMA fact sheet. In order to demonstrate the value of MCWMA partnership to RPFs, Tara will create a section of resources webpage with links of interest to professional foresters. These tasks will be completed by the next Planning Committee meeting.
Task 3. In order to develop data-quality objectives for Noyo/Big River Watersheds Management Plan, Lynn will track down USFS studies on impacts to watershed services. Clare had mentioned that such studies existed.
ACTION ITEM 4: The procedure for selecting the NFWF demonstration site, as presented by the Projects Workgroup, was approved. Tara will develop a checklist, to be distributed by March 15. Evaluation criteria will include accessibility and visibility. The internal review process to select the demonstration site should select for high probability of success while addressing the need for long-term maintenance. The checklist will be completed, to the extent that information is known, by MCWMA Partners, with assistance from the Coordinator. The completed checklists are due to the Coordinator by April 5. The Projects and Education Workgroups will meet jointly on April 6 to select a preferred location for the demonstration project. The Partners will meet for the MCWMA Quarterly meeting at the preferred site for a tour and discussion, and will vote to approve the demonstration project. Disposal of weed debris is a common problem to all sites and needs to be addressed before implementation is begun. Tasks 4-6 were developed to implement the procedure for selection of the NFWF demonstration site.
Task 4. One proposed site is the intersection of Hwy 20 and Hwy 1, including Caltrans right-of-way, Harvest Market grounds, and other land owners. Peter will talk with Bob Melendez about feasibility of this site.
Task 5. Another site which is under consideration is the Caspar transfer station. Lynn will lead completion of the checklist, with help from Walt.
Task 6. A third site that has been mentioned is the Pudding Creek Trestle. Peter will lead completion of the checklist.
Task 8. In order to develop protocols for baseline assessment of project sites, Lynn will distribute the draft baseline assessment protocol to partners and associates with botanical expertise for review. Comments received will be incorporated into a final draft, to be tested at the demonstration site and in the Noyo/Big River watershed planning document. Survey protocols must be consistent with the permitting requirements for the site. Tara will ask Patty Madigan about regulatory drivers for data collection.
ACTION ITEM 5: It was approved for the MCWMA to become a member of MCCET for an annual fee of $120. The Planning Committee will review the value of the membership after 1 year. The Education and Outreach Workgroup will select a person to take the training course that allows us to borrow MCCET video equipment. The video equipment can be used to document work on the demonstration project. Task 7 was developed to implement these changes.
Task 7. Tara will send in membership application to MCCET by April 1.
ACTION ITEM 6: Changes for format and clarification were suggested. Tasks 9 and 10 were developed to implement these changes.
Task 9. In order to complete the Strategic Plan, Tara will make format changes to Strategic Plan regarding numbering of sections and incorporate a graphical representation of the decision tree for species categorization and prioritization, to be reviewed at the next Planning Committee meeting. The term "refugium" is defined as a spatially-defined area managed to be free of invasive weeds that impact the land management goals of that site. Peter, Lynn, Walt, Patty and Ray will send glossary entries and additional review comments to Tara as a document version with change-tracking turned on. Please rename the file to include your initials and date of revision. (Example MCWMA-STP_PJW_2006_03_17.doc). Comments are due by April 25 so they may be incorporated into the final draft in time for the Planning Committee meeting on April 27.
Task 10. In order to implement the species categorization and prioritization, Tara will research invasive weed inventory and alert lists in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia coastal areas for additional entries in the invasive weeds spreadsheet. By April 15, Peter will send Tara a supplemental list of plant species known to be present in the MCWMA. By April 27, Tara will review Mendocino Flora and Peter's list for additional invasive species present in the MCWMA. Following review of the list at the next Planning Committee meeting, Tara will send the "Not Present in MCWMA" species list to Teresa, then Fred Hrusa for verification. Tara will contact Cal-IPC to get a copy of the final Cal-IPC Invasive Plant Inventory revision. By March 24, Tara will update the spreadsheet for Ecological Impact based on Cal-IPC reviews. Also by March 24, Lynn will provide Economic Impact ratings (H/M/L) for some forestry weeds (if possible include narrative of 1-3 sentences stating rationale for rating.) Rating is on a relative or per area basis, and is not influenced by the current distribution.
ACTION ITEM 7: The next MCWMA Quarterly Meeting will be held in the first week of May. Input from all the Partners is needed in order to set the exact date. Tara will schedule this meeting as Task_11.
ACTION ITEM 8: Coordinator's Priorities (March, 2006) were approved. Tasks 12 and 13 were developed to assist the Coordinator to carry out these priority items.
Task 12. In order to maintain weed treatment records to satisfy reporting requirements of NFWF grant, Peter, Lynn will estimate miles/acres treated for past reporting periods (June 15/05 to Feb 28/ 06) and forward to Tara by April 1. Tara will revise the in-kind reporting form to include miles/acres treated, and distribute the link to the new form in the April newsletter.
Task 13. In order to get additional content for the newsletter, Peter will write a piece on workdays for the next MCWMA newsletter Also, Peter will ask Matt Coleman to write something up on Big River Stewards workdays for next MCWMA newsletter.
ACTION ITEM 9: Next Planning Committee Meeting set for Thursday April 27, 2006, 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM, JDSF Learning Center Agenda items for next meeting include nAgenda.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:10 PM.