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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017.06.13 Forest Lands Commission Minutes MINUTES FOR A MEETING OF THE A SHLA ND FORES T LA NDS COMMISSION Tuesday, June 13th, 2017 5:30PM to 7:30PM Fire Station #2 Conference Room 1860 Ashland Street I. CALL TO ORDER: 5:36 PM Chris Chambers, Steve Jensen,Matt Miller, Frank Betlejewski, Stef Seffinger, Marty Main, Luke Brandy, Nathan Lewis,Jeff Mcfarland,John Williams, Shannon Downey Guests: David Chapman,Jim Falkenstein II. INTRODUCTIONS III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Correction: Frank has been on the commission for 12 years, Chair for 2 years. Frank motioned to accept as amended, John seconded, All in favor. IV. PUBLIC FORUM V. ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA VI. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Trails and Recreation (20 min) i. AWTA and City Liability Update i. AF&R and Parks crafted language that covers AWTA for liability when working on trails. This language is inserted into the volunteer sign in sheet that states the coverage that AWTA has. Volunteers have to work within the scope of work that is outlined by the City in order to be covered. Jeff feels the language looks good. The City is also covered in case the volunteer does not follow the scope of work. A scope of work needs to be given to AWTA when building trial that includes an inspection protocol/sign off. ii. Waterline Trail alternate route (Chapman) i. There have been a lot of conflicts Bandersnatch/BTI/New Jabberwocky connection. The bikes come down an illegal trail below. Can bicycles and pedestrians be allowed on the water treatment road? This would turn bike traffic in another direction Chris thought the roadway would be the multi-use trail. Bandersnatch is also the Artwalk trail and it would be preferable to keep this pedestrian only since a 3rd art piece will be put along the trail. For this process to move forward, Public Works needs to give permission to use part of the road. 1. Sharron motions to approve the Ad Hoc Committee to further this issue, Matt seconded, All in favor. 2. Action Item: Jeff, David, Chris and Stef will work on an Ad Hoc Committee that will meet with Mike Faught to discuss this issue. A more formal presentation is encouraged. Any map proposals should use the online map interface. B. City Forestlands Online Map Interface (15 min) i. There has been no action or feedback since the last meeting. If everyone is happy with the instruction sheet as is. Is there a working draft map and a public view map. The Public Map is view only. Frank and Chris will meet with Ricky to finalize the instruction sheet. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. Climate Energy Action Plan (LEAP) (60 min) a. The Forest Lands Commission is working on numerous goals stated in the LEAP. Goals of the Forest Plan include: 1. Reduce high severity fires; 2. Manage for both development and maintenance of older forest that may sequester and retain large amounts of carbon over time. 3. Restoration of diverse forest structures, plants communities an associated genetic resources which are important mechanisms of resilience; 4. Multiple species management including species selected to thrive in future warmer and drier conditions such as pines, hardwoods and shrubs; 5. Management of invasive species. There are tools in the Forest Plan that will help move these CEAP goals forward. i. NS-1.1: Manage forests to retain biodiversity. The Forest Plan is taking care of this. ii. NS-1.2: Bio swales, minimize sediment- Applies more to Parks— does not apply to any City forest lands. iii. NS-1.3: Maintain fish habitat; Ashland Ponds is specifically identified for anadromous fisheries; last January there was a presentation to the Parks and Rec Commission. iv. NS-1.4: Map and protect areas that provide ecosystem services. 1. Use the glossary of the Forest Plan for the LEAP. 2. Increase Public Outreach b. At what point do some of the objectives of the Ashland Forest Plan conflict with the CEAP goals?Not all fires are created equal. The carbon output from wildfire vs. a low intensity underburn is much different. Soil contains a large amount of carbon, and the soil needs to be protecting the soil as much as the trees. There are individuals in the community that believe there is no scientific evidence that thinning reduces wildfire risk. The Forest Lands Commission has data and experience from the last 20 years to share with people of this opinion. The commission could hold a workshop or share a presentation to some of the CEAP developers. Shannon suggested to run the data through Behave or another fire behavior model. This could be a great master's thesis. c. How do we move this topic forward? Stef will work on setting up a meeting with the Mayor, City Administrator and Adam Hanks to present this talk in the next month. Additional outreach work could be done to help the community understand how the CEAP and the Forest Lands Commission mesh. A pamphlet? A crosswalk, educational output? There are two approved documents that are not in contradiction to each other. B. Trails Master Plan Committee Update (5 min) a. The Committee is examining the City looking for successes and improvements including easements, bridges &rights of way from the last plan. They have completed the Greenway, Ashland Creek, TID, and Wrights Creek. The ultimate goal is to have the update completed by the end of the year. There is funding available to do final edits on the plan. There has been discussion about combining with current map projects. C. AFR and AFAR Project Update (5 min) AFR: Great burn days recently. Over 200 acres are completed on the western border of the watershed. Burns have been on the warmer end and have had good consumption. Helicopter operations will be complete at the end of next week, but log trucks will still be moving so closures will still be in effect. VIII. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS The next Watershed Artwalk piece will be on the lower park of the trial. Luke hiked through the Acid Castle Rocks area after the last meeting and thought the work completed was exceptional. IX. REVIEW AND SET COMMISSION CALENDAR/NEXT MEETING AGENDA A. Next Regularly Scheduled Meeting is July l lth, 2017 B. Next Meeting Agenda: Bandersnatch Trail Update, LEAP Presentation IX. ADJOURN: 7:30 PM In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the Public Works Office at 488-5587 (TTYphone number 1 800 735 2900). Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to the meeting(28 CFR 35102-35.104 ADA Title I).