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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-02-16 MinutesDraft minutes -Not yet approved by Committee NOTES OF MEETING OF SAMUEL WILMOT NATURE AREA MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE HELD ON TUESDAY FEBRUARY 16, 2010 AT 7:00 P.M. Present: (Voting) John Stoner -Chair Dan Stanoi Darin Murphy-Vice Chair Brian Reid Jim Cleland Pat Mulcahy Joe McKemla David Best Councillor Willie Woo Staff Present: Peter Windolf Regrets: Shirley Minifie Absent: Greg Wells - GRCA Arthur Burrows Warren May - MNR 1. Agenda Additions Recycled bat box -Jim Cleland Evergreen Application -John Stoner Acceptance of A eg nda MOVED by Karin Murphy, seconded by Jim Cleland THAT the agenda for February 16, 2010 be accepted. CARRIED 2. Minutes of January 20, 2010 Corrections There were no corrections to the minutes 2 Approval of Minutes MOVED by David Best, seconded by Jim Cleland THAT the minutes of January 20, 2010 be approved. CARRIED 3. Issues arising from the Minutes There were no issues arising from the minutes. 4. Sub-Committee Reports Communications Joe provided a hard copy of the Winter 2010 Newsletter. The newsletter has now been printed and is in the process of being distributed to the mailing list. Shirley will place copies of the newsletter at the Wheelhouse in the Wilmot Community. Karin will post the laminated version on the kiosk. 5. Updates Winter Bird and Mammal Count A Winter Bird and Mammal Count was conducted on February 7. The count was lead by John Foster from the Durham Field Naturalists. Three teams were assembled to count at different areas of the SWNA. Committee members present were David Best, Jim Cleland, John Stoner, Karin Murphy, Shirley Minifie, Dan Stanoi and Brian Reid. Five others from the Durham Field Naturalists also participated. The consensus of those who attended was that it was a good first step and learning experience and the results will provide a good baseline for future counts. A significant number of water birds were counted but the overall numbers and variety of birds was low which is consistent with other 2010 bird counts in Ontario. Unfortunately the lack of snow made the mammal count difficult since tracks were hard to find. Some of the marmnals counted were American Beaver, Muskrat, Eastern Cottontail, Red Fox, Coyote, and White Tailed Deer. The results from the count will be brought to a future SWNA meeting. Trail Relocation -Cost Estimate At the January meeting, two conceptual layouts were presented to illustrate how the 27% trail slope east of the pedestrian bridge can be reduced. The committee endorsed the option that re-routes the trail S/E from the bottom of the slope for approximately 100m until it reconnects with the existing trail. This would decrease the grade on the trail to 3 10% and would remove a small portion of the trail that currently encroaches onto the Hydro One corridor. The cost estimate for the project including all engineering, taxes and contingencies was $77,000. Although there is no funding currently available to complete the work the conceptual design and cost estimate will be valuable should the project be included in a future capital budget or if a trail funding program becomes available through another level of government. Newsletter/SWNA blot The Winter 2010 Newsletter was the last print edition. The option of creating an SWNA blog in lieu of a Newsletter was discussed. A blog would be easily accessible to anyone doing an Internet search for the Samuel Wilmot Nature Area. The blog could provide up- to-date information about the SWNA, future events or work occurring at the SWNA. Information could be posted to the blog imunediately rather than accumulating stories for a future newsletter. After discussion of the blog's potential benefits the following Resolution was moved by Brian Reid, seconded by David Best; That the SWNA establish. a blog to provide up to date information on SWNA activities ccnd events. Carried It was agreed that all information provided by SWNA Committee members for the blog would be sent to the Municipality. Jennifer O'Donnell would upload the information to the biog. Trails Open 2010 In conjunctiori with Doors Open Ontario the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO) will feature trail walks as part of their 2010 program of events. The Clarington Branch of the ACO has requested that the SWNA be included as a Trails Open site. The events are timed to coincide with Doors Open on the weekend of June 5 and 6. A minimum of one guided tour must be offered on the day of the event lasting from 30 minutes to four hours. After discussing the merits of participating in the Trails Open the following Resolution was moved by Karin Murphy, seconded by Pat Mulcahy; That the SWNA committee agree to participate in Trails Open 2010 and offer guided tours of the site on June S and 6. Can-ied Discussion about the details of the event determined that the SWNA tours could start from the Cobbledick parking lot at 2:00 PM on both June 5 and 6 and will last 1-1.5 hours. Brian Reid and David Best have volunteered to be available for the tours, others may also be available but could not commit at this time. Karin Murphy will contact Leslie Wilson from the Newcastle and District Historical Society to see if she would be 4 interested in participating in the tours or if she would be available to attend a future SWNA meeting to brief members about interesting historical details of the site that they could use during the guided tours. Further discussion with the Ciarington branch of the ACO to firm up details of the event will be required. Evergreen Green Grants Program An application was submitted to Evergreen in advance of January 29, 2010 deadline. The proposed project would include tree and shrub planting in the riparian zones, the old fields, and along the edges of the SWNA. John Stoner has received confirmation that the application was received by Evergreen and that funding decisions will be made by March 31, 2010. Recycled Bat Boxes Jim Cleland brought a sample of a bat box made from recycled plastic. The box was very sturdy but also very heavy. The cost of the bat box wasn't known but it would be investigated further if the committee decides to install more bat boxes in the future. 6. Other Business/Next Meeting Brian will talk with John Foster about holding a spring event at the SWNA themed around Wildflowers. Motion to Adjourn MOVED by Brian Reid, seconded by Joe McKenna THAT the meeting be adjourned. CARRIED Adjournment: 8:30 P.M. Next Meeting: Tuesday March 9, 2010 7:00 p.m. Meeting Room lA Notes prepared by P. Windolf