Agenda items:MARPAT- Workshops - go through Shen. Co. Parks and Rec.?
- Media - radio spots - to promote Cindy's presentation and a monthly spot about water?
- Civic Soap box article?
Annual meeting/State of the River Planning committee- set date for organizational meeting in January
- discussion of talking points for upcoming media appearances
Science Committee- SCIP - potential monitoring effort related to SCIP and Toms Brook - Mary
- Funding to support dissemination of trace organics info.? - Leslie
- Funding to support benthic/bacteria testing on Toms Brook, other TMDL streams - in association with BMPs.
Membership Committee- determine sequence for renewal mailings
- materials for Riparian membership drive
Fundraising plan
Minutes for FRIENDS OF THE NORTH FORK OF THE SHENANDOAH RIVERBOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Thursday, January 10, 2008
6:30 pm Call to Order – Falyar
Mary Gessner, Ron Falyar, Ken Owen, Diane Gould, John Holmes, Greg Kosarin, Leslie Watson
Treasurer’s Report/Budget – Proctor
Action Items/Discussion of Reports from Committees:
E. coli report - Ken Owens
- Spring Hollow project - much higher in tributaries draining farms
- 974 colonies per 100 mls from Spring Hollow
- 40 colonies per 100 mls from River at Rodger's place
- not as much from up stream location in Woodstock
- sent data to Pete Benedetto and LFSWCD
- mean in Spring Hollow is significantly higher
- River flow and e. coli content - Ken trying to show correlation (using gauge at Mt. Jackson)
- E. coli jumps "like crazy" after rain
- low river and low E. coli counts from Sept. through December
- sent info. to James Beckley with DEQ
MARPAT- Workshops - go through Shen. Co. Parks and Rec. - yes approved
- biology workshop Bud and Mary - Mary will touch base with Cindy.
- Cindy touch base with Susie about other workshops.
- Media - radio spots - to promote Cindy's presentation and a monthly spot about water?
- find someone to do it and then pursue this - Greg would read it on the radio.
- potential river situation report on the website
- Dennis Atwood - potential for writing this.
- Civic Soap box article - Margaret is working on this.
Annual meeting/State of the River Planning committee- set date for organizational meeting in January - Greg, Mary, Jan Sommerfeldt, Leslie, Margaret, and Diane
- will set date when Margaret returns.
- discussion of talking points for upcoming media appearances
- VDH website - use this information.
- we should be raising the questions, not answering the questions - this is the responsibility of govnt. Agencies. We should be encouraging them to take a stand.
- the state depts.. of env. quality and health refuse to take a position on the health of the river - essentially are encouraging people need to use "common sense".
- Dept. of Health is inconsistent with the Fish KillTask Force on the issue the potential causes of the kills and position on the health of the river. John is working on this issue.
- E. coli criteria based on swimming but TMDL and VDH and DEQ are not consistent and do not appear to coordinate their finings and recommendations - i.e. DEQ fishabale, swimmable, drinkable status does not correlate with swimming warnings or fish eating warnings from VDH.
- Mary and John are going to work on a set of talking points regarding Friends'
position on these subjects for upcoming media appearances.
Morland Letter
- send him the response from the VDH
- Ron will call - (will send Ron VDH response to John's question)
- we are struggling with this question ourselves
- lots of circumstantial evidence
- John will call as well offering him our position related to the science and asking
him to get involved in the organization.
Science Committee- Well depth monitoring program (WRAC) - review Kreitzburg's recommendations
- put well depth results on the web - Leslie will work with Susie on this.
- John will get back to me and John K. in next few days on John K.'s
recommendations.
- Diane - do people know that the well depth lowers when it doesn't rain?
- should we say something about this?
- basic information - well, septic issues - needed for new residents - Leslie
will work on finding committee chair to work on this program.
- Diane will contact realtor friends to get new entres into the area.
- SCIP - potential monitoring effort related to SCIP and Toms Brook - Mary
- trying to bypass formal TMDL process
- establish baseline data, implement BMPs, and document any changes
- other things going on as well -
- Smith Creek - Faye Cooper (DCR) interested in working with people to
do modified stream monitoring (bacteria, benthic, geomorphological
stream work - impairment due to sediment runoff) - could still extend to
Toms Brook. More BMPs being established on Toms Brook
- then, need to have bacteria and benthic program - which was talked
about with FOSR.
- need to know if DEQ will use benthic and bacteria data as listing or de-listing criteria -
Mary will check and Leslie will send James' email to John and Mary.
- we will go from here.
- Funding to support dissemination of trace organics info.? - Leslie
- if money will support staff then go for it -
- Bob Luce wants to work with FNFSR to come up with report for trace organics -
report numbers and say something about them, John Holmes, Mary, Bud
(?), and Bob will work together on this. Will hand off to researchers.
- Owe reports to anonymous donor and VEE - will pursue future projects with them once trace org. project is closed
- USGS ran both sets of samples- even though they were asked to save one
set for future testing.
- Fish Kill Task Force report:
- Gillenski forced to write up project plans
- John had initial talks with big donors - but were somewhat suspicious of unknown because they did not know John.
- John suggested making a visit to Woodstock Treatment Plant - look at data,
and see if we can pat them on the back for doing a good job.
- Mary will ask for data in Woodstock (data not on their website as required by DEQ), starting with Larry Bradford.
- DMRs for last 12 months and get a tour of the plant.
- lot of new construction to check out.
- Monitoring - should we provide the monitors an opportunity to talk about what the
monitors would like to do - willing to do more, less, change…
- Contact Roger to set up meeting on Jan. 21 or 22 to discuss changes.
- John Holmes -
- will be in Richmond to talk about permitting, handling of fish kill task force by Gillenski
- Mary also going to Richmond for LFSWCD.
- Leslie will not attend lobby day in Richmond - Jan. 21.
- Funding to support benthic/bacteria testing on Toms Brook, other TMDL streams - in association with BMPs.
- get a date with Stacey Brown in May
- Funding for surface monitoring - equipment
- figure out what we need and if we need it.
- Fitzsimmons - will let him know what parameters we test for and that he can become a certified monitor
- where we sample
- where we get the data
- invite to next training session
- Test at Pugh's Run - lowwater bridge
- NEED TO REEVALUATE SITE LOCATIONS
Fundraising Plan - Leslie Watson
- Diane will talk with Susan Lane about the kind of business/corporate fundraising they do
- Personal letter to thank large donors - preferable to John
- Other thank you ideas - small dinners to thank (like Waterkeeper).
- Diane will work on something….
- Need to offer something nice for people
- Riparian list - tributaries and river - get a large list and follow up with calls to large landowners
- Welcoming committee - ask for volunteers on website
Virginia Conservation Network Lobby Day - Jan. 21 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)
- NO
New Business:- Bobby Hinkins Kranich donated $40,000 to Shenandoah University for their laboratory (FOSR is renegotiating their lab space). This is a major amount of money so we should give them some public recognition.
- award at annual meeting?
- FOSR is getting shared lab space and office space - do not know whether or not it is linked to this money.
- recognize founders at annual meeting - retro newsletter, etc. and recognize conservation
- Chesapeake Funders Network - must spend down grant by July 1, 2008, in order to insure receipt of the next $15,000 grant for 2008-2009.
Calendar:- January 17 - WRAC meeting - 7pm
- January 19 - FNFSR Strategic Planning "Retreat" - Edinburg
- January 21 - VCN Lobby Day - Richmond
- January 22 - SBP meeting - Luray
- January 23 - 7 Bends Park meeting
- January 23-25 - Karst education days at Luray Caverns - Page County sponsoring this.
- January 29 - Shen. Basin Project meeting - Luray
- January 30 - RAS meeting
GrantsNorcross - proposal for $2500 to purchase a laptop and Power Point projector - being considered at their Winter board meeting. Decision in mid - February.
Agua Fund - summary of 2007 activities and report on 2008 plans due in March.
MARPAT - contact in March or before with update and proposal for 2008-2009
- pre-proposal due in May
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