Minnesota Shade Tree Advisory Committee

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

June 14, 2004

9:15 A.M. – 11:15 A.M.

 

 

Call to Order

President Ken Simons called the meeting to order at 9:15 A.M. Those present were Board Members:

·        Kirk Brown

·        Ken Holman

·        Fletcher Johnson

·        Gary Johnson

·        Michael Max

·        Kimberly Thielen-Cremers

Those absent were:

·        Jim Hermann

·        Bob Slater

Guests present were:

·        Paul Walvatne, MnDOT, Substitute for Member Slater

 

Approval of Minutes

Member Thielen-Cremers moved and Brown seconded the motion to approve the minutes of the May 10, 2004 regular Board Meeting as submitted. Motion carried. Members F. Johnson abstained.

 

Agency Reports

Minnesota Department of Agriculture

Member Thielen-Cremers announced that the second airing of “Invaders at Our Doorstep: Exotic Pests of the Midwest” was scheduled for June 22 at 7:30 p.m. on Twin Cities Public Television, Channel 17. Featured topics will be Gypsy Moth, Emerald Ash Borer and Asian Longhorned Beetle.

 

Member Thielen-Cremers reported that the Governor declared June to be “Invasive Species Awareness Month”. To date no instances of Sudden Oak Death or Emerald Ash Borer have been discovered in Minnesota.

 

Minnesota Department of Transportation

Guest Walvatne reported that Community Landscape Partnership Program grants are still available, and the Plant Installation Specification (Section 2571 of the “Standard Specifications for Construction”) is being revised and will include a generic provision about quarantined areas.

 

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Member Holman announced that the Legislative Committee on Minnesota Resources (LCMR) has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday, June 16 at 11:00 a.m. in the basement of the State Office Building to consider MnReLeaf funding for the next biennium and that he and Legislative Committee Chairperson Monear have prepared a “Fact Sheet” for distribution to LCMR members.

 

University of Minnesota

Member G. Johnson reported that Xo Vang, a U of M urban forestry student, has been hired as a McNair Scholarship summer intern to assist with research efforts and tree species surveys (e.g. stem girdling root development on honeylocust).

 

Tree Trust

Member Brown reported that Tree Trust had helped 9 schools this spring establish Outdoor Learning Areas on their school grounds. Tree Trust has been working with the Toro Company on efforts to have a “Start Seeing Trees” (ala Bob Hulett) decal placed on mowers and weed whips.

 

President’s Report

President Simons reported that he attended the VIP Reception for the “Totally Terrific Treehouses” exhibit on Thursday, June 10 at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

 

 

Vice President’s Report

Vice President Max reported that he attended the “kick-off” meeting on June 7th for the “iTREE: Urban Forest Inventory and Analysis Project”. The U.S. Forest Service in cooperation with Davey Resource Group, the Center for Urban Forest Research (University of California—Davis), the City of Minneapolis and Tree Trust will be testing software applications and field methods for data collection. The project is a pilot test of iTREE, which is a software that is designed to integrate Forest Service urban and community forestry inventory analysis and forecasting tools: the Urban Forest Effects Model (UFORE), Mobile Community Tree Inventory (MCTI) and Street Tree Resource Analysis Tool for Urban Forest Managers (STRATUM). The project, which incorporates the use of volunteers provided by Tree Trust to collect inventory data, will test the effectiveness of volunteers as a suitable resource for inventory data collection.

 

 

Committee Reports

Education Committee

Member Holman reported that the Education Committee has scheduled an “Urban Forestry Education Summit Meeting” for July 1st to explore the coordination of the various urban forestry workshops currently scheduled throughout the state and the establishment of a two-tier system for Tree Inspectors which would include two sets of workshops (one for the novice and one for the experienced tree inspectors).

 

 

Old Business

MnSTAC Committee and Task Force Structure Flowchart

President Simons distributed a revised flowchart that incorporated the amendments recommended by Board members at the May Board meeting.

 

Member Holman moved and Max seconded the motion approving the revised flowchart. Motion carried.

 

 

New Business

Information Transfer and Community Forestry Partnership Roles Flowcharts

President Simons distributed a draft flowchart that diagrammed the roles, providers, objectives or products, and beneficiaries of disseminated information and a draft flowchart that diagrammed the specific roles of the state’s primary community forestry partners (MnSTAC, Tree Trust, DNR, MDA, MDOT and University of Minnesota). Upon review, members recommended amendments and requested that the elements of the flowcharts also be represented on charted matrices. The recommended amendments will be incorporated into revised diagrams and the requested charts will be prepared and submitted to the Board for approval at the September Board meeting.

 

July Board of Directors’ Meeting

Member Holman reminded the Board that Monday, July 5 was the official “day-off” since July 4 falls on a Sunday.

 

Member Holman moved and F. Johnson seconded the motion to reschedule the July Board meeting for Tuesday, July 6. Motion carried.

 

 

Adjournment

Member Brown moved and Max seconded the motion to adjourn at 11:15 a.m. Motion carried.

 

 

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President