Lewis and Clark ChapterMaster Naturalist Program

/ May 14, 2015 /
5:00pm – 9:45pm
IDGF Regional Office

Officers:

Billy Wilson – Chair of Steering Committee

David Eberle – Vice-Chair of Steering Committee

Carol Ebbs – Treasurer

Karen Loeffelman – Secretary

Steering Committee Meeting Minutes

5-6pmSteering Committee Meeting
Present: Billy Wilson (Committee Chair), David Eberle (Vice-Chair), Carol Ebbs (Treasurer), Karen Loeffelman (Secretary), Gary and Nora Pearson, Lorna Inglet

The meeting was called to order at 5pm. A motion to approve the minutes from the 5-01-2015 meeting was put forth and seconded.

Carol gave a Treasurer’s report to the Committee. Seven of our 22 paying members have yet to pay the additional $25 Chapter fees. There is approximately $747 in the Chapter’s checking account and $35.01 in the saving’s account. A motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report was put forth and seconded.

The next topic of discussion was Chapter binders. Five more binders have been ordered. We were short with the initial order. Billy or Carol will check with Jen to see if they have come in and will then be paid for and distributed.

Billy wanted to remind everyone that starting with the last meeting, we should all be reporting the same number of hours for the events attended. Those hours will be posted in the minutes, or at the end of a training/educational event. This is in place so we all receive the same number of hours for the same events fairly.

Chapter meetings and training opportunities have been scheduled for the rest of May, June and the beginning of July. Our next training times are May 27, June 4, June 17 (Chapter Meeting), June 23,July 9 and July29. Unless otherwise noted, we will meet at 6pm at the Fish and Game office in Lewiston. As a reminder, we will try to have 2-3 speakers/month so all members will have ample opportunities to attend and log in the required 40 hours of Core Training. Billy has assembled a spreadsheet of speakers and their topics for members to view. It is found on the LCMS website under Chapter Documents. Anyone with ideas for additional speakers, please contact Billy so he can arrange a time with the speaker.

The Steering Committee discussed the copy of the Bylaws from the Upper Snake River Chapter after reading them.We agreed their Bylaws were very general and felt we should add more details for the Chapter Officer positions, as well as setting Term Limits of probably a year. Billy will write more detailed Bylaws for our Chapter that will be presented for a vote by the members after the Steering Committee reviews them. The “life” of the Steering Committee was also discussed. As we become more guided in our Chapter activities, perhaps the Steering Committee can become a Program Committee in the future. Any additional items we felt should be included in the Bylaws should be sent to Billy.

In addition to the consistent hours posted by all members that attend educational/training events, remember the mileage to and from an event begins in Lewiston. Also, Hunter’s Education does not count toward any training/educational time. Those hours are already reported elsewhere. And as a final reminder, please remember you cannot count educational/training time if that opportunity was not announced and available for all Chapter members to attend the event. Carol is a editing the Disclaimer about training/educational hours, reporting hours, attendance, etc. that will be included on our website and in the Bylaws.

Steering Committee adjourned at 6pm. Chapter members that attended the Steering Committee meeting can report 1 hour of Volunteer Time (Chapter Formation and Maintenance) for the meeting on 5/14/2015.

Hell’s Gate State Park Tour

6-8:45Hell’s Gate State Park Tour
Present: Jen Bruns, Alice and Rod Campbell, Debbie Duncan, Carol Ebbs, David Eberle, Steve Ford, Heath Fuller, Brittney Haupert, Lorna Inglet, Karen Loeffelman,Gary and Nora Pearson, Leslie Rios, Jeff Smith, Billy Wilson

Jeff Smith, Assistant Manager for Hell’s Gate State Park presented a map and brief history of Hell’s Gate State Park in the lobby of the Discovery Center before we embarked on a tour of the Park. The overall topic of the talk and tour was Conflict and Resolution Management. Jeff, now an official State Park Interpreter, and proud graduate of Evergreen College in Washington, discussed that the Park actually leases ground from the Army Corps of Engineers and land adjacent to the Park is considered a Habitat Management Unit by the Corps. Most people entering Hell’s Gate don’t realize the entire area isn’t all State Park. Both areas focus on different goals, which can cause problems.

The group headed to the Archery range on the Park grounds and learned how that land is maintained by a local Archery Club. They handle the maintenance of the range and host many events. Adjacent to that was a piece of ground used as a training area for people learning to ride Off Road Vehicles. Next we toured the Day Use area where we looked at the beach and disc golf course. Then we headed to a portion of the Corps land adjacent to the Park. Hunting -- shotgun and archery only -- is allowed and much of the ground is signed to keep people away from habitat sensitive areas. Next we went to the Jack O’Connor Center where a kestrel nest is located on the parking lot. Karen gave a short presentation on monitoring the nests and passed out a flyer she developed at Jeff’s request. The flyer is available at the Park to educate the public on the monitoring efforts on this small raptor. We looked at some trail reclamation activity and also viewed how quickly new trails can be established by people trying to shortcut the official trails in the park. There is a lot of concentration of efforts on trying to educate the public on the importance of staying on mapped trails and keeping dogs on the leash. Jeff calls this compliance through interpretation and all the Rangers are vigilant in educating the Park visitors on why the rules exist and the consequences of erosion and habitat disturbance if those rules are broken. Our final stop was entering the Army Corps land from a different entrance. We had a good view of more habitat development using old Christmas trees propped on fence rows for bird cover. We also saw again how trails are closed off to enable restoration.

The Park tour ended at 8:45pm and members that attended can report 2.75 hours of Education Hours (Core Training).

9-10pmAstronomy
Following the Park tour, Victor Kriss gave a presentation on astronomy and identifying constellations in the night sky. Members that attended can report 1.0 hours of Education Hours (Core Training).

10pmWrap-up
Our next meeting is scheduled for May 27 from 6-8pm at the Fish and Game Office in Lewiston.

Minutes submitted by:

______

Karen A. Loeffelman

Lewis and Clark Chapter Secretary

Idaho Master Naturalist Program

05-14-2015