Minutes of the Board of Director’s Meeting June 2, 2007 Lake-Osceola State Bank, Baldwin

Administrative 1. The meeting was called to order by President Fred McLane at 9:01. Fred McLane welcomed the guests and introduced the Board of Directors 2. Attendance: Paul Bigford, Jim Bos, Jeff Carpenter, Rick Conney, Jill Engelman, Steve Fraley, Dave Gibbs, Fred McLane, Kevin Morlock, Jim Schramm, Dick Schwikert, Tom Seroczynski and Chuck Turk. Excused: Jay Barnhart. Guests: Jim Grant, MUCC & Kim Balke, CRA 3. Minutes of the May 5, 2007 Board Meeting: Corrections Item 7D WSCC- The water quality testing was conducted at the Taylor Rd. PAS in lieu of location we understood, thus PMWC did not participate in the testing. Correction Item 9A River Plan – “Forest Supervisor, Leanne Marten has selected Alternate 2 as the preferred alternate at this time”. Motion by Jim Bos to accept the minutes as amended. APPROVED. On file in PMWC office. 4. President’s Notices: US Forest Services, Jim Cline inquired as to PMWC’s contribution to Kid’s Fishing Day. Motion by Rick Conney that PMWC contribute $ 100 to the project. APPROVED.

The Friends of the Forest meeting will be held at the Pleasant Plains Township Hall Friday, June 15th at 9:00 am; This change of venue from Cadillac will allow site visits and local review of the PM River Environmental Assessment. Tom Seroczynski, Steve Fraley and Rick Conney plan to attend. 5. Nominating Committee: Chair Dave Gibbs announced Eric Lewis will stand for election as director. Dave will follow up on additional candidates and any suggestions the current directors may have. Old Business 6. Financial Integrity: A. Treasurer’s Report: Jay Barnhart. Report on file in PMWC office. Revenues from both dues and donations continue to exceed forecast. Motion by Jim Bos to accept the report. APPROVED. B. Membership: Jill Engelman relayed that 2nd membership renewal reminders have been sent out. C. Annual Fundraising Banquet July 14th: Jill Engelman relayed that former Governor William Milliken has regretfully declined our invitation for guest speaker. In lieu of a speaker this year the Board decided to have the two recipients of the Excellence in Conservation Awards say a few words in addition to PMWC’s explanation of the award and it’s requirements. A draft of the banquet invitation with the 50-50 sweepstakes tickets was circulated and met with favorable review. The Board directed that the sweepstakes tickets be offered at $10 each or 6 for $50. The invitation listed the major auction items, some having a reserve placed on them. Those members having items to donate for the auction should contact Jill Engelman at (231) 745-8505 to arrange for drop off/pick up. A small merchandise table will be set up at the banquet with the new fleece PMWC logo vests and shirts, etc. Laura Bos will assist with the table. The board voted to order 2 dozen vests to have available at the banquet. Dave Gibbs volunteered to set up the PMWC display. Set up of the auction/raffle items at the Ramada will be from noon to 5:00 pm for those who are able to assist Jill. D. Cast for Conservation© Event: Steve Fraley/Tom Curtin. Steve announced we have 7 teams and have guides committed for 6 to date. We will continue advertising. Flint Rainbow club is scheduled for the lunch and brunch and hats have been ordered. E. PMWC website: Dave Gibbs relayed that the current setup cannot support PDF files and should be revised to allow for easier updates. Dave to work with suggested individuals/companies to allow for a smooth transition as he retires from the board.

7. Restoration Committee: A. 319 Grant: Kim Balke submitted a proposal February 14th for a $470,000 grant along with the Land Conservancy of West Michigan; a portion of the grant would be used to bring our river plan up to EPA requirements but over $350,000 would go for procuring conservation easements. Kim expects a reply by Fall. CRA’s website now has several river maps and details online and hopes the PM River could be next. B. Land Conservancy Grant: John Legge is to issue the final report this month. C. Baldwin Village Stormdrain: MDOT’s portion was completed last year but Baldwin’s 2006 plan was revised to indicate a new location and has not yet been approved by MDEQ. Baldwin’s outflow may not connect with MDOT’s; Kim Balke will confirm. Fred McLane and Dick Schwikert will meet with Village President Doug Bolles as the permit and funding cannot be extended beyond year 2007. D. Jarvis Project: May 21st DNR’s Tom Rozich toured the Phase I sites; some minor adjustments were suggested. Tom met again May 29th with Fred McLane and Dick Schwikert and it was agreed to extend one logjam and to add brush and cover to all structures to block sunlight while encouraging vegetation to grow. CRA will insure that all adjustments are completed. New structures will extend from shore to the edge of the current. Use of oak logs or oak scrap from sawmills for frames and posts can save cost while using more durable wood. Phase II will start shortly. E. Bell Sandtrap: DNR’s excavation equipment is in need of repairs but service will not be completed until (or if) the state budget crisis is resolved. Since the cleaning of the trap could be delayed indefinitely, and because the trap is filling and the stockpiled 2006 spoils also need to be removed, we will look for alternate solutions. Dick Schwikert will approach the USFS. F. ORV Legislation: HB 4323 allowing counties to permit ORVs to use roadways has unanimously passed the House and is in the Senate. Commercial interests favor the passage; road commissions, DNR, environmentalists oppose it. MUCC is preparing a resolution for the June Annual Meeting. Paul will draft a letter for PMWC to send to the legislature. G. DEQ Permit Brochures: Paul Bigford circulated a draft of proposed instructions to landowners on obtaining necessary permits for riverbank restoration. H. Michigan Wildlife Action Plan: With Ken Sink’s retirement, Tom Seroczynski and Kevin Morlock expressed concern over attending the many Lansing sessions. In lieu of PMWC primary involvement, Jim Grant indicated that MUCC would continue to be involved and keep us informed. I. Stream Widening: Dick Schwikert noted there appears to be a modest insidious widening of the river which may be the major source of continual sediment deposits. How best to verify and determine corrective approaches was discussed. Cross-stream transects could be completed. Some monuments exist on past projects – Big South Project and Turk Trap already. It would seem that various cross sections at tributaries, mainstem and at high traffic and non-pedestrian locations be prudent for comparisons and controls. Possibly WSCC students could commit to a long-term study. This item to be added to the Restoration Committee agenda.

8. Unified Management A. Natural River Zoning Review Board: Paul Bigford reported that the May 21st public hearing for Peter Nammensma (Baldwin River above M-37 Bridge) determined the deck and boardwalk were constructed without a permit. This is the typical case where a previous deck was permitted to be enclosed by variance 2-3 years ago, then the landowner added another new deck for outdoor seating. The variance was denied and the new deck and boardwalk must be removed. B. Henry Litigation: Fred McLane noted a pretrial hearing on the floodplain issue was held May 22nd and the case will go to Circuit Court for trial. Fred will email details. C. Pagura Litigation: In February the judge ruled plans for the removal of the dam were to be submitted to DEQ within 60 days. Attorney General Pam Stevenson said the deadline expired June 1st and she will file a consent order asking why the defendant should not be held in contempt. She also needs to clarify whether a Circuit Court can order DEQ to enter private property to remove the dam. Bill Farr will continue to keep us informed.

9. Communications & Information A. MDNR Land Consolidation: PMWC sent a letter to NRC’s Frank Wheatlake with concerns on the proposed transfer of state access sites to the Forest Service. Mr. Wheatlake is looking into it and it is on the agenda (not for action) at the June 7th NRC meeting. Fred McLane will see whether PMWC needs to attend. B. MDNR License Fees: The bills are under hold in the legislature. Resource Steward members have asked for approval as a short-term solution until all resource users provide funding. C. Right-of-Way Trimming: Two float trips resulted in very little trimming, but also showed very little “pre-trimming” had been done. The main issue is the Forest Service objection to any cabling or anchoring of trimmed obstructions. MDNR and USFS need to clarify ground rules on disposition of jetsam. D. US Forest Service River Management Plan: All directors were asked to forward their comments and concerns to Fred McLane; PMWC’s official comments will be submitted by the June 6th deadline. It was noted that our response should be widely publicized – to the media, legislators, and for wide distribution. Those topics discussed and listed for inclusion in our reply include the following: • the 2 kayaks/permit is unfair and could double the watercraft numbers; specify solo kayaks only • the total number of watercraft needs to be capped • question the 2 permits for a raft; should be 3 permits • object to Gleason’s being closed to allow canoes only • object to the 10% increase in parking spaces • the11 pm to 4 am night salmon restrictions prohibit public but not private access • the opening of Jorgesens and 40th Street increased accessibility • object to the Spring controls at parking lots • permit system favors commercial over public users • pooling of permits on weekdays should be extended to include weekends • the width of the river should be considered when setting capacity limits • watercraft limits should differ between seasons (Spring, Summer and Fall) • increased enforcement is necessary, especially since emphasis is on parking to restrict numbers • closing Gleason’s will double or triple traffic (launch and recovery) at Green Cottage access site • Green Cottage take-out does not allow for staging or waiting to exit • Green Cottage will go from difficult-to-use to being unsafe • more drift boats will launch at Green Cottage if they must travel to Bowman’s to take-out • bait anglers cannot possess bait above Gleason’s eliminating bait fishing Gleason’s to Bowman’s • there is no benefit to anyone in closing Gleason’s • the concentration of traffic to recover and launch at Green Cottage is counterproductive to best management of the river • limits of acceptable change were never addressed Motion by Steve Fraley that PMWC opposes the 11pm to 4am closing of access sites in the Fall salmon season – APPROVED 9-2 on a show of hands.

Fred McLane will draft the PMWC response to the Environmental Assessment for filing on June 6th. E. LCRPOA: The Lake County Riverside Property Owners Association will also comment on the River Plan with four major concerns: The increased commercialization of the river, the lack of resolution of unified management, the inattention to the issue of patrol and enforcement, and the lack of education of the river’s outstanding values. The LCRPOA annual meeting will be July 21st at St. Ann’s in Baldwin. F. Recreational Access Tax: Copies of the FlyRod & Reel June 2007 Article were distributed; tabled for discussion until August meeting. G. MUCC: Rick Conney will represent PMWC at the June Annual Meeting in Sault Ste. Marie.

10. Ecological Impact: A. Water Sustainability: No word from Gary Noble on details for the FSU symposium. The LCRPOA annual meeting will schedule a 30-minute talk on this issue. B. Condominium Siting: Pleasant Plains Planning Commission heard a proposal May 9th on 15 site condos near Gleason’s Landing. The commission will vote on site plans and road access before making recommendations to the Township Board. C. Consumer’s Energy: Water Quality discussions will be held June 6th at FSU.

New Business 11. FSU Honor Program: Community Service work could include assisting PMWC on details with the Jarvis rehabilitation project. Work sessions would likely be late summer. 12. Custer Weir: Tom Seroczynski reported that over 41,000 Suckers, 7,386 Steelhead and 30 Brown Trout have passed the weir to date. Also that 461 Sea Lamprey have been trapped for use in the sterile male program. 13. Kolka Creek: The Anglers of the AuSable lawsuit has been won; the oil company will not be allowed to transfer Manistee River waters into the AuSable River watershed.

Meeting adjourned at 12:03 pm.

Respectfully submitted, Dick Schwikert, Scribe

Edited and keyed, Jill Engelman, Secretary

** Reminder – no regular July board meeting…… Next meeting: Annual Business Meeting during the Annual Banquet, July 14th. The August Board Meeting will return to the first Sat., Aug 4th at 9:00 am at Lake-Osceola State Bank in Baldwin.