Minutes of the Board of Directors’ Meeting September 15, 2007 Lake-Osceola State Bank, Baldwin

Administrative 1. The meeting was called to order by Acting President and Treasurer Jay Barnhart at 9:03 am. The attendees introduced themselves and Jay indicated that due to a lack of quorum many items of business would be deferred to our October 6th Board Meeting. Jay stated that the regular business items would be addressed first to permit time for a special presentation on Michigan’s Groundwater by Dr. Alan Steinman to begin at 10:30 am. Attendance: Jay Barnhart, Jeff Carpenter, Jill Engelman, Steve Fraley, Eric Lewis, Dick Schwikert and Chuck Turk. Excused: Clint Anderson, Paul Bigford, Jim Bos, Rick Conney, Fred McLane, Kevin Morlock and Tom Seroczynski. Meeting Guests: Kim Balke – CRA, Jim Grant – MUCC, Don Ingle – Pioneer Publications and Mike McKinney – WSCC. 2. Minutes of the August 4, 2007 Board Meeting: Approval deferred to Oct. 3. President’s Notices: Contributions of $990 were received from an annual contributor - North Branch Boys, a fishing club from Toledo, Ohio and $60 from our membership. 4. Items to be deferred until October to expedite the September meeting will include: Board vacancies, USFS Access Fees, Tribal Litigation, Annual Banquet & Cast for Conservation©, Website Management and BBQ Grill.

Old Business 5. Financial Integrity A. Treasurer’s Report: Jay Barnhart pointed out that this years membership revenues greatly exceed (by 74%) the budget and new life memberships due to special recruiting this year. Preliminary estimates indicate the Annual Banquet and C4C will exceed budget. Approval of report was deferred to October’s meeting. 6. Restoration Committee A. Restoration Committee: Kim Balke announced that CRA had received an award letter indicating the award of $450,000 from the 319 and CMI Grant Programs. CRA has yet to accept the award, but is expected to shortly. $350,000 if for the conservation easement program administered by the Land Conservancy of West Michigan – for purchase of easements. $100,000 is slated for the update of the management plan to EPA standards. Although revenue was cut from CRA’s portion of this program they hope to be able to re-inventory the Pere Marquette River sites. Kim to keep PMWC advised. B. Jarvis Project: Kim Balke reported that all Phase II work has been Completed including the installation of 375 lineal feet of habitat cover and creation of two island structures. The balance form the Jarvis Endowment will be put in a new Certificate of Deposit to draw more interest until such time additional work is planned between the Forks and M37. C. Riparian Rehab Requests: Kim Balke, Fred McLane and Paul Bigford toured six (6) sites and will recommend action to be considered at the October board meeting. D. Baldwin Village Stormdrain: Previously in August PMWC sent a letter to Village President Doug Bolles outlining our desire to eliminate runoff and trash from going directly into the Baldwin River. To date we have not yet received the courtesy of a response. Unless it can be shown that the drainage exceeds contamination limits, PMWC cannot force action. We can proceed with further water quality monitoring, request increased surveillance by MDEQ, step up pressure through publicity, and/or offer PMWC’s financial assistance. Following the meeting Kim Balke spoke with Garth Aslakson of DEQ and reported that Nordlund, MDOT, Doug Bolles, Garth Aslakson and Brian Jankowski both of MDEQ met and that the CMI and MDOT grants were extended through 2008. The issue now is engineering the village stormdrain structure at an elevation conducive to draining and not hitting groundwater, as the groundwater table is high at the location. Kim Balke to keep PMWC advised. E. HB4323 Bill and Local ORV Ordinance: The State bill remains silent in the Senate as interest centers on finalizing the budget before October 1st. However Lake County has drafted their own ordinance and sent it to the townships for review this past week. The draft is more liberal, less restrictive, and contains much vague language. It is uncertain whether the ordinance can supercede state law or is an attempt to have a prepared ordinance ready should the state bill be passed. Discussion indicated we should focus PMWC comments in the revision of the August draft of PMWC ORV letter to the impact of ORVs on the river (road-stream crossings), eliminate the dust issue, stress the noise pollution’s impact on quiet recreational enjoyment and point out the dollars PMWC (and others) have spent in the past to correct and combat erosion at these sites. Jill suggested that Eric Lewis re-draft Paul Bigford’s original draft with the aforementioned revisions and distribute to all directors via email for Board approval. Individuals are also encouraged to send personal letters to Lake County Commissioners stressing their private concerns. It was suggested that PMWC also send letters to the editor of both the Lake County Star and the Ludington Daily News as well as distribute information to TU, FFF, MUCC etc.

F. Bell Sandtrap: The trap was cleaned by MDNR August 1, 2007; PMWC funded the removal of the spoils. Council members Fred McLane, Paul Bigford, Maude Bigford, Dick Schwikert and Eric Lewis hand spread 50 pounds of rye and 21 bales of straw to re-vegetate the pad. MDNR’s Eric Askam and Scott Keene inspected the site August 28th and confirmed the work conformed to the new standard guidelines for trap maintenance. The trap will not be cleaned again till Spring 2008. G. Turk Trap: Eric Lewis has reinstalled the locked chain on the gate and advised the Tom Knoop will clean the trap in October. H. Utility Defoliants: Eric Lewis questioned the electric company regarding their techniques and herbicides used to kill vegetation beneath their lines and determined that instead of “selectively spraying” that actually in most cases that all vegetation in the area was affected. He noted that the “chemical cocktail” employed does not appear to be detrimental to the river. The spray zone is stopped back from the river (distance varies from tributary to river) as well. I. CAFO/Right to Farm: No report. J. Quality Trout Lake: Chuck Turk proposed that PMWC pursue efforts to convert a small local lake for a Brook Trout fishery. A proposal and map were distributed for review. Additional copies will be distributed to all directors for consideration at the October board meeting. 7. Unified Management A. Natural River Zoning Review Board: At the August 13th public hearing Edie Mitchell (Baldwin River just below Village limits) requested enlargement of an existing deck towards the river. The Board reconvened at the site to review alternatives acceptable to the applicant. The Board rejected the original varience request, but approved a modified remodeling of an existing porch with an extended deck. B. Pagura Litigation: Bill Farr reported the plaintiff submitted a plan for removal of the dam, but it was unacceptable to MDEQ. The Attorney General requested additional data and petitioned the Court to bill Pagura for $6,716 costs plus $79,766 attorney fees. A response was due September 10; no word received to date. C. River Trespass: When trespassers refused to stay off the riverbank of the Little South Branch Dick Schwikert called the Sheriff’s office (Not 9-1-1) but the dispatcher told him since they were fishing the DNR would need to respond. An objection was forwarded to the Sheriff and a response was promised, but has not been received to date. D. Pleasant Plains Twp. Planning Commission: The recent planned location of site condominiums near Gleason’s Landing prompted an inquiry on whether concentrated developments can be prohibited in Rural Forest or Natural River zoning. Pleasant Plains Township attorney claims that while they may not be prohibited, a township may establish restrictions which would control the location, size, spacing, etc. for future requests. 8. Communication & Information A. Mainstream: Deferred to October’s meeting. It was suggested that when final, the Pagura dam chronicle be the topic of the “long arm of the law”. B. Pere Marquette River Management Plan: Les Russell, USFS reported to Lake County Riverside Property Owners Association recently that the volume of responses has delayed the final publication of the Plan. No date has been set for the release. C. DNR: Land Transfers - no update on revised guidelines to cover land sales or transfers. The electroshocking on the Little South Branch was cancelled, but Mouth-of-the Baldwin River survey is scheduled for 2008.

9. Ecological Impact A. PMWC Water Resources Policy: Comments from responding directors have been incorporated into the latest draft (attached). Policy to be emailed to all directors for discussion at the October Board Meeting.

New Business 10. PMWC Office: Following an email vote it has been decided to terminate the lease at Baldwin Enterprises and relocate across the street to the Baldwin Business Center (old bank building). Move will take place the first 2 weeks of October. Board Meetings will continue at the Lake-Osceola State Bank community room. Email vote to be ratified at the October Board Meeting.

Board Meeting adjourned at 10:15 am.

Special Presentation/Mini-Symposium -10:30 am

Dr. Alan Steinman, Ph.D., Annis Water Resources Institute - Presenter Groundwater in Michigan: An overview of current science and policy

Attendees: All attendants from Board Meeting Tom Hamilton, WRWP and GLSFC John Gorys, Little Manistee Watershed Conservation Council Tom Thompson, White River Watershed Partnership John Cooley, PMWC

Dick Schwikert explained that Nestle’s announcement to forego test wells on Baker Creek at the headwaters of the White River has left the issue of water withdrawal to dangle in the wind. The question is – do we need to continue to be concerned? Is there still an interest in discussion of the implications of withdrawing spring water? The presentation was designed to educate the audience and possibly answer the questions.

Dick Schwikert introduced Dr. Alan Steinman. Al announced that he preferred to keep the discussion informal and welcomed questions during the session; nearly every attendee offered one or more substantive inquiries. The Power Point presentation is attached and an electronic format will be available shortly for use on the PMWC website.

Highlights of the presentation:

• In Michigan, groundwater makes up either most or all of our rivers’ flow. • Withdrawal will have an impact, but it can take months, years or decades to notice the effect. • Since recharge rates do not change, water withdrawn from the system decreases flow. • In Michigan, 23% of groundwater goes to public or private domestic supplies. • 95% of Lake Michigan water comes from rivers and streams. • All pumpage statewide consumes about 2.6% of natural recharge to groundwater systems.

Dr. Steinman summarized by discussing the report by the Groundwater Conservation Advisory Council:

• The report’s findings were quite contentious, with one representative refusing to sign. • There is a need for statewide Water Use Committees. (? Watershed Councils ?) • Only public demand requires “spring water” since technology can create any type of water. • The issue has clearly gone beyond science into the political field, which will determine future direction. • More education and information to the public is necessary to influence the decision-makers.

The Groundwater Conservation Advisory Council’s report can be accessed electronically at: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/Groundwater_report_206809_7.pdf

• It was suggested by Dr. Steinman that currently the most effective measure to eliminate water withdrawal nation-wide by bottled water firms is to stop the purchase of bottled water by the public masses. Only through diminished sales, will the large companies cease or reduce their operations – thus reducing water withdrawals.

The Board of Directors and guests thanked Dr. Alan Steinman, Ph.D. and the presentation was adjourned at 12:02 pm.

Respectfully submitted, Dick Schwikert, Scribe

Edited & keyed, Jill Engelman, Secretary