Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

January 6, 2007 Lake-Osceola State Bank, Baldwin

Administrative

1.                  The meeting was called to order by President Fred McLane at 9:04 A.M.

2.                  Attendance: Paul Bigford, Jim Bos, Jill Engelman, Steve Fraley, Carolyn Henne, Dave Gibbs, Fred McLane, Jim Schramm, Dick Schwikert, Tom Seroczynski and Chuck Turk.

Excused: Jay Barnhart, Jeff Carpenter, Kevin Morlock and Ken Sink.

Absent: Rick Conney

Guests: Eric Lewis

3.                  Minutes of the November 4, 2006 Board Meeting: Motion made by Jim

Bos to accept the minutes as distributed. APPROVED.

4.                  President’s Notices:

Donations received since the last meeting – a total of $ 1,600:

Mason Co. Garden Club

Mr. & Mrs. Jim Bos

Mr. & Mrs. C. Lee McFall

Mr. Jonathon Damon

Dr. Stanley Ries

Mr. & Mrs. Tom Mulhern

Donations received in the PMWC Endowment Fund for the year 2006 (through December 19^th only) 15 individuals donated for a total of

$8,468. Additional donors expected for the last 2 weeks of the year.

Acknowledgements to be sent to all of the above parties.

The Midwest Fly-Fishing Expo is scheduled for March 10-11^th at Macomb County C.C.; PMWC needs to reserve a table.

The Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund (previously via Tip of the Mitt W.C.) is soliciting grant applications. MDEQ has CMI monies available and is requesting grant applications; we have forwarded it to Kim Balke, CRA, and now back from maternity leave.

Note: Jim Schramm reviewed our by-laws: Per Article 5, Section 6 Quorum & Decisions – A majority of the voting members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. All decisions shall be rendered by a majority vote of the Board members present at a meeting at which a quorum is present. (Board consists of 16 members – 9 are a quorum). When polled via email/phone – 9 directors must respond. Directors, when responding via email, should select the “reply to all” address option so that all other directors can view comments. Ratification of an email/phone decision must take place at the next meeting.

Old Business

5.                  Financial Integrity: Jay Barnhart

A. Treasurer’s Report: (on file) administrative expenses include office operations, and numerous other costs (some symposium, Expos, Mainstream expense, etc.) The Board directed that, in the future, the higher value items be listed as separate line items i.e.: Mainstream, special projects, etc. Year-end shows expenses exceeding income by $ 4,922 for year 2006. Motion by Steve Fraley to accept the Treasurer’s Report: APPROVED.

Membership: Previously Jay was asked whether the dues increase to $40/year affected the number of memberships; several items were noted: Life memberships (now about 20) skew the totals, as no “renewals” follow these larger amounts. Number of members remain about the same (118 in 2006). Dues in 2006 were the lowest in four years. We need to examine this further. Jill Engelman will draft a new membership renewal reminder and two versions will be sent out 1. Current 2006 paid members and to 2. “Old” members who have not renewed for the past 3 years. An invitation for new membership to also be drafted. All documents to highlight the PMWC’s recent accomplishments. New members can be solicited from new riparian lists for Mason Co. and also from Lake Co. when available.

B.                 Wege Foundation: We have provided our benefactor of our Custer Weir investigations, The Sea Lamprey Symposium (co-sponsored), our Mainstreams; the Foundation responded by providing an additional $10,000 grant to be used for donation matches and further rehabilitation work.

C.                 PMWC Endowment: See report of endowments under #4, paragraph 2 above. Next year we will provide information on estate planning.

6.                  Restoration Committee:

A.                 Kim Balke will reschedule the postponed December meeting.

B.                 Middle Branch: Ken Sink has filed the renewal application for the

DEQ permit; eleven sites have been approved for work by the

Lake-Osceola Natural Resource Conservation Services (NCRS)

C.                 Riparian Rehab Project: Paul Bigford & Fred McLane. Board

members toured the Roger Kolar (Middle Branch off Utopia) site; passage around the fallen tree is not an issue. It was decided to leave the tree positioned as is, to fill the root-ball excavation with brush, and fill later with rocks to prevent enlarging the washout.

D.                 Right –Of-Way Trimming: At the December 5^th meeting between

past presidents and the Forest Service, it was decided that USFS plans to retain oversight of the trimming, continue to tour sites as necessary, and to include a policy/practice statement in the soon-to-be-issued River Management Plan. Two alternatives are listed (agency and non-agency) and PMWC prefers only USFS/MDNR be authorized to cut, not river users. The goal should be to assure habitat is created by use of the cut logs. Steve Fraley will discuss with Les Russell.

E. Nature Conservancy Grant: At the December 12^th meeting John

Legge presented draft strategies and objectives; final draft will issue in January, review in February/March, with implementation by Mid-2007.

Land Conservancy of West Michigan announced that Governor Granholm has signed State Bill 1004, redefining conservation easements; future transfers of lands with conservation easements will be exempt from reassessments (no “pop-up” property tax increases) but that dwellings would be reassessed. The bill is retroactive and is expected to make conservation easements much more attractive, since current riverfront reassessments increase taxes 400-800%. Additional information is available at www.michiganvotes.com – SB1004.

7.                  Unified Management:

A.                 Natural River Zoning Review Board: Paul Bigford reported the

December 18^th public hearing dealt only with the Tom Thompson (Little South above James Road) application. An extension of the living room (5’ toward river) and attached deck (2’ nearer river) were approved, on the condition that extensive mowing along the river desist. The Steve Priest retaining wall application (adjacent to Thompson) was postponed until April; extensive building materials on site indicate a planned major shoring project, necessitated by Owner’s recent de-vegetation of slope.

B.                 Pagura Litigation: No word on a decision of penalties to be assigned by Judge Monton.

8. A. MDNR: Jim Bos reported the Fishery Advisory Committee

discussed steelhead plants; without additional hatchery capacity,

other specie stocks would need to be reduced. Also, the license fee

revisions were discussed. Most objections were to hunting

increases, but non-resident and other fees were overdue. Youth

fishing licenses, while optional, are encouraged due to federal

Pittman Robertson Dingell Johnson Fund matches. (P.R. Fund matches dollars brought in through licenses purchased) Motion by Jim Schramm that PMWC supports the proposed license fee restructuring: APPROVED. We will notify the legislature and NRC; Jim Schramm will draft letter for Paul Bigford to distribute in the next Mainstream.

No report on the one-hook progress.

On Wednesday, December 20^th, Mike Joyce, USFS, called to

determine whether the Bell Sandtrap had been cleaned this
Fall; we responded DNR was unable to allocate the equipment

this past November, but intended to clean the trap in the Spring.

USFS excavated 500 cubic yards of sand from the trap December

21^st. PMWC will remove the spoils from the pad in the Spring.

Paul Bigford will contact Branch Township (Mason County)

Supervisor regarding no-motor restrictions.

B.     USFS Pere Marquette River Management Plan:

Fred McLane noted the past presidents met with USFS Les Russell and Bob Stuber on December 5^th; the discussion was solely on the delay of the revised proposal, and the timetable for the process and the alternatives to be presented at the Dec. 14^th public hearing.

Public Hearing December 14^th: A power point presentation (attached) described the four draft alternatives. 67 attendees (including six PMWC directors) listened to the plans and questioned many of the details.

At this meeting, the Board then reviewed the proposed plans and discussed the following: It was understood that the USFS favors Alternate #2. PMWC Board of Directors agreed to present the following comments to the USFS:

1.      Expand the watercraft restriction dates (May 15 – Sept. 10) to

March 1 – Oct. 31 to address the peak fishing periods.

2.      Spread the watercraft numbers proportionally to all river

sections.

3.      Concern that the premise that river usage can be controlled

through the use of parking limits/lots usage.

4.      Construction of a back-in boat launch is necessary at Gleason’s Landing.

5.      Parking at Maple Leaf PAS should be located as far as possible

from the river.

6.      An electronic permitting system is necessary.

7.      Landowner permits, when reissued, are to not be used for commercial use.

8.      Pooled permits concept should not include the requirement

for an individual to “purchase” the permit from a commercial

entity, nor should the concept reduce the current number of permits available to the public at large through the Forest Service.

9.      Progress is necessary to resolve the lowered Indian Bridge

navigation obstruction.

10.  Add a $1-2 user fee to each watercraft permit that states the fee

will be used for aquatic and habitat restoration of the resource.

11.  Multi-person watercraft should have sizing criteria established

so as to not allow more than the current intended users on the river at one time.

12.  Reference “carrying capacity” studies that support the thesis

that the river’s outstanding remarkable values (ORV) will not

be adversely affected with a potential 20% increase in usage during peak times.

13.  That most important – that enforcement of the Plan be

implemented.

Fred McLane to draft a proposed letter (via email) of comments to the USFS for all directors to review and respond to wk.of 1/08/07.

C.     Baldwin Village Stormdrain: Village President Jim Truxton was

defeated in election by Doug Bolles; PMWC will meet with President Bolles to explain our concerns over delays and changing plans.

D.     Expos: Jill Engelman hosted the Mason Michigan Fly Expo with

an expanded storyboard and special membership packages. It was a notable success. Two new memberships were obtained. It was discussed that at upcoming Expos that we offer memberships at $30 each in lieu of the standard $40. We need to track discount memberships for renewals.