Meeting called to order by Chairman Wiese at 9:05 a.m. It was certified that the requirements of the open meeting law have been met. Present were Zowin, Lehman, Wiese, Bernien, and Cassity from the Committee; Bill Ishmael and Mike Green, DNR; Roger Shanks-Wisconsin Conservation Congress; Brereton-NRCS; Van Berkel and Pohle-LCD. Craker was absent.
Adopt Agenda: Motion by Bernien/Cassity to adopt the agenda. Motion carried, all in favor.
Adopt Minutes of Previous Meeting: Motion by Zowin/Cassity to adopt the minutes of the previous meeting. Motion carried, all in favor.
Appearances: There were none.
Training events: Motion by Cassity/Lehman to approve the list of training events. Motion carried, all in favor.
Bills: Bill summaries were distributed to the Committee members. Motion by Zowin/Cassity to approve bills in the amount of $26,086.03. Motion carried, all in favor.
Correspondence: Pohle distributed copies of the latest Thursday Notes. Pohle inquired if any members were interested in attending the RC&D Annual Conference or the WLWCA Annual Conference. No one will be able to attend the RC&D Annual Conference, but Wiese and Zowin plan to attend the WLWCA Annual Conference in December.
Pohle informed the Committee that a thank you was received from Elise Patton. She was awarded the 2003 Teacher Scholarship and attended a four-day environmental education workshop. Patton believes this type of workshop would be beneficial to all teachers. Pohle and Patton are working with the Dean at UW-Baraboo to get a similar workshop in Sauk County. Cassity recommended that this workshop also include 4-H leaders.
Reports: Brereton reported on the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP). GRP is similar to CRP where rental payments are given to maintain grassland and pasture. Fourteen applications were funded statewide, but none were accepted from Sauk County.
CRP contracts can now be revised to include managed haying or grazing between July 15-September 30. There will be a 25 percent reduction in rental payments in the year they graze or hay. Haying and grazing can only be done once every three years on the same acreage. Lehman questioned whether the grazing period could be extended because of the drought.
Consider Adoption of an Ordinance Prohibiting the Baiting and Feeding of Deer in Sauk County: Van Berkel informed the Committee that the Natural Resource Board had, as a compromise, put in place a feeding ban for 150 days (effective September 10 - mid-February) in the 22 counties around the CWD management area, including Sauk County. Green stated that this was done under the emergency rule authority provided to DNR. However, this emergency authority may end this coming June. Ishmael and Green emphasized that Sauk County should consider if they want to adopt a local ordinance that would be more permanent. Committee was concerned about possible deer mortality without feeding. Ishmael stated that feeding in the winter to prevent deer mortality has not been an issue in the southern portion of the state. Feeding stations congregate deer more than bait piles. The Sheriff's Department would be required to be the primary enforcement of a county ordinance which could result in a pretty good size workload. Game wardens have no authority to enforce a county ordinance. On a case-by-case request, the Sheriff's Department can give DNR expanded authority, but then the Warden falls under the county's liability. Authority to address hunting issues is assigned to the DNR, and baiting is considered part of the hunting rules. So, county ordinances can only deal with the issue of feeding deer. Manitowoc has already passed such an ordinance. Columbia and Dane are considering similar bans. Van Berkel was instructed to investigate this situation further. Motion by Lehman/Zowin directing Van Berkel to gather information to prepare an ordinance to ban feeding in Sauk County and to have that proposed ordinance presented to the County Board by February, 2004. Motion carried all in favor. There was discussion that the County may not be able to enforce the ordinance in municipalities. Van Berkel will check with the municipalities and forward them any ordinance we develop for them to consider also. Shanks reported that the Wisconsin Conservation Congress supports the feeding ban. Lehman expressed his concern about the infrequent pick up of roadside deer kill.
Budget Updates: Van Berkel reported that he had appeared at the Finance Committee meeting prior to his arrival at this meeting. The proposed Department budget had met and even came in well below the guidelines from the Board. In order to meet guidelines, the Committee had given up considerable items in an attempt to protect Conservation Credit Program (CCP) funding because of its importance in furthering resource protection. Van Berkel questioned where is the reward for departments that met the goals. The proposal from the County Administrator would maintain the proposed cuts and also take away the Conservation Credit Program funding. The LCC made their decisions on what was important, made cuts, and instituted significant fees to meet the goals. Now we may be cut even more. This latest proposal will reduce funding to a levy amount below our 2003 request. This is going to make the 2005 budget scenario even tougher. We will be losing a considerable watershed staff grant, and we will have no remaining funds to offset this lost grant. Staff is the critical part of our effort. Van Berkel pointed out that the County presently pays approximately $302,000 for staff, only 48 percent of the total cost, and this in turn brings in over $1.9 million in payments and cost sharing for landowners.
White Mound Rehabilitation Project Updates: Van Berkel reported that applications for the dredging project are in to DNR. If no adverse comments are received by September 12, we hope to begin the draining of the lake on September 15. The Highway Department has agreed to do road construction. Relocation of Denny's Repair into their new facility is not going as quickly as hoped. Due to the delay he is renting his existing shop building back from the County. After he departs we will advertise for salvage proposals on the shop and barn buildings.
Motion to adjourn until October 8 at 9:00 a.m. by Cassity/Bernien at 10:42 a.m. Motion carried, all in favor.
Respectfully Submitted: Kathy Zowin, Secretary