Executive Committee

Conference Call Minutes

April 26th, 2010

The Executive Committee met on April 26th, 2010 beginning at 11:30 AM by telephone conference call. Present were: Dana Darlington, Chairman; Jim Beck, Immediate Past Chair; Nick Schultz, Vice Chair; Dean Rogge, Reservoir Reach; Vicki Marquis, Coordinator; Carie Hess, Secretary; and Karl Christians with DNRC.

Approval of March 29th Minutes: Jim moved to accept the Executive Committee minutes and Dean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Financial report and approval of bill payments: The committee looked over the financial report Jim asked about the check to the Petroleum County Conservation District and Carie explained that the amount reflected in that check is for both the monthly payroll reimbursement and the monthly administrative fee. Dean moved to pay the unpaid bills and Jim seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Approval of 223 Grant Request: The board had received a copy of the 223 grant request in their quarterly meeting packet. After some discussion on the amount that was being requested and the in-kind contributions Jim moved to approve the application and Dean seconded. The motion passed and the application will be given to the Petroleum County CD board to sign.

NACD Northern Plains regional meeting: Vicki reported that the NACD Northern Plains meeting would be held in Wichita Kansas June 13-15. It was thought to have someone travel to the meeting. After some discussion Vicki thought she might be able to go but she would pass the information out to other board members to see if one of them could go. It was also thought that since Steve Hedstrom was going that he could possibly carry the council’s message.

CMR Tour: Vicki reported that the tour would take most of the day and asked if the council wanted to meet the night before. The committee felt that it would be better to meet the night before. Dean mentioned going to look at Hill Coulee and the Salt Cedar problem there. It was also noted that Denny Rehberg and Max Baucus will not be able to attend but are sending representatives.

River Rendezvous: It had been brought up in previous meetings to have the River Rendezvous back at Holter Dam and the Sterling Ranch since it had re-burned last fall. Karl felt that the council should have a planning session the night before. After some discussion it was felt to have the planning session on the evening of July 7th and the tour on July 8th and the council would have the planning session instead of a meeting.

MRRIC Travel: Vicki noted that Larry and she would be presenting the MRRIC travel funding at the April meeting in Bismarck. It is hoped that it will be approved as a "process decision" which would have required only one meeting approval and then it will be forwarded to the federal agencies and the Congressional delegations from the entire basin.

CMR Refuge: Vicki noted that the CCP comment deadline is May 19th. She also stated that they use the comments to structure their meetings which are to be held June 3-4th. The council thought that they should use John Lacey’s report as part of their comments. They also felt that they should ask John Lacey to review some of the draft alternatives and comment to the council. Other key points, previously noted will also be addressed.

CREP Addendum: Vicki reported that the CREP Addendum has been sent to Lana Nesbitt with the FSA in DC but that they have not heard back yet. After the Council’s meeting in McAllister that included a presentation by Dr. Clayton Marlow, Glenn Patrick with the FSA would like to add language that allows livestock grazing in riparian areas.

Bison Panel: It was noted that Tester’s office may support or help sponsor the summit. After discussing the idea with Jeff Tiberi, Vicki is working on 2 proposals, one having a traveling panel that will stop at major cities in the State. The second would have 1 location over 2 days and it was thought to have producers who have lost their grazing to bison come in and talk. It was also noted that the WWF and APF published a 54 page booklet titled "New Directions for the Prairie Economy". The booklet contains a lot of inaccurate and misleading information. Dana noted that they need to have someone explain the facts and truth about the agricultural economy, perhaps an Ag Economist and/or NRCS personnel could be part of the panel and provide the facts. The Committee also discussed the need to draft a response to the WWF booklet. Committee members agreed to get the responses to Vicki by next week so she could draft up a response.

Interior leaked Document: Dean felt that this is something to act on sooner rather than later. It was felt that the council should send out a generic letter or speaking points to the CD’s and County Commissioners, Dept. of Interior and others opposed to additional public lands and additional monument designations.

May trip to DC with MACD/DNRC: It was noted that there are no definite plans at this time.

Transition Plans: Vicki noted the list of things that need to be prioritized and what she would like to accomplish before she leaves. The Committee wanted to have someone work alongside of her for a while to learn the position. To do this, the need to advertise the position in May, review applications and conduct interviews in June and have the new coordinator on board by July 1st. This would allow the new coordinator to be part of the planning process planned for the night before the River Rendezvous. Nick moved to start the advertising of the position in the next week and Jim seconded. The motion passed and Karl stated that he would help get the advertising done.

With no additional business being brought before the Committee, the call adjourned at 12:30 PM.

Approved by unanimous vote on May 24th, 2010

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Dana Darlington, Chairman

Submitted by:

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Carie Hess, Secretary