Annual Meeting and Director Elections 6:00 p.m. Reception 6:30 p.m. Annual Meeting & Election 1 vacant seat on 5- member board 4-year term Candidate: Scott Hanshue
Meet the Candidate Scott Hanshue: Scott is a Fisheries Biologist for the Department of Natural Resources with the Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit, located in Plainwell. His management responsibilities include the lakes, rivers and streams within the Grand River watershed. He has been at his current position since early in 2002. Prior to that, he worked for over 10 years as an Aquatic Biologist for the Department of Environmental Quality assigned to the Grand River watershed. These duties have given him a good appreciation of and experience in, the technical and legal requirements of stream and lake protection and natural resources management. Scott has a BS degree from Michigan State University in Fisheries Biology and prior to his work in Michigan, he worked for the National Marine Fisheries Service of NOAA in Alaska, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Michigan and in Utah. He was born and raised in Newaygo County. Scott has been a member of the Barry Conservation District board of directors since 2010, and is currently the board s vice chairman. Scott enjoys hunting and fishing, bird watching and other natural history studies. He is member of Pheasants Forever and Ducks Unlimited. He lives in Assyria Township with his wife, Sharon and his English Setters.
2013 ANNUAL REPORT Barry Conservation District... Promoting responsible natural resource and land use management for present and future generations.
Barry Conservation District Dan Kingma, Chair Scott Hanshue, Vice Chair David Replogle, Secretary Mark Bishop, Treasurer Ananda Jenkins, Member Joanne Barnard, Executive Director Kori Armour, Administrative Assistant Rachel Koleda, Water Stewardship Technician
2013 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Highbank Creek Restoration Lawrence Road Bridge Supports local Road Commission goals Improves fish passage on a designated trout stream +$1,750K total project
E. Coli Monitoring Project Determine if E. coli is present in the Thornapple watershed, and if so, at what levels. 2 year study 8 sites each year for 16 weeks 200+ volunteer hours in 2013
E. Coli Monitoring Project Results of the 2013 Thornapple Watershed E. coli Monitoring Program Water Body Name # Results exceeding 1000 E. coli per 100 ml of water # of Times 30-day geometric mean exceeds 130 E. coli per 100 ml of water % Results exceeding 300 E.coli per 100 ml of water Thornapple River at Gresham 6 12 94% Little Thornapple River at Gresham 6 12 94% Thornapple River at McKeown 0 0 6% Thornapple River at Shaytown 3 12 94% Mud Creek at Barger 1 12 13% Thornapple River at Barger 1 11 19% High Bank Creek at Thornapple Lake Road 3 12 88% Duncan Creek at 108 th St. 2 12 69%
Nashville Habitat & Stream Restoration 7 acres of prairie installed on DNR land 3-4 shallow wetlands in floodplain for waterfowl habitat $35K + local match Private Lands Cooperators: Nashville Assembly of God Church Richard & Stephanie Wilson
New educational program for 2013 Volunteers monitor frog calls throughout the county Citizen science opportunity Contributing to a national database Family, club and organization friendly 27 volunteers trained Data on frogwatch.fieldscope.org
Dam Removal Makes EPA Headlines
Glass Creek Conservation Project $270,000 grant from MDEQ $305,000 matching funds and in-kind Protect 300 acres of private land through conservation easements 2013 87 acre Werner property conserved.
Thornapple Manor Prairie & Wildflower Establishment Landscaping for new Cottages facility +/- 3 acres of shortgrass prairie and wildflowers Complements 7 acre planting across the river at McKeown Park
MAEAP Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program State law provides benefits for producers who voluntarily meet MAEAP standards and are verified by MDA staff District s Water Stewardship Technician, Rachel Koleda, works with producers to reach verification eligibility through *A*Syst programs and Farm Bill assistance 7 verifications in 2012 for Barry County
Annual Projects Tree Sale: 33,440 trees & shrubs (41.8 ac.) Thornapple River Clean Up: 68 miles 840 volunteer hours
Education & Outreach Calls or walk-in clients served: 1,021 Site visits: 18 K-12 education: 127 students Adult education: 153 adults Press releases: 32
Baltimore Township Pheasant Cooperative formed in 2012 2 nd in state! 21 active members Installing new habitat areas in 2014 $750 grant from Michigan Pheasants Forever
2013 Finances Revenue Expense District Operations $25,776 $52,210 Hunting Access $2,250 $ 1,701 Thornapple Wshed. $156,892 $157,583 Tree Sales $26,436 $12,877 Other General $3,127 $ -- Transfer in $9,890 TOTAL $224,372 $224,372
2014 INITIATIVES
Barry County Outdoor Recreation Youth Day Partnering with clubs, organizations and agencies A free day of fun where kids can get hands-on experience in many different outdoor activities Saturday, September 13, 2014, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Historic Charlton Park
Highbanks Restoration continues Removal of the Morgan Dam 1200 of streambank restoration Planned culvert replacements on Barryville and Bivens Roads
Partners for Fish & Wildlife Austhof Wetland Restoration Bomgaar s Stream Bank Restoration
Thornapple Watershed Plan Inventory, mapping, critical area determination & urban runoff modeling: DEQ $43K Temperature & Bank Erosion Hazard Index study: DEQ $15K
Tri-County Forester? MDARD scheduled to send draft Forestry Assistance Grant agreement to Barry Conservation District in June for July, 2014 through September 2015. New forester would cover Barry, Allegan and Ottawa Counties
Lease of Nashville Dam Property
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