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WATERSHED (GREENBELT) MEETING MINUTES
for AUGUST 21st, 2010
ATTENDING: Tim Abel
Meeting was called to order @ 9:00 AM
No new problems reported, obviously!
Our knapweed crusade this year has possibly been the best ever. Between the bugs we released under the powerlines and the few volunteers than put in the sweat and muscle on the front lines (and continue to do so!) there has been quite a dent in the fruiting plants this year. This by no means signals victory over the obstinate weed! To eradicate the plant completely will take years and the effort of all homeowners. Educate yourself at the Ponderosa Office on this ob-noxious weed if you do not know what to pull in your yard. Also, remember that this time of year (latter part of summer into fall) you cannot simply pull the plant and call it a successful kill. These plants are so wily, they will seed or re-root if pulled and thrown to the ground. Burning them will only encourage the release of the seeds. This time of year they must be bagged and hauled off in the garbage to make sure they will never again re-sprout in our neck of the woods. (Wear gloves!)
I took care of the three logs across the trails (2 on Bench Spur and 1 across the bridge on Balsamroot). After meeting I brushed out Balsamroot. I'd already trimmed back Bluebell, Pine Drop, Pipsissiwa (View Point), Lupine and Vine Maple. Planning to work on Mock Orange and the Bridge Trails next.
In clearing the tree from the footbridge on Balsamroot, I created 6 or 7 rounds from the downed tree and left them there next to the bridge. I've noted as have several others that, during the wet season there is an extensive patch of muddy trail that forms just beyond the footbridge. These rounds are there for crossing that section. Right now the ground is hard as a rock. I am hoping that, once they are 'sunk' into the mud, they will become permanent, safe passage.
Feedback and personal contact with people using our trail system has been overwhelmingly positive. Ran across several 'hikers' while on my brushing campaigns. They all expressed concerns about bears after coming around corners and finding me thrashing away at the tall grass or rooting about in a ceanothus thicket. While the chances are slim that you'd run into a bear on our trail systems during the day, here are some things to remember:
Be loud when you hike. Bears really hate surprises. One way to do this is to attach little jingle bells to your shoe laces or pack or some body part. Another way, if you are so bold, is to sing. Talk to yourself (I do this all the time anyway), clap your hands, etc...
90% of bears are much more afraid of you. They will most likely turn and run at first scent/sound. Our black bears are smaller than grizzlies but this does not make them pets or render them harmless. They are still, very much, wild animals.
You've probably seen the "Bear Aware" signs posted about the Ponderosa. While there is useful, pro-active information on the flyer, we, as residents, living in the great bear habitat that we do, need to become more bear-saavy than cringing in fear. It's awesome we live in such a place where there remains a spontanaeity to our wildlife.
NEXT WATERSHED (GEENBELT) COMMITTEE MEETING: Sept. 18th @ 9:00 AM. It's about that time to start thinking about projects for next year. Bring ideas, concerns... and the family! No events planned following meeting.
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Leavenworth, WA 98826