EMC: Everybody Must Care!

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Erik Fletcher
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St. Lawrence County Environmental Management Council 49½ Court Street, Canton, New York 13617-1169 Phone: (315) 379-2292 Fax: (315) 379-2252 E-mail: Planning@stlawco.org Web Site: http://www.stlawco.org/planning/emc.

Blue boxes indicate internal links to sections of these Minutes. 1. Call to Order: Vice-Chairman Donald O Shea called the meeting to order at 6:02 PM. 2.

1 St. Lawrence County Environmental Management Council 49½ Court Street, Canton, New York Phone: (315) Fax: (315) Web Site: Draft MEETING MINUTES July 19, nd -Floor Conference Room, Public Safety Complex 49 ½ Court Street, Canton, New York Action items in bold italics / Motions underlined. Blue boxes indicate internal links to sections of these Minutes. 1. Call to Order: Vice-Chairman Donald O Shea called the meeting to order at 6:02 PM. 2. Roll Call, Determination of Quorum: It was initially determined that a quorum did not exist. Subsequently, a quorum was achieved. (Mr. O Shea had to leave during the meeting; Pat Whelan, Secretary, assumed the role of Meeting Chair.) Members present included: J. Berbrich; R. Burkum; G. Butler; A. French; D. O Shea, Vice- Chair; S. Rau; T. Smith; A. Soutar; P. Whalen, Secretary. Members absent included: J. Brant, Chair; B. Dashnaw; L. Denesha; R. Marshall; L. Rudiger; D. Smith; B. Zimmerman. Guest(s): None. Staff: J. Tenbusch. 3. Acceptance of Order of Business, Items for New Business, Items for Unfinished Business: The Order of Business was accepted by consensus. No items were proposed for New Business. 4. Report by Representative of the Board of Legislators. No report. 5. Hearings, Comments from the Public. D. O Shea introduced Ryan Burkum, EMC member owner/operator of Burkum Plant Health and Tree Care ( ). Burkum spoke about Japanese Knotweed, an invasive plant that was introduced as an ornamental in the late 1800s. By the 1930s it was being considered a nuisance. Like many invasives, Japanese Knotweed out-competes native species. It can re-propagate from small pieces of the plant, so mowing does not knock it out. Knotweed also has a root pattern that allows new shoots can come up a foot or more away from the center root. See for more information. EMC: Everybody Must Care!

Burkum explained that Knotweed is especially pernicious near stream banks.

Additionally, pieces of Knotweed can be carried downstream, where the plant will propagate.

This program was begun in 2007 by volunteers in and around Inlet NY (Hamilton County). They tried to spray infested areas, with little success.

While extremely arduous, this technique resulted in approx. 95% kill rate.

2 Burkum explained that Knotweed is especially pernicious near stream banks. Knotweed has been found to out-compete other slope-stabilizing plants, while its roots do not hold soil very well. Additionally, pieces of Knotweed can be carried downstream, where the plant will propagate. Burkum described his experience with the Regional Inlet Invasive Plant Program (RIIPP). This program was begun in 2007 by volunteers in and around Inlet NY (Hamilton County). They tried to spray infested areas, with little success. Eventually, they determined that the best way to eradicate Knotweed is to crawl into a clump of plants and inject each stem with herbicide. While extremely arduous, this technique resulted in approx. 95% kill rate. Burkum reported that RIIP has grown into an effective coalition of local volunteers, local Town and County staff. In , they injected tens of thousands of Knotweed stems at 60 sites; in 2011 and 2012, they injected stems in over 300 sites. In 2016, they injected stems at 250 sites. Same site, before and after treatment Meeting Chair Pat Whalen thanked Mr. Burkum for his presentation, and called for a five-minute recess. The meeting reconvened at 7:10 PM. 6. Approval of the Minutes of the June 21, 2017 EMC Meeting: On a motion by S. Rau (P. Whalen), the Minutes of the June EMC meeting were approved. Minutes of the EMC Meeting 7/19/17 Page 2

3 7. Reports by EMC Members on Conversations with County Legislators: None. 8. Report of the Committees: a. Executive Committee: No report. b. Conservation of Resources Committee (CRC): No meeting was held. c. Environment + Economy Committee (E+E): R. Burkum reported. See attached. d. Invasive Species Committee (ISC): Instead of a Committee meeting, members of the Invasive Species Committee attended a day-long workshop on Invasive Species held at the Nicandri Nature Center in Massena on July 12 th. The workshop was held in connection with NY Invasive Species Awareness Week. S. Rau reported on the workshop; 25 persons attended. e. Watershed Management Committee (WMC). No meeting was held. 9. Report of the Staff: J. Tenbusch reported that there was no word from DEC about the Urban Forestry grant that was applied for in March. He also reported that he is working on two more grant applications: An application to New York Sea Grant Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program for $25,000 to conduct ecosystem vulnerability analysis demonstrating how resiliency measures can be incorporated into local planning. An application to NYS Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program for $850,000 to continue the county-wide housing rehabilitation program. 10. Unfinished Business: None. 11. New Business: None. 12. Announcements: None. 13. Message to the Board of Legislators: EMC members were asked to invite their BOL contacts to attend the 16 th Annual EMC Picnic at Waddington Town Beach on August 16 th. 14. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned by consensus at 7:45 PM. Respectfully submitted: Patrick Whalen Minutes prepared by J. Tenbusch Minutes of the EMC Meeting 7/19/17 Page 3

St. Lawrence County Environmental Management Council Environment + Economy Committee Meeting Monday, July 17 th, 2017 Meeting started at 5:00 PM. Present: R. Burkum; P. Whalen. J. Tenbusch attended as staff.

4 St. Lawrence County Environmental Management Council Environment + Economy Committee Meeting Monday, July 17 th, 2017 Meeting started at 5:00 PM. Present: R. Burkum; P. Whalen. J. Tenbusch attended as staff. Discussion of the North Country Symposium (5/8). Burkum and Tenbusch both attended this Symposium, held at St. Lawrence University. There was general discussion about the event. Burkum stated that he thinks that the Committee should remain in communication with the NC Symposium. Tenbusch will provide the contact info of Ben Dixon, Symposium coordinator, to Burkum. Common Ground Alliance Conference (7/11). Tenbusch attended this conference, held in Old Forge. He reported on the event. He noted that, as a positive, there were new people at this event - people with whom he had not interacted before (as opposed to the same old people who attend more local meetings, sessions, etc.). As a negative, he reported that there seemed to be an emphasis on disregarding circumstances outside of the Adk Park this was by design. He also reported that participants expressed a desire for state-designated regions to be congruent at present, there are 10 regions for economic development, 10 regions for DEC, 10 regions for transportation, etc., AND THEY ARE ALL DIFFERENT. Priority Projects for E+E Committee. While the agenda noted Inventories of resources and on-line survey of opinions, Burkum returned to an earlier goal of the Committee: To put together a meeting of local businesses, environmental user groups, and others to discuss how they want/need/hope for an intersection between the environment and the local economy. Burkum suggested that the Committee can compile a list of possible invitees to this meeting; a suitable site can be found, and a meeting held (during the fall?). Burkum reported that he has had several conversations with local businesses with environmental connections (maple-sugaring; forest products, etc.); most have told him that they tend to not trust the way government works they see it as a waste of their time. Burkum stated that he wanted to make sure that any meeting scheduled would not be a waste of time. P. Whalen will discuss this idea with the SLC Chamber of Commerce. Possible Speakers. Burkum suggested that, since the EMC had previously heard from opponents of the proposed Parishville-Hopkinton wind farm project, it might be good to hear from wind developers. Tenbusch suggested inviting as speakers those communities that have signed on to the NYS Climate Smart Communities initiative. These communities include: City of Ogdensburg, the Town of Potsdam, and the Villages of Canton, and Norwood. See attached. The meeting adjourned at 5:25 PM. Report by John Tenbusch

EMC: Everybody Must Care!

EMC: Everybody Must Care! St. Lawrence County Environmental Management Council 49½ Court Street, Canton, New York 13617-1169 Phone: (315) 379-2292 Fax: (315) 379-2252 E-mail: Planning@stlawco.org Web Site: http://www.stlawco.org/planning/emc.htm