Present: John, Pamela, Mike, Dave, Cheryl, Bret (By Phone), and Sheri

1-20-2009 CBSM Meeting Present: John, Pamela, Mike, Dave, Cheryl, Bret (by phone), and Sheri

How do we build this campaign and get it going by April? Would like things to be useful to the county and if possible state-wide. Traditional Burnett County Lakes and River Association Newsletter – Incorporate the messages of what was learned from the survey. Possible insert for the Long Lake and Des Moines Lakes. The newsletter ranked high with many saying that they read it, but does it change behavior? Related idea – Many individual lake associations have their own website- Could be another avenue to get out messages. Don’t think Long and Des Moines have site.

Shoreland Friends Packet – The packet currently has too much information and is too expensive to produce and mail. Want a brochure that gives a summary in one document (a paragraph on each item/topic). UW-Ext (ERC) or Bret’s wife can help with the design. It is important that anything we produce is considered public domain.

Interpersonal  Lake association presentations/meeting  Shoreline restoration site visits – Cheryl or someone as skill would be needed. Should not lock ourselves into just “shoreland restoration” stormwater tools are something that is currently easier to sell to many people.  Lake Association sponsored demonstration events/tours – Didn’t rank high on the survey, but the lakes in Burnett County that have done these things have had good success. Most getting 25-40 people.

Marketing Promoting native plants  At Burnett County Native Plant Sale  From Greenhouse  Enrolling in Burnet County Shoreland restoration program  Delivery of pick-up – Student delivery Laminated map with subtle shoreline restoration – Shell Lake did one with AIS message that got good feedback on it. Want to avoid preaching and being judgemental Calendar with pictures of Long and Desmoines Lakes containing shoreline restoration messages – Long Lake, Washburn county did on with pictures and images with a message on each page. ERC did the first one, slowly the lake group has taken it over with the local printshop helping with production.

Prompts Don’t want junk that will just be thrown away  Refrigerator Magnets  Planting guides  Keychain with message  Bar coasters  Fishing tackle giveaway with fishing habitat message  Playing cards

Social Norms Church creation care workshops – Nature is a gift from God and its stewardship is our responsibility Restoration demo Youth 4H involvement – This is not a youthful community, but the 4H leader in Burnett County has a strong interest in natural resources. Incentives – The county already has the SIP program in place. There was the idea to raise the money for Long and Desmoines, but there could be issues with the county board and the requirements of the grant. The county has also found the biggest issues with signing people are the covenant and depth of buffer (can not be changed)

Something that Dave has wanted to try is incentives for mini buffers. These 10-15 foot buffers are an easier sell. They are a good first step for the land owner in the hopes they will expand. Vilas County has done this successfully.

Children Mainly grand children visiting. Need things that appeal to grandparents/parents. Family focus. Need to keep the shoreland message active Mascot(s) – Ronny Raindrop is used in Washington County. Bret’s student is doing a literature review of the subject. One idea is to have a pair of mascots that can play off each other “Tom and Jerry” for example a Heron and a frog. The mascot will be put on everything. Bret would like to have a talking mascot on a website. Need taglines with a shoreline focus for the mascot Costume Kids menu coloring placemats  5th grade and below, amenable to other county logos or organizational sponsorship – The county did one with a AIS focus. The restaurants liked them but there were difficulties in deciding which gets them. It was also pointed out that there aren’t many restaurants in the area. If one is done it should be a Pizza Hut type of one that has a lot of activities on it. Coloring Book – John showed an example of one from the EPA. Want it to be specific to the area habitat with a picture and an educational paragraph with it. Activity book for adults and children to learn about lakes Activity Kits – The group liked the idea of Lake Activity Kits or Lake entertainment kits. Use for younger and older kids. John has been trying to find out what other counties and states have done along similar lines. Restore your shore video edited for Long and Des Moines Lakes – Edit something on each end of the video. Bret has students that can do the editing. We have the copyright on this one. Messages  Water quality tie to buffers reducing runoff/pollutant loading  Goose-proof landscaping  Seek no-strings attached advice from a landscape expert  How grandkids benefit from natural landscape  Using native plants in managed landscapes  Positively viewed wildlife (eagles, loons) need natural vegetation along the shoreline  Invasive plant/weed identification and control (spotted knapweed, purple loosestrife, reed canary grass)  Top ten shoreline plants for native landscaping (and how to get your free examples)(swamp milkweed, bush honeysuckle, snowberry, big leaf aster, etc)  Mascot associations (ideas: frog, loon, water drop)  Clean water  Good fishing

What are the most useful to pursue and where do we go now?  Newsletter o When: May mailing is the target o Duties: . Mike will explore if the county can support color printing after the grant is up . ERC will create a newsletter and insert template (Dependent on printing costs as to color or black and white newsletters. The insert will be colored) . Newsletter content – BCLA usually defines the topics. There are no articles currently committed. There needs to be at least on AIS article. John and Bret will write the insert. It will focus on the results of the survey. . Sheri will train Marleen in In-Design o Notes: Currently the newsletter is 12 pages

 Shoreland friends packet o When: Ready by April o Duties: Cheryl will get a list of current things in the packet and what is missing. John, Dave and Cheryl will work on the content language. Bret’s wife will do the layup o Notes: Need to keep the postage costs a low as possible. The envelope was ~$1.

 Top ten native plants o When: Ready by May o Duties: Cheryl will compile a top ten list. ??? layup o Notes: A page of the plants with a picture, description and “why it is good” ie butterfly habitat. At the bottom there will be a coupon for Austin Lake Greenhouse (Webster) and Wood River (Grantsburg) for a certain amount for the purchase of 10 ten plants. Will need to think about how to make sure the coupon is used by only those on Long and Des Moines. Another copy without the coupon will be made for county wide distribution. Could be used as an insert in the newsletter.

 Activity kit for the family o When: Ready for April 2010 o Duties: John and Bret will continue to do research on what is being done elsewhere. . Would like to get an environmental educator to help (Cheryl can help with a possible contact) . Test the kits on kids for their feedback . Possible sources of ideas - Michigan, Missouri, Angler Ed, OTTER (hatchery curriculum) …. . Ideas of things that can be included:  Box with questions that can help begin discussions  A deck of custom playing cards  Jeopardy like game (CD with trivia or a board game  book of indoor and outdoor activities  coloring book  net  frog guide  Treasure/scavenger hunt  Craft things (origami, beaded key chain etc…) o Notes: One way to measure success could be the number of kits sold. Would like it to be customized to the area to make it special. Want both indoor and outdoor activities. Give some to the lake associations to give away. Need to keep cost between $10-$20 (could possibly subsidize those for Long and Des Moines.)

 Pick-up delivery of plants could piggy back with “no strings attached” expert advice o When: Wait until next year o Duties: o Notes: One way to assist Cheryl would be to have someone do a preliminary interview ask questions and do a good site map. Hiring additional expert help is dependent on the number of calls requesting site visits o Next meeting will be Feb 24 at 1pm- Siren Government Center.