Idaho Master Naturalist Lewis and Clark Chapter Minutes, 12-09-2015

Lewis and Clark Chapter Master Naturalist Program

Officers: Billy Wilson – President David Eberle – Vice-President Nora Pearson – Treasurer Karen Loeffelman – Secretary Officers: Billy Wilson – President David Eberle – Vice-President Brittney Haupert – Treasurer Karen Loeffelman – Secretary

Citizen ScienceVolunteer Opportunity Presentation 6-76:30pm Jen BrunsAndrew Mackey – Access YES! Survey

Present: Jen Bruns, Rod Campbell, Debbie and Sam Duncan, David Eberle, Steve Ford, Steve Ford, Heath Fuller, Lorna Inglet, Barry Bob Johnson, Karen Loeffelman, Gary and Nora Pearson, Steve Ullrich, Steve Ullrich, Billy Wilson

Andrew Mackey from IDFG spoke to the group and asked if we wanted to participate in the pilot Access YES! survey and what that would entail on our part. We would have to call approximately 700 hunters that had permits to hunt on the Access YES properties. Andrew provided the 20 questions and a spreadsheet for the answers to be recorded on. The data has to be completed and compiled by May. The questions and answer forms are attached. Karen volunteered to enter the hunter information from the Access YES! Permits and will then distribute those names and numbers to the members that want to participate in making the calls. Feel free to contact Andrew for any questions. His contact information is: Andrew Mackey, Wildlife Biologist/Farm Bill Coordinator, Idaho Department of Fish and Game 208-750-6123 (cell) 208-750-4262 (direct line) [email protected]

Educational Opportunity 6:30-8 Joel Sauder – Birding Basics

Joel Sauder, the non-game biologist for IDFG in Lewiston gave a slideshow presentation on beginning birding techniques and how to get started. He spoke on basic equipment, such as binoculars, and showed numerous samples of field guides on bird ID that were available.

It’s an easy sport to get into and there are two local groups that are available to join: the Canyon Birders serve the Lewiston/Clarkston area and the Palouse Audubon group is active in the Moscow/Pullman area. As a birder, it’s important to know the anatomy and correct terminology of a bird to make it easier to identify. He showed examples of such things as different flight patterns, flight profiles, bird sizes, postures of different birds perching, and range maps that allow a generalization of the bird type in question. He also showed examples from the common bird groups such as sparrows, warblers, raptors, thrushes, woodpeckers, etc. Some recommend reads on bird literature are: Kingbird Highway by Ken Kaufman; Living on the Wing by Scott Weidensaul and The Grail Bird by Tim Gallagher., January 14about for more informationC and can be done on weekends

Steering Committee Meeting MinutesChapter Meeting 7-8pm 8-8:45 End of Year Business Steering Committee Meeting

Billy led a discussion about the upcoming end of our first year as a Chapter (March 11, 2016). Sara requested that we please turn in all of our volunteer and educational hours by March 1 so she can record them. There are a few members that still need a number of educational hours to complete their training. Billy suggested those of us who have already completed the hours might offer to lead some educational trainings on Saturdays for those short on hours. There was a consensus to extend the first group’s time to complete the 40 hours of education and volunteer requirements to 18 months and any new Chapter members that start from now on will have 1 year to complete those hours and will concentrate more on the core curriculum found in our binders. Billy will have to run the extension by Jen/Sara to see if that will be allowed. We will need to set up elections soon for those officers that have served the Chapter for a year and want to vacate their positions. Please report 75 minutes of volunteer time (Access YES! and the Chapter meeting) and 1.5 hours of educational time for Joel Sauder’s birding presentation.

Upcoming Events Fish & Game Lunch Meeting: Thursday, Feb. 18 from noon-1:00 pm (lunch provided). Topics include the Clearwater Radio Tracking Study, Newly Acquired Access Sites, and Chinook Public Meetings. At the Fish & Game Office in Lewiston. Educational Opportunity: Nez Perce National Historical Park (Spaulding): Saturday, Feb. 20 at 1:00 pm. Panel Discussion on the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial at the Visitor Center. Next Meeting: March 16 from 6-8 pm. A reschedule of the meeting with Zack Swearingen, wildlife biologist with IDFG, will talk on land use and birds. This will be followed up with a field day in April. Submitted by:

______Karen A. Loeffelman Lewis and Clark Chapter Secretary Idaho Master Naturalist Program 02-17-2016

Present: Billy Wilson (President), Karen Loeffelman (Secretary), Jen Bruns, Heath Fuller, Nora and Gary Pearson, Steve

Ullrich

Jeff Smith from Hell’s Gate State Park, was present for the presentation of certificates and gave a brief update on the Tammany Creek Restoration project. He hopes within the next year that project will have moved forward with funding and provide potential volunteer opportunities.The steering committee met after Jen’s presentation on Citizen Science, where we did a couple of demo presentations on how to recognize the steps of the scientific method and how to present that to children in an educational setting. At the steering committee meeting there was no Treasurer’s report since Brittney wasn’t present. The last minutes were accepted. Billy talked with the other Chapters at the recent Naturalist Rendezvous and found that some of them had Bylaws and some of them didn’t. Bylaws were not required by Sara Focht in Boise, so we decided to not proceed at this point to try and get any in place for our Chapter. We have also never written any official job descriptions for the President, Vice-President, Treasurer or Secretary positions, but felt at this point they were pretty self-explanatory. No official disclaimer has ever been put into place, but we are still trying to schedule meetings on different days of the week (T-Th) giving all Chapter members chances to attend. It was decided that Officer positions will last one year and then new members will be elected to serve. There was continued discussion on whether to allow volunteer hours to count towards our total of 40 hours if they were completed outside the three agencies we were initially restricted to for volunteering (IDFG, State Parks, Forest Service). We felt this was reasonable to allow members a chance for picking up volunteer hours as long as they were volunteering for something that was within the scope of the Mission Statement of the Master Naturalist Program. [The mission of the Idaho Master Naturalist Program is to develop a corps of well-informed volunteers to actively work toward stewardship of Idaho’s natural environment.] A motion was made to accept this ruling by Gary Pearson and seconded by Karen Loeffelman. The motion passed unanimously. Any members that have volunteer hours outside of the previously mentioned organizations can report them if they haven’t already. We are asking all members to please make sure their hours are current for Volunteer and Education times by the end of the year for Sara’s convenience for reporting. Billy is organizing some additional volunteer opportunities and just waiting to finalize some arrangements. Jen mentioned a chance for picking up hours by volunteering at the big game check station along the South Fork of the Clearwater River during the week of 11/14-11/20. You would be getting a tally of hunters, what was harvested, what units they were hunting in, etc. Please contact Jen or Bill Seybold for more information. Check stations are open from 9am to dusk. Volunteers are especially needed on weekdays. Billy is monitoring Asotin and Tammany Creeks for water quality and could use someone to help him once a month for about an hour. You do not have to have completed the Water Steward training, as Billy is certified. The next monitoring date is November 14. Please contact Billy if you are interested. And finally, as a lesson from Dave Eberle, you are welcome to approach any agency and ask them for a project or volunteer opportunity. That’s how Dave got most of his hours. Billy reminded everyone that if pictures are taken by us of other members of the public, especially children, you need permission before posting their photograph on the website or our Facebook page. 8pm Wrap-up Our next Chapter Training Meeting is scheduled for October 27 from 6-7:30pm at the Fish and Game Office in Lewiston. Bill Seybold will offer training on Mammology. Please read the associated chapter (12) in your binder before the meeting. Following that we will have an official Chapter Meeting from 7:30-8pm. Additional training sessions have been set for Nov. 12 (range management) and December 9 (pollinators). Members attending tonight’s presentation can claim one hour of educational training. Steering members can claim an hour of volunteer time.

Minutes submitted by:

______Karen A. Loeffelman Lewis and Clark Chapter Secretary Idaho Master Naturalist Program 010-217-20165