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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-06-10-CAC-minutesTown of Danby Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) Minutes of In-person Meeting in Town Hall, and Via Videoconferencing Tuesday, June 10, 2025 Council Members Present: Margaret Corbit, Joel Gagnon, Anne Klingensmith, Don Schaufler, Jonathan Zisk Council Members Absent/Excused: Brittany Stein, Rene Owens Others Present: Greg Hutnik (in person), Kristin McCarthy (in person) Meeting called to order: 7:01pm Deletions or Additions to Agenda: None Privilege of the Floor: No one spoke during privilege of the floor. Approval of Minutes: Action: Joel Gagnon moved, with a second by Margaret Corbit, to approve the May 2025 minutes with minor edits. Motion carried. Approval of Informal April Meeting Notes: Action: Joel Gagnon moved, with a second by Jonathan Zisk, to approve the April 2025 notes from the Community Science Institute (CSI) presentation as part of the official record with minor edits. Motion carried. Group briefly discussed the CSI creek monitoring program, noting that four teams are now monitoring sites across Danby Creek, Michigan Creek, Sulphur Springs, and Willseyville Creek with positive initial results. Margaret indicated she would include information about the good participation and successful results in her town newsletter write-up. Approval of 2024 CAC Annual Report: Action: Joel Gagnon moved, with a second by Anne Klingensmith, to approve the 2024 Town of Danby Conservation Advisory Council annual report as modified. Motion carried. The approved report will be forwarded to both the Town Board and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as required. Status of Easement Monitoring: CAC members discussed the need to schedule upcoming monitoring visits for current easement properties. Members were reminded to contact fellow CAC members if assistance is needed with monitoring activities. They discussed trying to get monitoring done before summer heat gets too excessive. Status of Retrieval and Organization of Past Easement Monitoring Documents: Anne noted the ongoing need for members to locate and organize historical monitoring documents in their personal files. She mentioned this request has been outstanding for approximately one year and encouraged members to contribute any past monitoring reports to the centralized easement folders. Updates on Ongoing Easements (Sherman): Jonathan volunteered to assist Brittany Stein with monitoring the Sherman easement property, as previously discussed at the May meeting. Report on Assessment of Olsefski Property : Margaret provided a detailed report on the assessment of an 18-acre property located at the corner of Olsefski and Deputron Hollow roads. The property consists of two contiguous parcels that are adjacent to both Town of Danby land and existing Finger Lakes Land Trust easement properties. The southern-facing forested hillside features diverse ecological characteristics including multiple wet seepage areas rich in ferns, various species of blueberries, extensive moss formations, and predominantly white pine mature trees with some large oaks. Stone walls indicate historical agricultural use. The landowner has expressed interest in establishing a conservation easement and potentially building a seasonal cabin on the upper portion of the property. The property would likely be divided into two or three zones including residential use, agriculture and forest, and potentially restricted forest areas. Margaret and Anne will serve as the negotiating team for this potential easement. Don was invited to conduct a forest assessment walk of the property. Status of Walkthroughs for Coddington Properties: Greg reported that the property owner is currently working through a land transfer process with potential buyers and finalizing details of the transfer. The owner remains interested in pursuing a conservation easement. No new information is available at this time, and CAC members will wait for further updates from Greg regarding potential walkthrough opportunities later in the summer. Status of Altman Easement: Jonathan reported he has not yet contacted the property owner (Ben Altman) but acknowledged it is time to call him. The easement document is complete, but the owner has requested some modifications to how the Haudenosaunee issue was addressed before finalizing. Jonathan mentioned uncertainty about whether Ben had returned from travel. Status of Gladstone Easement: Joel reported that he and Jonathan have been working on revisions together. Joel experienced some technical difficulties with document formatting but indicated he is in the final stages of incorporating revisions and will forward the completed document to Guy Krogh, attorney for the town. Timber Harvesting Law: The document was sent to Guy for review, and he provided detailed comments addressing both technical and legal aspects. His feedback included remarks regarding timber volume calculations, recommendations for structuring the document as a law rather than an ordinance, and suggestions for incorporating language from other sections of the town code. Jonathan and Don will review the attorney's comments and work on clarifying certain technical specifications and legal terminology. The revised document will be shared with Greg for additional input before returning to Guy for final legal review. Update on Easement Monitor Recruitment Plan: CAC members discussed strategies for recruiting volunteer monitors who would not necessarily need to join the CAC but would commit to annual monitoring activities. Plans include developing informational materials describing monitor responsibilities and placing recruitment annou ncements in the town newsletter. Members will identify potential candidates from their communities, with particular interest in residents of areas like White Hawk Community who demonstrate environmental knowledge and engagement. The group also discussed liability insurance considerations for volunteer monitors. Updates on Easement Outreach and Conservation Mapping Project: The group discussed developing a systematic approach for identifying priority properties for conservation easement outreach. Greg will explore creating mapping materials showing existing protected lands including state lands, Finger Lakes Land Trust properties, and CAC easements, with overlay options for Unique Natural Areas (UNAs). Initial targeting criteria under consideration include property size (25 acres or larger), contiguity with existing protected lands, and location within U NAs. Members discussed whether to use broader parameters rather than highly specific ecological criteria such as steep slopes, wetlands, or sensitive aquifer areas. The group considered sending targeted mailings to selected property owners in small batches to avoid an overwhelming response, with some debate about whether UNAs might be too broad a criterion for effective targeting. Items for Next Month’s Agenda: Greg will attempt to coordinate a presentation by his friend, an ornithologist working to establish a bird observatory and banding station. The presenter, currently operating under federal permits at the Lindsay Parsons Biodiversity Preserve, would discuss bird banding activities and long-term goals for creating a permanent research and education facility in the area. If available, the presentation would be scheduled for 15 -30 minutes at the July meeting. Member Announcements: No additional member announcements were made. Executive Session (as needed): No executive session was held. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 8:25pm. Submitted by Kristin McCarthy, Secretary.