Port Ludlow Trails & Natural Resources Committee Meeting

06 January 2009

Attendees: Dale Wills, Chris Whitehurst, Dick Ullmann, Dean Rosenthal, Jack Manning, Larry Scott, Larry Nobles, Barbara Nobles, John Bonderson, Julia Blakeney-Smith, Dan Darrow, and Soozie Darrow.

The meeting was called to order at 9:10 a.m. by Chairman Larry Scott.

The agenda for the day and the minutes of the 04 Nov. 2008 meeting were approved.

Sub-committee Reports:

            Finance: Jack Manning offered a synopsis of the transactions from the year 2008 which show an unused portion of $456. This will be added to our reserve funds which will now total $8,061. The budget for 2009 was also offered and unanimously accepted.

            Maps: Jack Manning’s efforts to update the waterproof, color-coded maps of our trail system have finally become a finished product. Five hundred of them were delivered to the map keeper, Chris Whitehurst, who will distribute them to both clubs and other various venues. There is a suggested donation of  $1.00 for the map.  

            Natural Resources: Dick Ullmann had several issues to discuss as head of this committee.

·        Bird houses: The golf course bird house cleaning has been delayed due to the recent foul weather. However, it was found that several of the houses placed along the Interpretive Trail and Rainier Loop had moss-built nests. The Purple Martin houses never have been used in their present locations. It was suggested that the golf course ones be moved to the gazebo area on the Ludlow Cove Trail.

·        Nature brochures: There are still 1100 Larry Eifert brochures remaining in Dick’s garage. He will meet with the Port Ludlow Chamber of Commerce on 14 January to ask whether they might be willing to buy some of them for distribution.

·        Scot’s Broom/Noxious Weed Pull: April Fool’s Day 2009 is the scheduled Pull Day. There will be a barbecue party afterwards at the Beach Club. Volunteers are needed to assist in the kitchen.

·        Native plant garden: There is a lot of work to be done to restore and re-seed. Many volunteers will be needed for this mid-March event.

            Stewards: Since Doris Monti will be out of town until March, if stewards have any problems to report,  please call either Soozie Darrow 437-9208 or Larry Scott 437-9299.

            It was noted that Elizabeth Van Zonneveld has agreed to be the Montgomery Loop steward. We thank Lia and Neil Robinson for their two years of stewardship there.

            The VOICE would like to have regular monthly articles from the Trails Committee. Larry Scott suggested that the stewards who are willing be interviewed and their particular trails described, one each month unless other articles are forthcoming.

Trail Status

            Timberton 1-12: Steward John Bonderson informed us that the entire post and sign at the intersection of Timberton and Niblicks Loops has gone missing twice in the recent past.

            ABT 2 Bridges: Steward Julia Blakeney-Smith cautioned that the bridges are quite slippery due to all the wet leaves.

            Ludlow Cove: An expert team attacked the Scot’s Broom in November for three days and made it look quite presentable. It could use another day’s attention.

            Niblicks Loop:  Jack Manning cautioned that the two ends of the PLA-built bridge are very slippery where the grid stops. Jack will add some anti-skid material as soon as possible. Larry Scott and Greg Lucas will take care of a fallen tree problem after the meeting.

Old Business:

            Trails Kiosk: The kiosk by the recycling center has its winter display. Soozie Darrow has agreed to take care of the kiosk. However, if anyone feels that they would like to participate, please give her a call.

New Business:

            Ludlow Days: Dick Ullmann reported that he attended a planning session for Ludlow Days (10 Aug. – 16 Aug.) activities as a representative of Trails and Hiking. The committee would like us to plan some activities centered around the Port Ludlow Trail System. Any brilliant ideas are welcome!

            Port Ludlow Today: How to use this new system (digital village) for Trails/NRC activities was discussed. Soozie and Dan will attend one of the training sessions to find out how the committees can participate.

            DNR/Pope Land Swap: Larry Nobles commented on good/bad results for Trails.         

The meeting was adjourned at 10:35.

Next meeting: 03 February 2009, 9:00 a.m. at the Beach Club.

Submitted by: Soozie Darrow, scribe