4th Quarter Meeting Minutes
November 8th, 2006
MACD State Convention
Great Falls, MT

General

Call to Order and Agenda Approval: The Missouri River Conservation Districts Council's fourth quarterly meeting was called to order by Chairman Curt McCann at approximately 9:00 A.M. on November 8th, 2006 at the MACD State Convention, Heritage Inn, Great Falls, MT. Council Members present were: John Chase, Cascade County CD; Paul Gies, Fergus CD; Rick Anderson, Chouteau County CD; Dana Darlington, Big Sandy CD; Jim Beck Broadwater CD; Dave Kascht, NRCS; Karl Christians, DNRC; and Curt McCann, Blaine County CD. Others present were Rachel Takala, Garfield County CD Administrator; Michael Wendland, Hill County CD, MACD, and NACD Northern Plains Region; Debra Bogar, NACD, Northern Plains Region; Fay Lesmeister, Cascade County CD; Gary Knudsen, Phillips CD; Robert Ray, DEQ; Walter Borntrager, Dawson County CD; Taylor Greenup, DEQ; Warren Kellogg, NRCS; Matt Crampton, NRCS, Blaine County; Lee Lane, MSCA; John Tubbs, DNRC; Kent Heidt and Mark Deutschman, Houston Engineering; and Don Youngbauer, YRCDC.

Travel Vouchers: Travel vouchers were distributed to Council members who did not attend the Convention with their local Conservation District.

Review and Approval of Minutes: The minutes for the September 22nd, 2006 quarterly meeting and the November 2nd, 2006 Executive Committee Conference Call were reviewed. Rick moved to accept the minutes as presented, John seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Financial Report: Vicki presented the financial report, including the Monthly Budget Report, Transaction Report, and Check Detail Report from September through November 2006. John Chase discussed the importance of reviewing the financial reports, the process of Cascade County CD reviewing and approving the reports, and the intermittent short term "loans" that Cascade County CD provides, shown on the Monthly Budget Report as "Cascade Co. CD Advance and Paybacks". Rick moved to accept the financial report, John seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Correspondence: Correspondence sent and received since the last quarterly meeting was presented, see lists attached.

New Business

TMDLs: Although not on the Agenda, Paul asked if the Council could briefly discuss its involvement with the State DEQ regarding TMDLs. Paul noted that the DEQ used out-dated materials when they began TMDL planning on Big Spring Creek in Fergus County. Mike Wendland noted that the Hill County CD was very involved in the Sage Creek TMDL planning and it was very valuable until Sage Creek dried up. Deb Bogar also noted that CDs in other states were stepping up to deal with TMDLs. She mentioned that Wyoming CDs had successfully lobbied their state legislature to provide funding for the CDs to complete necessary monitoring. Rick noted that the Council could request that MACD lobby for funding from the legislature. Vicki noted that there seem to be two issues that the Council could pursue - TMDL planning specifically for the Missouri River and working to improve the CDs involvement with TMDLs and their working relationship with DEQ. Rachel Takala noted that the CDs should be involved in collecting data and they should get a clear understanding of what the data will be used for. Deb Bogar also noted that the CDs could provide input to the DEQ as a collective unit, for example, if 50 of the 58 CDs disagreed with a specific TMDL practice, then they could advocate for a change more successfully. Curt noted that the most important thing for CDs to do was to be aware of the process and review the impaired listings.

Elections: Vicki noted that the Chairman seat and each of the four Executive Committee seats were up for election this year. Curt opened the nominations for Chairman by nominating Jim Beck for the position. Rick moved to close the nominations and elect Jim as Chairman, Gary Knudsen (Phillips CD alternate) seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Regarding the Executive Committee elections, it was noted that few members from the Reservoir and Lower Reaches were present. Paul moved to conduct the Executive Committee elections by mail-in ballot, John seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.

Old Business
CREP Modifications: The proposed modifications to the CREP Agreement were discussed. The Council agreed that a modification that allows a reduced benefit or some other mechanism that allows the landowner to continue some use of the riparian area should be pursued. Rick noted that the changes will be discussed at a meeting of the state CREP working group, which includes Glenn Patrick with FSA and Rob Hazelwood with PPL. Other discussion centered on using Brent Roeder and others with the Undaunted Stewardship Program to provide the technical assistance necessary to write sound grazing management plans; using Fred King's data and other FWP data to support grazing as a healthy management practice. Rick noted that the CREP could be designed similar to the CSP with tiered levels of participation. He also noted that the early Montana settlers were smart enough to choose the river bottom property; most of those areas remain in private ownership so the CREP could really have an impact on the river. Paul moved to accept the changes as presented, Rick noted that the Council should present the proposed changes at the CREP annual meeting, then work with the other partners to fine-tune the proposal. Jim noted that the proposal lacked some specific language and Rick verified that it could be fine-tuned at the annual meeting. Paul amended his motion, Rick seconded it, and the motion passed unanimously.

Presentation at the Watershed Symposium: Vicki discussed the questions that the presentation will address and asked if anyone had some specific points they would like included. Fay Lesmeister noted that the early meeting notes and minutes would provide many details for the presentation.

Next Meeting Date and Location
The Council agreed that due to the compressed time for the current meeting, they should meet again soon. General consensus was that January would be a better month than December to meet. Dana requested that the Council review the coal-fired generator proposal again, specifically the plant's water consumption, water right, and the impact on the Missouri River. He mentioned that if the meeting were held in Big Sandy, he could attend. Additionally, the "Anglers Against Weeds" and the Missouri-Madison Education and Outreach presentations could be held in Big Sandy, so the Council directed Vicki to set up a meeting in January at Big Sandy. Paul also mentioned that he would like the Council to look into Conservation Easements, the Ag Heritage Program, and other ways to promote term easements.

Reports: Given the short time frame, the Council dispensed with the reports until the next regular meeting.

Joint Meeting with the Yellowstone River CD Council:
Chairman Curt McCann and Chairman Don Youngbauer, with the YRCDC, opened a joint meeting by having meeting attendees introduce themselves and their affiliations. Don's opening remarks centered on the importance of each council endeavoring to manage a large and complex river system. Don and Curt both noted that if the two Councils could work together to promote common goals, the effect would be tremendous.

Don then introduced Bob Hector who explained the clean-up project that the YRCDC completed last year using the Montana Conservation Corps. They would like to expand the clean-up this year and invited the MRCDC to participate as well. The target areas would be Fishing Access Sites identified by FWP as needing clean-up as well as other sites recommended by the Conservation Districts that may need more intensive clean-up (i.e.: car body riprap sites). The councils could also partner with other groups, like TU, etc., who would be willing to adopt a site for continued litter patrol and weed pulls. The YRCDC clean-up was very successful last year as it generated a lot of positive press coverage, provided rewards and promotional items for the workers, and got a lot of people involved.

Mark Deutschman from Houston Engineering mentioned that several counties in North Dakota were working to fund a sediment project on Lake Sakakawea. YRCDC and MRCDC might look at combining efforts on a similar project.

Deb Bogar from NACD noted that their goal is to have each state form councils for their large rivers, then bring those councils together on a regional basis. The NACD has already formed a Missouri River Team, but Montana is the only state to form CD Councils.
Don also suggested that the councils could work together on weed projects as everyone seems to have weed infestations to deal with. A brief discussion followed about saltcedar and Russian olive infestations on the rivers.
Bob Hector noted that the continuity of public relations would be key to keeping the events focused on the councils. Numerous partners could dilute the message and be a distraction.
The discussion then turned to riparian area management. John Tubbs with DNRC noted that the Governor's Restoration Symposium a few months ago highlighted some of the concerns and possibilities. The Governor's Task Force on Riparian Protection recently released a brochure advocating voluntary measures, including set-backs and a general recognition that river channels will move. Buzz Mattelin noted that MACD still has $20,000 of LEP funding available for publications if the councils wanted to consider some publication on riparian area protection. Robert Ray noted that the Governor's Task Force brochure includes several websites that lead to scientific data and guidance on riparian issues. Warren Kellogg noted that the YRCDC Technical Advisory Committee is working on a science-based approach for riparian area protection on the Yellowstone River. They are looking at channel migration zones and inundation zones. Warren offered to attend a MRCDC meeting to present their progress to date. Rick Anderson noted that Chouteau County is taking a common sense approach to the issues by advocating that development stay out of the floodplain, stay out of the riparian zone, pay attention to the channel migration zone, and pay attention to the sub-surface composition (i.e.: if its sand, it will probably move over time). They are also treating every stream the same, regardless of size, and working with the County Sanitarian to set up a committee, similar to a 310 committee, to look at each proposed home site before it is approved. Luther Waterland noted that education will be key to any riparian area protection effort - some people will do what they want anyway, but perhaps we could reach the others. Don noted that he would like to make it socially unacceptable to not do the right thing for the river - much like the publicity effort surrounding the FWP Catch and Release program.
It was concluded that the councils would work together on a river clean-up effort and continue discussions on the other issues discussed today (weeds, riparian area protection, and sedimentation). The joint meeting ended at 11:00 A.M. as the Convention events began.

Submitted by:

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Vicki Marquis, Coordinator

Approved by unanimous vote:

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Jim Beck, Chairman

Date: ________________