CAMBRIA FOREST COMMITTEE
TO CONSERVE AND MANAGE THE NATIVE FOREST OF CAMBRIA
April 10, 2019, 6:30 PM
Cambria Rabobank, 1070 Main Street
A Quorum was established by the attendance of Crosby and Laura Swartz, Paul Nugent, JoEllen Butler Julie Jorgenson and Christine Heinrichs. Cambria resident Linda Poppenheimer, Harry Farmer, liaison from the CSD Board of Directors, and Carlos Mendoza, Facilities and Maintenance manager for the CSD also attended.
Public and Director Comments:
Linda Poppenheimer recounted an experience with a tree that was removed from her property by County Public Works. One tree had fallen over in the wind, but without notifying her, the crew also removed a tree she had planted 12 years ago. She asked for specifics of the County’s Tree Removal Ordinance (23.05.060 – Tree Removal In the County Municipal Code,
https://library.municode.com/ca/san_luis_obispo_county/codes/county_code?nodeId=TIT23COZOLAUS_CH23.05SIDEST_23.05.062TRREPERE; Blanket permit, https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/community/cambrian/article39063303.html). She has a picture of the fallen tree and the healthy tree. She was advised to contact the county and ask why the healthy tree was removed.
Carlos Mendoza reported on the work he and his crews have done to clean up homeless encampments on CSD property. The issue has received substantial local interest recently. A committee has been formed, led by Theresa Desmond, to bring solutions to the CSD Board. They meet the first Wednesday of the month, 10 am at Pacific Premier Bank.
Minutes of the March meeting were approved.
Treasurer’s Report: Laura Swartz reported $1,221.04 balance in the account. An invoice from Lynn Singer for review of the taxes is expected, $150.
Sub-Committee Reports:
Education/Planting/Mitigation/Operations
Materials for Earth Day Fair: Crosby and Laura will bring license plate frames, books, flyers. Crosby will get a banner made to display across the top of the tent to identify the Forest Committee and FFRP. Volunteers will work the booth, 11-3 pm Sunday April 21.
Website Domain Name Billing: Paul is working with Amanda to resolve the issue. He has a video to use for future changes
Forest Management
Fire Hazard Fuel Reduction Guidelines: Crosby will discuss with Fire Chief Hollingsworth making the list of properties requiring weed abatement show clearly which are owned by the CSD. Practices for weed abatement were discussed. Laura Swartz has found an outlet for 30 percent vinegar, an effective weed killer, especially for Oxalis, that is not toxic to wildlife or the soil.
Report from Fire Safe Focus Group: JoEllen attended. The agenda was not well distributed and few attended. Lack of a speaker for the Emergency Preparedness Day on May 18 may be remedied by Craig Ufferheide, who will invite the FEMA speaker from the Disaster Preparedness Workshop May 15-16 to stay on and speak.
New Business
Sudden Oak Death Survey: will be May 3rd – 5th. Attending the training is not required, but helpful. Survey materials are distributed there. Check SODMap app for locations. Crosby and Laura Swartz will do San Simeon Road. Christine Heinrichs will use the list she has compiled in town. Bay Laurels are the trees being sampled. They transmit SOD to oaks.
Unfinished Business
Greenspace / Forest Committee Letter: Crosby wants to compare language in the Forest Practice Act with the Cambria Forest Management Plan to determine whether there are any significant differences.
Dark Skies Initiative Support Letter: Christine will draft a letter of support relevant to forest concerns.
Public and Director Comments
Kim Corella, CALFIRE, RPF#2916, Southern Region Forest Pest Specialist/Forester II, Cell – 805-550-8583 invited all interested people to a workshop on invasive shot hole borer (ISHB) and goldspotted oak borer (GSOB), to be held in San Luis Obispo on May 9th from 9:30-2:30. More information at www.pshb.org.
“These insects have not been found yet in our County but they are very close and we are especially concerned about the ISHB which can attack over 110 tree species. Many of these are native riparian species such as Sycamore, Cottonwood, Alder, Willows, Box Elders and this insect also attacks coast live oak and valley oaks.
“Please come and attend this local workshop so you can learn how to identify these invasive insects and report them if you see them in our county. We’ll cover these topics in the classroom, then have a hands-on lab to learn how to identify signs of shot hole borer damage, set up a monitoring program, and sample trees.”
Meeting was adjourned at 7:51 pm.
Next Meeting May 8, 2019
