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3.5. SR 11-16-2009`® Item umber Cit Council 3.5. Benda Section eetsn~ ate Prepared ~ Consent November 16, 2009 Nicola Blal~e-Bradley, Environmental Technician item escr~pt~on evNewed by Consider Letter of Support for tlae Slae~•burne Soil and Mater Lori Johnson, Cit Administrator Conservation District Forest Resources Protection Campaign evaewed b~ Grant Applica~.on fiction ec~ nested Consider signing the letter of support for the Sherburne Soil and water Conservation District's ~SwCD} application. aclc~roundl iscussion Emerald Ash Borer ~EAI~} is an invasive insect which attacl~s all types of Ash gees green, blacl~, and white whether healthy or not, This insect bills the trees iia the larval state by tunneling and eating tl~e phloemwater bearing vessels under tlae barb}, EAI~ loos been steadily spreadiiag ~vestward from eastern states, Unfortl~nately, it readily moves with nursery trees, firewood, on wooden pallets, and even "hitch hires" on vehicles. One hundred percent of tt•ees infested with EAIi will die. This infestation could be compared to the Dutch Ehn Disease epide~aaic with s:itaailar results. EAB tivas found in St. Paul during tlae su~x~mer of 2009, Methods to control tlae spread of the invasive insect are the only hope for slowing the demise of ash trees in Minnesota, The Department of Agriculture is actively worl~ag to slo~v the movement of E~.B tlarougla detection and removal of diseased trees. ~uarantuaes have been put in place as ~vell to slow movenaent of wood, trees, etc. Recently, a grant opportunity has been offered by tlae MN Department of Agriculture, The S~CD put together a grant application for creating a Forest Resources Protection Campaign which would benefit the City of Ells River and Sherburne County, 'rnancia~ Mn7 act .t~. portion of the grant, if awarded to the SwCD, would be made available to tlae City of Ells River for assistance with adn~aistration of the grant by the Environmental Depar~.aaent Staff. ttac~rnents Letter of Support Giant Application C:~DocLUnents and Settings~jmiller~Local Scttings~'I'em~orary Internet Iiiles~0I,K3)!,~RequeSt Council fiction -1~11B grant (2}.doe November 12, 200 RE. Support fox the Sherburne S~ICD's Forest Resources Protection Campaign Grant App]ication To whom Zt May Concern: The City of Ells River supports the Shexbuxne Soil and water Conservation District in pursuing the NIN Department of Agricultuxe's 2D10 Forest Protection Reserve -Planning and Preparedness Grant Program. Providing the Soil and water Conservation District with the proposed grant funds will. allow fox a proactive, county-wide education effort regarding Emerald Ash Boxer ~EAB} as well as an inventory of publicly owned ash trees in the City of Ells River and Sherburne County. The City of Elk River has experienced significant growth and development in xecent years resulting i.n large numbers of ash trees being planted in urban areas. yak wilt has ravaged areas within the County and City in recent years as well with the replacement trees tending to have been ash when trees have been planted in place of lost oaks}.The City also has a large native ash tree commu~~ty as well in rural, parldand, and xiparian areas Mississippi and Ells River corridors, for example}. Highways 10 and 1G9 ~majar transportation thoraughfaxes} bisect the City of Ells River and continue through Sherburne County making potential coxridor•s of infestation via inadvertent "hitch-hild.ng" Emexald Ash Borers. Development of an EAB Preparedness and Response Plan is therefore a critical step toward controlling the movement of this invasive insect. The City of Ells River hopes to assist the Shexbuxne Soh. and watex Conservation District to prevent the spread of Emerald Ash Borer through a vigorous educational campaign and rapid response for disposal when the insect reaches Sherburne County. Please consider awarding the Sherburne Soil and water Conservation District's ~.•equest. zf there are any questions, please feel free to contact Nicola Blake-Bradley at 763-635-1073. Thanl~ you for your time and consideration of this letter. Sincerely, Nick Zexwas Acting Mayor Rebecca Haug Environmental Administt`ator CC: Gina Hugo, Shexbuxne Soil and water Conservation District Nicola Blake-Bradley, Environmental Technician ~~,~~, 4f - ~ MINNESUTA DEPARTMENT 625 Robert St. N., St. Paul, MN 55~ 552538 ~'~~`~° nf~~;l ,~~ ~- roe AGRICULTURE ~ `~ WWW,mda.state.mn,US ~.~'` '~ Plant Protection, Ph: 651201-6543, Fx: 651-2016108 Grant Applicaiion 2010 FOREST PROTECTION RESERVE- PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS GRANTS PROGRAM Application data are private or nonpublic data until grant applications are opened. Names, addresses and requested amounts then become public information, An entire application becomes public when an agency has completed negotiating the grant agreement with a grantee, Individual grant applicants do not have to provide the information requested on the application form, if you do not, we will not be able to consider your grant request, The only persons who will have access to your data during the time that it is protected are those permitted access by law, by your written consent, by a court order or by those department employees whose job duties require access. ORGANIZAT[ON PROJECT MANAGER Sherburne Sail & Water Conservation District ~SWCD~ Gina Hugo, Resource Conservationist ADDRESS l 14855 H 10 ADDRESS 2 COUNTY Sherburne cITY STATE z[P Elk River MN 55330 EMAIL PHONE FAX gina,hugo@mn,nacdnet.net X763) 241-117'0 ext.101 ~763~ 241-1161 HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS GRANT? Email from MASWCD SUMMARY PROJECT TITLE; PROJECT l7URATION Forest Resources Protection Campaign START January 2010 END May 2011 TOTAL BUDGET REQUEST COUNTY $32,111,00 Sherburne Short Description of Proposed Project pup to 30a words); The recent discovery of EAB in St. Paul was the impe#us for The Forest Resource Protection Campaign, which is meant to raise awareness of agents that threaten the forest resources within the county and empower landowners and land managers with the knowledge and resources they need to have a hand in slowing the spread and reducing the impacts of such pests, The central theme of the campaign is EAB Preparedness, but it will also create a framework far managing existing pests as well as preparing far additional future pests such as gypsy math. The campaign will begin with the development of a Preparedness & Response Plan for EAB in Sherburne County, The plan will be presented to the County Commissioners, City Councils and Township Boards for adoption. The SWCD will use existing Garmin and ArcMap technology to inventory, map and document ash tree location and condition, Additionally we will coordinate with city and county staff to provide resources to attend EAB first detector training. The SWCD will develop a power point presentation to be given to each township board and each city council within the county. Vile will coordinate far quarterly direct mailing of EAB awareness information to all county residents, The SWCD will also work to develop effective disposal system that utilizes processed material for biomass. Project objectives; 1, Develop a Countywide EAB Preparedness & Response Plan that is adopted by the County Board of Commissioners, cities and townships. ~, Inventory & Map ash trees on boulevards, city & county parkland. Assess the condition of known ash tree populations. 3.Quarteriy distribution of EAB Signs & Symptoms information to all residents in Sherburne County, 4~Coordinate training opportunities to county and city fieldlstreet staff. Education & Awareness presentations to local government units, 5•Develap system capable of processing infested ash tree material to effectively slow the spread and reduce the impact, __ In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, an alternative form of cammunr'cation is available upon request AG-o3~ 8~ 1O1z3/o9 TDD; i-SDO-6,~7-3529, MDA is an equal opportunity employer and provider, PR~~~CT D~~CRIPTI~N Answer the following questions in detail about your project. Use the buNleted questions only as suggestions for information to include in your answers. Use the "Evaluation Profile" sheet found in the RFP to help you design your project. ~ . WHY DD YOU WANT TC~ CARRY BUT TH IS I'RO~ECT? Describe your plan far carrying out acrd evaluafrng the project over its full length, including a t~melrne, ® What are your goals and objectives for this project? Explain your abilities and authorities to accomplish project. ® is there a specific problem you want to address? ® How does this project fit into your long-term plans for your organization? ® What will be the environmental benefits? ® How will these changes affect your budget? Response; In December 2008 the 5WCD accepted the responsibility of addressing the forest resource needs of Sherburne County, Since accepting this new charge the staff has realized the forestry related needs of the resources on bath public and private lands. It has become evident that residents and public employees want desperately to protect their trees - it is up to us to provide them with the resources to be park of that protection, Sherburne County is eager to protect the forest resources within its' boundaries, Prior to 2oDl the Sherburne SVIICD sold 1 Ds of 1,OgOs green ash trees through the annual tree program for use in field windbreaks and wildlife plantings, In response to the impending EAB migration the SWCD discontinued green ash on our list of species offered starting with the 20D7 sale, The recent discovery in St, Paul is approximately 40 miles from the south eastern county boundary where Hwy 101 enters the City of Elk River, connecting State Hwy 1 D and Interstate Hwy 94, Cur goals for the Forest Resource Protection Campaign include encouraging and empowering people within Sherburne County that they play a vita! role in protection of our forest resources. We can da this by educating government officials, employees and landowners of both small and large properties an EAB spread, signs and symptoms, how to prevent, and what to do if EAB is suspected. It is important to have all government units on the same page, which gives much urgency to the need for a Preparedness & Response Plan to be adopted by the county, townships and cities, We also need to ensure that we can provide residents with a method of disposal for infested ash material that would effectively slaw the spread and reduce the impact of EAB establishment. To da that we are coordinating with existing compost facilities to modify their current grinding schedule, finished grind size and final destination of processed material. The local refuse derived fuel station, Great River Energy, is also interested in being part of the preparedness team with a willingness to accept processed material for incineration forthe production ofenergy. A vital element of protection not yet mentioned, is to know where our vulnerable areas lie. The SWCD is equipped with GPS and ArcMap technology to inventory and map ash trees in urban residential neighborhoods, industrial parks, boulevards and county, city and township parks, as well as agricultural windbreaks, An integral part of the inventory will involve assessing tree condition, Protecting forest resources is a high priority of the Sherburne SWCD, Looking way back to our beginning tree planting has always been a huge part of haw our Baal of reducing erosion was accomplished. The county is situated on the Anoka Sandplain, which is made up of highly erosive -you guessed it-SAND, and consequently erosion from Wind is something we still fight today. Slowing the loss of trees to buy us time to plant the future erasion control is not an option - it is why we exist. Our topsail depends on it and we depend an our topsoil, The environmental benefits da not stop at our sails. Reducing erosion by keeping existing trees will reduce nutrient loading to surface waters. Maintaining trees in urban areas will increase infiltration of starmwater and ffltrativn of water before reachEng groundwater, Trees in our urban landscape provide shade and wind protection, not to mention perching for song birds and valuable propylis for pollinators, Further more, developing a mechanism to dispose of tree material as biomass to GRE in Elk River puts in place a built in quarantine that will keep material within county boundaries. Right now processed material from the compost facilities is either processed further into decorative mulch ar it is transported to District Energy in St. Paul. Reducing distance to an RDF station by 3D+ miles will cut consumption offossil fuels and their production of greenhouse gases by l5°Ifl! The work required of this project fits into existing staffs position descriptions. Mapping, inventory and tree assessment will require the need to outsource to staff of partnering agencies and neighboring SUVCDs -which is not included in our 201 D budget. The costs associated with direct mailing of EAB information, development of Preparedness & Response Plan for EAB, mileage and time for presentations an EAB at meeting of LGUs, and training of key staff on EAB early detection are also not covered in our budget for the upcoming year.