Minutes - Environmental Policy Board - 06/02/2008

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that once they receive all the comments back from the agencies they would compile the comments and provide response where needed. He advised that appropriate revisions would be made and they would then bring the plan forward to the Council with the wetland inventory that was done. He advised that once they have a final plan the map portion could be brought forward to the Board for recommendation of approval. He advised that it is still a couple of months out but is in process. He advised that they would first bring it forward to the Council in a worksession format and would then set it on the Council agenda for formal adoption. NEW BUSINESS Environmental Coordinator Anderson advised that on June 17th, at a Council worksession, there would be a workshop by the Friends of the Mississippi River and the National Park Service. He advised that they would talk about the 72-mile stretch of river from Dayton to Hastings that is dedicated as the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. He explained that they would discuss what that means, why it was dedicated as a National Park, and the cultural significance of that. He stated that he is working to get invites to the various advisory boards and commissions. He stated that the start time for that meeting would be about 7:30 p.m. and advised that it would be an informal educational meeting. He thought it would be of interest to the EPB and thought they might want to attend. Environmental Coordinator Anderson advised that the July meeting is currently scheduled for July 7th, which would fall the Monday directly following the Fourth of July weekend and questioned if the Board would like to consider an alternate meeting date. The consensus of the Board was to keep the date as July 7th for the next EPB meeting. Environmental Coordinator Anderson advised that he was working with the Department of Agriculture on the early detection of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). He explained that the City had donated an ash tree in Rivers Bend Park and had gone out last Thursday and girdled the tree. He advised that they removed a 6-inch high portion around the circumference of the tree. He explained that by doing that it would put stress on the tree which is theorized to attract the EAB. He stated that the Department of Agriculture is looking for cooperative landowners and cities that have trees to be donated for this project. He explained that the tree would be taken down in the fall to look for the presence of the borer. He advised that the closest that the EAB had been detected was Chicago and stated that in a natural setting it could travel no more than six miles a year. He explained that via human activities, such as moving around firewood, it could go a lot further. He advised that Minnesota is one of the top three states in the nation in terms of population of Ash trees and stated that we could be hit pretty hard if EAB were to get established here. He explained that the Department of Agriculture is being proactive and doing the survey work to determine when or if it is here and then implements a response plan. BOARD INPUT None. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Board Member Freeburg and seconded by Board Member Bentz to adjourn the meeting. Environmental Policy Board / June 2, 2008 Page 9 of 10