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/MEETING MINUTES
Meeting/Project Name:
Noxious Weed Management Advisory Council Meeting
Date of Meeting:
January 9, 2012
Time:
9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Minutes Prepared By:
Carol Bearden
Location:
Heritage Inn, Great Falls
1. Meeting Objective
Business Meeting
2. Attendees
Council Members: Jim Gordon, Jennifer Anderson Vermillion, Margie Edsall, Dan Jackson, Nico Cantalupo,
Todd Wagner, Jack Eddie, Dick Zoanni, Jim Olivarez
Agency Representatives: Joe Weigand, Jim Jacobs (conference call), Larry Beneker, John Gaskin, Steve
Shelly, Peter Stevenson, Mike Miller, Steve Siegelin, Tracy Sterling (conference call), John Simons, Dan
Dobler, Gary Adams
Guests: Taelor Anderson, Joe Merenz, Celestine Duncan
Montana Dept. of Agriculture (MDA) Staff: Greg Ames, Donna Rise, Dave Burch, Kim Johnson, Carol
Bearden, Jeremy Seidlitz, Craig McLane
3. Agenda and Notes, Decisions, Issues
Topic
Discussion
Welcome New
Council Members
Greg Ames opened the meeting and welcomed new council members, Jim Olivarez,
Dick Zoanni, and Jack Eddie. Introductions were made.
Review June 22,
2011 Minutes
The minutes from the June 22, 2011 council meeting were reviewed. Margie Edsall
moved to accept the minutes as written. Todd Wagner seconded the motion,
which was approved unanimously.
Review November
21, 2011 Minutes
The minutes from the November 21, 2011 council meeting were reviewed. Margie
Edsall moved to accept the minutes as written. Nico Cantalupo seconded the
motion, which was approved unanimously.
Noxious Weed
Trust Fund
Budget Report
Greg Ames provided information on the funding estimated to be available for the 2012
Noxious Weed Trust Fund (NWTF) grant hearings. Greg stated that the NWTF grant
budget for fiscal year 2012 included $1,250,000 in Initial State Special Revenue
Funding, $101,159 in General Fund dollars, and $665,000 from the United States
Forest Service (USFS) Cooperative Forestry Assistance/Forest Health Program.
Greg advised the council that the Missouri River Watershed Coalition Project ($40,000)
and the Weed Free Borders Project ($40,000), both specifically designated for funding
by the Forest Service, had already been awarded. Greg said that $18,150 of the USFS
funding had been committed for a summer intern cost share, and $18,840 (three
percent of grant funding) was allocated for operating expenses within the MDA Central
Services Division.
Greg reported that other budgeted expenditures for the year included $450,000 that has
been awarded for the FY12 Special County/Reservation Grants, ($7,500 per grant), and
$100,000 of Department of Transportation funding that is passed through the Montana
Department of Agriculture (MDA) to the counties.