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BAYFIELD COUNTY FORESTRY & PARKS DEPARTMENT COMMITTEE MEETING August 10, 2026 County Board Room Members Present: Fred Strand; Steve Sandstrom; Jeff Olsen; Sue Rosa Members Excused: Larry Fickbohm Staff in Attendance: Jason Bodine, Administrator; Sara Hudson, Rec Coordinator; Deanna Regan, Office Mgr Others in Attendance: Joseph LeBouton, WI DNR; Marty Milanowski, County Board Member; Doug Olson, Ashwabay Alliance 1. Call to Order of Forestry and Parks Committee Meeting. This meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM. 2. Public Comment: None. Public comment closed at 6:00 PM. 3. Approval of the July 13th Meeting Minutes. MOTION: (Rosa, Olsen) Approve minutes and place on file. All: Yes. Carried. 4. Presentation: Recreation Partner Annual Accomplishment Report. Ashwabay Alliance. Doug Olson, the Outdoor Rec Program Director, presented an accomplishment report. Discussion followed. 5. 2027 Forestry and Parks Department Budget. Total budgeted revenue is $5.034 million, an increase of about $435k when compared to this year. The increase is primarily a result of the trestle repair grant (about $280k) and an increase in transfers from other existing funds. Total budgeted expense is about $2.938 million, an increase of $395k. The primary reasons for the increase are offsetting expenses for the trestle repair grant and personnel costs. Budgeted net deposit to the general fund in 2027 is $2.096 million. This is an increase of about $40k when compared to 2026. MOTION: (Rosa, Olsen) Forward to executive committee with recommendation for approval. All: Yes. Carried. 6. 2027 Position Change Requests. Bodine recommends that Rec Coordinator, Inventory and Analysis Forester and Assistant Administrator, which are currently well below the market average, be increased by one full grade on the County wage scale. Also requests that one of the current four foresters (Amman) be reclassified as a second Assistant Administrator. MOTION: (Sandstrom, Olsen) Forward proposed increases to personnel committee as amended and support reorganization of the department with recommendation of approval. All: Yes. Carried. 7. County Forest Sustainable Forestry Grant Application. We are proposing assistance with reforesting failed jack pine seeded sites for this application. The goal will be to carve out the failed areas, re-prep mechanically and then plant and bud cap containerized jack pine. Just under 900 acres will be treated. This will likely be a three-year treatment program, as we don’t have the resources to address it all at once. We can request up to $90k from the sustainable forestry grant for failed reforestation activities. If awarded, the grant would cover site prep, trees, planting and bud capping. The total cost of replanting all 900 acres will likely exceed $200k. Fortunately, the cost to seed is fairly minimal and the DNR is helping with some of the site prep, like fireplowing. We also have a substantial balance in the non-lapsing reforestation account which will be used in the future for this project. MOTION: (Olsen, Sandstrom) Approve grant application. All: Yes. Carried 8. Ten-Year Temporary Access Permit Renewal Request. Emma Lang. Previously approved 10-year access permit. Standard rates apply for all access permit renewal requests. Bodine recommends approval. MOTION: (Olsen, Rosa) Approve access permit renewal. All: Yes. Carried Bayfield County Forestry & Parks Committee August 10, 2026 Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 2 9. Log-A-Load Timber Sale Revision. This sale was approved during a previous meeting. However, after closer inspection from the contractor, they do not feel the current location will be suitable to host that many people. The alternative location is part of a stand that has already been set up for sale this fall. Values and volumes will be nearly identical, but this site will better accommodate the volume of people coming to see it. The recommendation is to terminate the existing Log-A-Load contract and approve a new one, with this new location, under the same terms as the previous. MOTION: (Olsen, Sandstrom) Terminate existing contract and approve new contract. All: Yes. Carried 10. Monthly Reports. a) Forestry: a. 2026 Budget. July was a little better than June. We generated just over $292k last month, which is about 35% below the three-year average for July (but only 17% lower than last July). Already a good start to August, with nearly $110k received this week. Total stumpage returns are roughly $1.67 million to date. We are still projecting a $1.0 million shortfall this year. This would be about 28% under budget and 33% below the three-year average. b. Carbon Project. Nothing new to report. c. Land Acquisition Projects. i. Big Rock. Nothing new to report. ii. Maxwell. This acquisition successfully closed on July 30. Still working with Coastal on the grant. d. Certification Audit. This is audit week! Representatives from both programs, FSC and SFI, will be in NW WI this week. The opening meeting is Monday afternoon. Douglas County is audited on Tuesday. Iron and Ashland are audited on Wednesday. We go on Thursday. Then there is a summary/recap meeting on Friday morning. Will be a busy week but looking forward to it. e. NRB Appointment. Mike Amman has been appointed to the Natural Resources Board by Gov. Tony Evers. f. WCFA Board Member Update. Planning the annual Fall Meeting in September and working on plan for the next 5 years. Waiting for November elections to see what happens. b) Parks and Recreation. The repair contract for the trestle bridge was offered to the low bidder, E80 Plus. However, their total bid was higher than the grant award which was just under $240k. Total project cost will be around $285k. We’ve requested an increase in funding from the DNR but won’t know the result until the end of August. c) Yurts. Average yurt occupancy looks to be slightly lower in August than in July. d) Events. A few regularly occurring events have been approved over the last month. Receive reports as presented and place on file. 11. Committee Members Discussion. None. 12. Joseph LeBouton, DNR Representative, Comments: County Forest audit is a really big deal. Auditors come in and compare Bayfield County with other places. Bayfield County really shined! Very proud to be involved and watch that happen. Construction project is an 18-month plan to get the forestry building attached to the new garage. The next Forestry and Parks Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 14th, at 6:00 PM. Meeting adjourned at 7:46 PM. Submitted by, Deanna Regan