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By Rachel Kytonen
rachel.kytonen@ecm-inc.com
This past year Isanti County experienced 85 cases of oak wilt, a disease treated on sites involving 38 landowners.
During his year-end oak wilt report to the Isanti County Board during its Dec. 29 meeting, oak wilt forester Sam Klocksein said the treated sites were in the cities of Cambridge and Isanti, as well as Isanti, Springvale, Oxford, Bradford, Stanford, Athens and Spencer Brook townships.
Klocksein also mentioned 1,060 diseased trees were removed involving 31 landowners in the cities of Cambridge and Isanti, and Isanti, Springvale, Oxford, Bradford, Stanford, Athens and Spencer Brook townships.
Board Chair George Larson complimented Klocksein on the good work this past year. “This is the most and best work we’ve had done for oak wilt in the past several years,” he said. “I commend you on the great work you’ve done with oak wilt. It has been a great service to the people of Isanti County.”
Klocksein said all the landowners who called him personally, or called the parks department, had their properties treated. He added the original re-leaf grant award was for $35,000—to be used for oak wilt control, technical assistance and cost share practices for 2008.
The current grant was set to expire on Dec. 31, 2008, but was amended in June 2008 for an additional amount of $18,000 for post site treatment follow-up checks, for a total grant of $53,000.
Klocksein said what this means is that for the next three years there is approximately $18,000 set aside in a reimbursable grant for monitoring the ‘07 and ‘08 oak wilt treatment sites.
Klocksein said monitoring consists of on-site inspections, mapping, spore trees checks and overall efficacy assessment of the treatments.
Klocksein pointed out the amended funding is not for new oak wilt site checks or landowner site visits like in previous years. It’s to be used for rechecking the ‘07 and ‘08 treatment sites.
Klocksein said of the 98 sites to be checked, 13 from ‘07 and 85 from ‘08, each landowner will receive an inspection for new occurring oak wilt, but that is the extent of the public outreach the grant will cover.
Klocksein said there is $6,000 each year for site checks for three consecutive years. The county would receive total reimbursement for money spent on the oak wilt program; in this case it would be just site rechecks by the forester for monitoring.
Klocksein said after speaking with the DNR oak wilt program coordinator three weeks ago, there is a possibility of additional funding for diseased tree removal within the treatment sites. He said the funding is not definite yet, but there is a good possibility that it will be available in ‘09 for the treatment sites from ‘07-’08.
If the ‘09 diseased tree removal grant does become available for the county, Klocksein explained, it would be similar to the county’s current diseased tree cost-share; this is a predetermined amount for removal, not a percentage, all of which is reimbursable to the county.
In other action the board:
• Ratified the hire of Floyd Pinotti as intermittent part time bus driver and Lorri Houtsma in the assessor’s office.
• Approved a request to fill a vacant sergeant position in the sheriff’s office due to an internal move within the department.
• Authorized Barry Wendorf, parks director, to submit a Greater Minnesota Regional Parks & Trails position statement.The statement outlines how the revenue from the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Act will be broken down by percentage between various state, metro and Greater Minnesota organizations.
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