Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Coastal Conservation Association Meeting Minutes 6-10-2015



CCA Corvallis/Albany Chapter Meeting Minutes 6-10-2015
In attendance were Josh Tacchini, Rhonda King and myself (Randall Bonner)

  • Old business: Previous board meeting and our change in leadership was discussed. Jim Andrews is taking the reigns as president while Grant Scheele will remain Vice President. Ty Wyatt is stepping down to an additional seat as Vice President and will be in guiding in Alaska for the next few months. Hopes for Jim's term as president is that he will attend our state functions, representing our chapter and report back state business at our board meetings and monthly chapter events.
  • Statements from Treasurer:
- Account balances and project funding processes were discussed.
- Discussion of how to raise additional funds for local projects included a poker night. Some chapter funding may have to be used to collect necessary items to organize the event (cards, chips, etc). If anyone has these items and wants to volunteer or donate them, contact Josh Tacchini.
  • The idea for a canning demonstration is evolving into a canning party due partially to the lack of a guest speaker and partially due to a lack of interest by chapter members that are consumed with summer vacations and other activities. This is a bit of a lull for chapter participation, so if you are interested in canning fish, please contact me or Josh Tacchini. Josh will be hosting the event at his home sometime in July. Input on choosing a date would be ideal to make the event worthwhile and boost attendance. Josh and I both have dual propane burners, pressure cookers and water bath canning pots to sanitize the jars. If anyone has more of these items we may be able to cut down on the time consuming production by running multiple batches at once. I will be happy to donate a few fish to people who just want to hang out and lend a helping hand, but please bring jars with un-used lids if you want to take fish home. Wide-mouth half-pint or pint jars are a good size. Josh is also willing to volunteer his smoker for that evening.
  • The discussion about a gear swap is still being thrown around. There have been a lot of ideas about timing and location, but anywhere we can do it free or cheap without competing with similar local events is ideal. Bring suggestions on venues to the next meeting. This concept was a successful event for the Salem chapter last fall, so maybe we should discuss the idea with them. A small fee at the door or for each vendor could also produce some funds for our chapter.
  • A recent article I had published on predator management offers talking points for CCA's role in protecting salmon along the Columbia River from Pikeminnow, Cormorants and Sea Lions. You can read the article here:

 The discussion about predators on the Columbia prompted concern for what was being done in our regional waters. Josh mentioned that the Alsea Sportsman's Association documented cormorant hazing in 2012 which you can view on YouTube here:
"Cormorant Hazing on the Alsea River"
Contacting ASA's Mark Davis about the Spring smolt protection program is on the to-do list to see if we can get involved with the hazing boat to drive out cormorants during the crucial period where smolts return to the bay and better their chances to swim out to the ocean.
Next chapter meeting: July 8th, Holiday Inn Express 6pm
Wishing you a bright summer!
CCA Corvallis/Albany Chapter Secretary,
Randall Bonner
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