Page 17 - Sentinel March 2017

PP METRO Continued from page 16

MINUTES - The minutes for the December District meeting
were reviewed and approved. They are available on the web-
site: www.perrypark.org.

TREASURER’S REPORT
Financials - Feb 9th, 2017
Receipts $ 5,069.66
Disbursements $ 5,474.52
Cash Account $427,968.47

OLD AND NEW BUSINESS AT FEBRUARY MEETING
A motion was discussed and passed to establish volunteer
advisory committees made up of PP residents and one board
member. This is an effort to get more residents of PP involved
in their community. Current committees are the Firewise,
Parks and Open Space, Community Safety, and Social Events
committees. For those residents who would like to volunteer
for the Firewise committee please contact Keith Worley at
forestreedev@aol.com and for the Social Events Committee MEET JIG, THE SAW-WHET OWL
please contact Stacie Sneider at Stacie.Sneider@perrypark.
org. Additional information on these committees will be post- On February 3, the Douglas Land Conservancy announced Car-
ed at www.perrypark.org by mid-March. olyn Jones of Perry Park Ranch was the Wildlife Wednesday
winner with her photo of this Northern Saw-whet Owl in Lark-
A motion passed to retain Keith Worley as a Land Management spur, and her picture apeared on the DLC Facebook site.
Consultant for the PPMD. Scope of duties includes continue
implementation of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, an- The bird in her picture may look a tad ferocious, but this is a
nual maintenance of fuel treatments, oversight of fire mitigation tiny owl, not much bigger than the palm of your hand. Be-
projects, Firewise Committee coordination, wildfire planning, cause Saw-whets are both small and noctural, bird books report
community education efforts, forest pest controls, and mitiga- they’re rarely seen, but the Saw-whet Carolyn photographed
tion and noxious week control on PPMD owned properties. has become something of a local celebrity through Carolyn’s
photograph and Sarah Heckthorn’s Larkspur Wildlife page on
A motion was approved to again offer the fire mitigation grant Facebook.
program for 2017 in an amount not to exceed $25,000. Details
and timeline will be reviewed at the March PPMD meeting and The owl appeared in Sarah and Tim Heckathorn’s chicken coop
posted on the website by early March. in mid-December and stayed a week, leaving many headless
mice in her wake. She left for several weeks, then returned and
A motion was approved to eliminate all proposed PPMD fire- stayed for three more weeks, decimating the mouse population!
line/pathway projects on trail easements across private prop- Recently, during our warm, snowless February, she has gone
erty from further consideration by the board. It places a hold again.
on actions to implement any fireline or pathway features on
PPMD owned property until further analysis by the board and Sarah’s theory is that “she’s figured out where easy prey, water,
a presentation of findings at a public meeting where input and and shelter from the cold/wind are so she makes herself at home
directions will be sought from PPMD residents. and comes and goes as she pleases.” Sarah’s betting she’ll re-
turn to the coop during the next blast of winter.
The PPMD will hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. on March 2nd
at the Perry Park Country Club for the purpose of familiariz- Named Jig (Saw-whet—got it?) by the Heckathorns, she (or
ing the three new PPMD board members with current efforts maybe it’s a he; who knows about owl gender identification?)
and a review of the 2017 budget and projects. No motions or does not look the least bit shy and reclusive, whatever the bird
resolutions will be considered at this forum, and it is solely for books and websites say! She also looks smart—smart enough
familiarization of the new board members. Although open to to figure out a soft-landing just as Sarah suspects. Stay tuned.
the public, it is primarily intended to help new members come There may be a return of Jig.
up to speed.
For more wonderful pictures of local wildlife, visit the Land
Conservancy Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/DL-
Conservancy and check http://www.douglaslandconser-
vancy.org to learn about the many conservation projects in
Douglas County.

Perry Park Sentinel March 2017 - Page 17