Thanks to our business supporters -- please give them your business
Winder Dairy Albertsons
BFI Valley West Chamber of Commerce
Red Robin (donated gift certificates for a drawing!)
April elections built a board with more talent than ever! After two years as DLWPF Chair, Dianna Smith moves over to Past Chair. Sal Jansson was the uncontended choice for leading the organization. Sal is a strong community leader, both professionally and as a volunteer. In her career, Sal travels the circuit of community organizer. Technically, her title is Contract Compliance Specialist for the Salt Lake Community Action Program (CAP).
Sal believes in the importance of involving our children in meaningful experiences. As Community Involvement Chair of Utah PTA, Decker Lake is one of the tools she looks to enhance both their feeling of community and self-worth.
In addition to a new Chairperson, DLWPF added some new people and positions to the Board of Trustees. The proposed bylaws changes were voted into effect, so the fiscal year coincides with elections and we now have two vice chairs. The new Board members are:
Chair: Sal Jansson -- 359-2444
Vice Chair: Kent England
Earl Jackson
Treasurer: Richard Parks
Secretary: Kathy Moran
Business rep: Steve Goodrich (UPS)
Education rep: Tim Brown
Environmental rep: Penny Ciak
Community-at-large rep:
Fred Fife
Joan Palmer
Bob Scott
Robyn Call
Past Chair - Dianna Smith
Thank you one and all for your willingness to serve and forward the progress of Decker Lake!
Those who showed up on the shore of Decker Lake on April 26th were treated to a beautiful display of Canadian Geese and Pelicans taking flight. While the Pelicans decided to leave us to our work, the Canadian Geese kept us company throughout the morning and offered a few grand displays of their aeronautic skills.
While we enjoyed the birds antics, we were not so pleased with the antics of some humans. We were all very concerned to find a small oil slick in the west bay. If you see anyone at the lake looking like they are dumping something, please investigate! Once again, the Utah Airboaters were invaluable at hauling in water soaked trash. A couple of interesting finds included a canoe and aluminum boat. Neither was sea worthy, but they received recyclable attention.
Over nine hundred (900) hours of volunteer time was dedicated to cleaning up the lake during the week of April 26th. About forty folks joined the forces on Saturday. Gift certificates from Red Robin helped encourage everyone to sign in their hours (we can use these for the EPA match). Winners of a drawing were: Sal Jansson, Ann Wectsler, and Rod Hunsaker.
During the week, over seventy (70) students from Granite Park Junior High also visited the lake and made their contributions to the BFI dumpsters.
Later in the month, the Valley Junior High students filled more trash bags at the lake. These students also do periodic water testing at the lake. All in all, the result is a much cleaner lake. Thank you one and all!
Educational opportunities abound at Decker Lake. Taking advantage of these opportunities is just one of the goals of DLWPF. As in so many other things, Collaboration and Coordination are the key to success.
This past month Education and Service Learning have been a major focus for DLWPF. It wasn't planned that way ... it's just the way the opportunities arose ... and we always try to grasp opportunities.
DLWPF volunteers, Kathy Moran and Karen Sudmeier have been working with the Bennion Center on defining Service Learning opportunities at Decker Lake. Two major studies are the result of the coordination.Prof. Ran Decker instructs Civil Engineering/Service Learning 492. (no, we don't think the lake is named after Ran, but maybe it should be). Building upon the needs of Decker Lake, Dr. Decker's class is working with Salt Lake County Flood Control to quantify the worse case flood scenario at the lake. The DSW contractors are also interested in the normal lake fluctuations. This information is vital to the design of the lake, but currently is not available. The CE 492 students are working on a project with real application.
Chris Cutler is studying solid waste disposal, doing a research paper on the solid waste removal of the dredgeate& other waste at Decker Lake. Again, another needed study!
And University students are not the only ones working on Service Learning opportunities at Decker Lake. Millicent Boswell, teacher at Stansbury Elementary is working on a Service Learning grant which will relate what happens at Decker Lake to students of surrounding schools.
DLWPF submitted a grant proposal to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for environmental education dollars. As happened with the State Non-Motorized Trails Grant, EPA has requested additional information. We are hopeful that this means we have made it through the first cut and are in the running. Word from the EPA office is that they "are even more impressed with the project" after receiving the addendum. Keep good thoughts out there! This EPA grant would fund a water quality monitoring/media campaign involving junior high school students.
As noted in the article on Service Learning, Stansbury Elementary is also submitting for a grant which uses Decker Lake as an educational tool. If received, the Stansbury students will measure wind velocities at the lake, calculate the impact of that wind on our environment and in our homes. The students will do some outreach and educate the community on the importance of proper weatherization. One of the really fun parts of this grant is having the students work on PSAs to be aired on local radio stations.
All of the grants DLWPF has been part of have required matching funds. If you know of a business which supports enhancing our children's education, conserving our environment, or building a sense of community, please let them know we need their help to make submitting for these grants possible. We thank Granite School District and the West Valley EDA Committee for providing letters of commitment for the EPA grant. We also thank the Community Action Program (CAP), Bell & Howell, and Ameri-Corps for providing letters of commitment and support for the Stansbury grant.
Tuition: $50 For teachers from Decker Lake area schools Tuition is underwritten By Kennecott grant For more info : Call RDT at 534-1000
This month's Accolade goes to one of the original backers of the Decker Lake Project, Penny Ciak.
Over the past two years, Penny has continuously stepped forward when a job needed doing. As Disaster Coordinator and Quality Assurance Analyst for Zions Bank, working on Decker Lake seems to fit right in. But Penny's interest in the lake stems from her leisure-time activities.
Penny is the current President of the Great Salt Lake Chapter of Audubon. Decker Lake has been one of Audubon's bird-watching sites for over fifty (50) years. She just unearthed a 1936 reference to birding at DL -- more on that next month.
Penny is currently DLWPF's Environmental rep and one of her main concerns is the water quality and habitat restoration. You can contact Penny at 974-7060. She will talk birds any time of the day or night! Make sure you say thanks for all her hours of service!
Another Accolade goes to Nick Radulovich of State DFCM and Emery Crook of Salt Lake County Parks & Rec. DLWPF knows the difficulties of the legal intricacies of inter-agency collaboration. We thank both of these gentlemen for their dogged determination to come to a resolution on the use of the peninsula. We look forward to a timely decision which will benefit all those interested.
Thank you to both volunteer and staffers who work toward theimprovement of Decker Lake!
Family and friends of D. Mansel Smith have selected Decker Lake as the beneficiary of Mansel's love of nature. In lieu of flowers, the Smith family requested friends contribute to the placement of a bench on the shore of Decker Lake.
Bruce Smith, Mansel's son and DLWPF member, remembers hand digging the foundation for Mansel and Helen's cabin. After Bruce dug the perimeter, Mansel and Helen realized that if they moved the foundation by just five feet they could conserve a grove of trees. Needless to say, the trees are still standing. Mansel -- a Conservationist before most people understood the meaning of the word.
Contributions received to date include:
Bill & Juli Bertagnole Carole Fontana Richard & Wendy Costello Carolyn Meyer Benny & Lori Hastings Melba Childs Mr & Mrs Charles Runge Ann Mizianty Mr & Mrs Bob Isola Ronald Regan Mr & Mrs Victor Dervin Mary Naccarato Mr & Mrs Charles Tapella Mr & Mr Edward Terrill Mr & Mrs John George Mr & Mrs Allen Wise Mr & Mrs Frank Anselmo Antioinette Slenning Bruce & Dianna Smith Joyce Green Jim Fisher Jane Larkin Robert & Marian Runnells Beth Leonard Don Griffin Edith O'Brien John & Jane Anselmo Paula Johnson R.H. & Lorraine Nickerson Kenneth & Billie Dean Thorensen
Placement of the bench will follow planting. DLWPF thanks the Smith family for their on-going support.
We all are hearing a lot about collaboration and coordination between agencies. DLWPF sings this song a lot. We believe, and try to exemplify, the benefit of working together with fellow organizations.
One organization which is a DLWPF partner is the Wasatch Front Resource Conservation & Development Council (RC&D). The RC&D Council consists of government and public organizations interested in conserving our resources, including the human factor. RC&D offers its 501(c)(3) umbrella to budding community groups to provide the needed kick-start for success. (DLWPF benefited from this before we received our own 501(c)(3)). RC&D also coordinates community projects. One of the most well known RC&D project is Parley's Crossing (2 bridges and a tunnel for pedestrians and bicyclists crossing lower Parleys Canyon).
While DLWPF no longer needs the RC&D's 501(c)(3) umbrella, there are other benefits to paying our dues. The support and expertise which we gain from our member-ship has played a strong role in our success.
And DLWPF once again has benefited from the RC&D membership. RC&D sponsored a Grants Management Workshop which DLWPF wanted to attend. Now that we are receiving grant money (State Non-Motorized Trails and Division of Forestry Trees Grants), we need to make sure our record-keeping is up to par! Unfortunately, the $600 workshop fee was more than the DLWPF board could afford, so we opted not to participate.
Thanks to our friends at RC&D, things have worked out! A grant scholarship recipient had been identified, but in the last hours before the workshop began, the grantee had to cancel. RC&D offered the position to us, if we could find someone to go within 24 hours. Due to our many partners, past collaborations, and just down-right great people, DLWPF put the word out and David Waid, new VISTA volunteer at the Community Action Program (CAP), was freed to attend the workshop and will work with DLWPF on our grants management.
DLWPF simply was in the right place at the right time with the right phone numbers. We thank profusely RC&D for helping us receive the training we so desperately need. We are grateful to the CAP team who rearranged schedules and gave us David Waid for the training and subsequent grants management assistance. DLWPF we try to return the favor by passing our good fortune along to other organizations. We are considering a mini-training for interested organizations.
Once again, if you are a 501(c)(3) or represent a municipality, we encourage you to join RC&D. They know how to pull projects together across jurisdictional boundaries. Thanks for being there David Blackner and staff!
It's only been a month since our last newsletter, but WOW! A lot has happened!
Both the USEE sponsored Gardner Village and the Kingsbury Hall Earth Day presentation were big successes for Decker Lake. We received press in both the UofU's Chronicle and the Salt Lake Tribune. And Lincoln Allen, National Geographic photographer, has included Decker Lake in his national presentation on resource conservation. Thank you, Lincoln, for your support! Thank you USEE for a great day!
Then, there are the land-use discussions.... Thanks to a terrific letter from Franklin Quest and support from community members, Salt Lake County and State DFCM( the folks who manage state lands) are seriously addressing the incorporation of the state lands into the overall Decker Lake plans. If you talk to your legislator about any issues, ask them to mention your support for Decker Lake to the Governor. Ultimately, we need Gov. Leavitt's okay. We are blazing trails -- doing the walk the National Commission on Service is talking.
Design Studios West, the County Decker Lake contractors have brought their initial plan to town. It looks great! We'll have a copy at the cleanup on the 28th. DLWPF is encouraging work to begin on the north shore in June. If you get a chance, let the County Commissioners know you are anxious to break ground. From the phone calls we are receiving, people are ready to start building trails and plant plants.
Decker Lake Wetlands Preserve Foundation