This month's meeting will be dedicated to updating everyone on the current state of affairs at and around the Lake. Everything from how much dirt we've moved to who is ultimately going to maintain the Lake once the Preserve is complete.
The other task at hand is to have an August Clean-Up for our August Member Meeting. Come help plan this event!
The Adopt-A-Plot program has started out as a success!! In less than a month members of the Decker Lake community have sent in over $600 dollars! That means we will be able to establish an additional 100' x 100' of wetlands! The birds are smiling! The fact that so many people responded, so quickly, encourages DLWPF to believe that once the word really gets out, we will make our first goal of $5000 fairly quickly.
Keep in mind that Adopt-A-Plot folks will be recognized on a plaque with specific recognition categories. Like so many other things with the Decker Lake project, the need is way ahead of the time to plan, so if you have any ideas for names of categories, give Sal Jansson a call at 359-2444 and help out on the Recognition Committee.
Our sincere thanks go to all those who started the Adopt-A-Plot campaign off to a great beginning! The list of contributors include:
Interwest MedicalOne of the letters of support DLWPF received this month came from Great Salt Lake Audubon. Audubon "strongly supports and is very enthusiastic about the Decker Lake Wetlands Preserve Foundation's concept plans for the restoration..."
[Editors note: The letter is not shown here. For a copy of the letter write to DLWPF and request the July newsletter.]
Speaking with Penny Ciak, President GSLA, not only did Audubon give verbal support, but they also defined a project to build a bird blind at Decker Lake. Plans are to complete theproject in the Spring of 97!
WOW!!! Where do we begin? Phones have been ringing, and meetings have been on-going! DLWPF is still in the running for the State Non-Motorized Trail Grant. Dian, Keith, Kinghorn, Michael Jeppson, with the help of Salt Lake County and West Valley City staffers have been working on meeting the State's criteria.
The County Commissioner's have become very interested in DLWPF's plans and are looking at embracing the project. Meetings with Commissioner Overson's aide, Julie Peck, and Emery Crooks and Bob Scott of Salt Lake County Parks and Rec are helping the County decide just how they cansupport the Foundation's efforts.
State DFCM and UDOT land use discussions continue to progress. Some of the information we'll share at the July 31st Member Meeting, we don't even know yet ourselves since more meetings are scheduled as this newsletter is being drafted. Lots is going on. Come find out the news and how your views can help shape what happens at the Lake. The bottom line is ... there continues to be forward, positive, motion.
At the June Member meeting both LAB ALIVE and Academy of Champions presented their projects describing how they see a link with Decker Lake Wetlands Preserve. LAB ALIVE is a community-based group creating a simulated wetlands pond at the base of Cottonwood Canyon. It is a small area, but has many of the same components as Decker Lake, except that it is a simulated area. Their time table is also similar to Decker Lake's. LAB ALIVE would like to become a satellite off Decker Lake and allow students an opportunity to perform comparative studies between our sites.
Academy of Champions (AOC), the focal point for Granite School District's Career Development program, wants to work with Decker Lake area businesses to strengthen the District's Career Development program by providing student workers for in-school credit. The Foundation's board briefly discussed both projects as potential partners in the Decker Lake project. The LAB ALIVE project is so closely aligned that the consensus is more concerned with the "how" of a Decker Lake/LAB ALIVE alliance then the "if". Academy of Champions is a bigger stretch and the board feels it is appropriate to coordinate newsletter information and other similar ventures. The main piece which came out of the board discussion is the need to really define our focus. The question raised to the Board is "If you could make a statement with the Decker Lake project, what would your statement be?". We can be just a pretty park, a nature area, a wetlands education area, an education area which shows the relationship between man and nature and how we inter-relate with one another, or something in between any of these. If you have ideas on the statement you would like to make, please let the Board know.
This month's Accolades go to Kent England, Keith Kinghorn, and Michael Jeppson. Kent (HBA) is DLWPF's Site Development Chair and when meetings need to be attended to discuss the land use or site development, Kent is usually there. Kent also keeps Dian focused time and again, always asking the question...What is our goal. We all need to give Kent a large THANK YOU for the number of hours he puts into the project.
Keith (FIRST HEALTH) also has helped out quietly for months wherever he sees a need. Keith joined Michael (CB Commercial) in helping orchestrate an important meeting with a private developer for use of land critical to the State Non-Motorized Trails Grant. Keith and Michael thank you for your help!!
School starts Sept 5th and Vicki Johnson of Academy of Champions is getting nervous. While Granite School District Education Foundation has embraced the concept of AOC, they have not provided space for the program. Johnson explains, "We are currently seeking space to set up for when school starts. A room the size of two average classrooms will work, about 600 square feet. We need someone with vacant space to donate the usage of this space for the students. The students will clean, paint and restore the area, if needed. After all, it falls under on-the-job training. This space can be written off as a donation." If you know of space AOC can use until they find a permanent home, contact Vicki at 968-4161.
AOC's mission is to bridge the gap between Schools and Corporate America by providing in-school credit to Salt Lake County students during on-the-job training during Junior High and High school years. AOC's most current project is the creation and circulation of Tell-A-Scope, a newspaper about Utah business people. The news team is comprised of students. Each printing will include interviews with business people the student has chosen as an inspiration to their future. Business people in the community are doing things for kids and we want to recognize those efforts! This is great news to share and a great opportunity for students to express their views. ArosNet of Utah, a world wide web service provider, has donated unlimited usage for the students to build Web pages. They even create Web pages for business as special projects. Each issue of the news will be available on the Web. The Salt Lake Tribune has agreed to assist the students with their first publication and Web Page to insure readership quality. This is a very enthusiastic project! If you have a story, a question, or want to get on the mailing list to receive your copy of Tell-A-Scope, call Career Development at 801-967-2222.
The DLWPF Board has been working hard. So hard in fact that real progress is being made! Now it is time to start some fine-tuning and finite decision-making. If you have a few minutes to help out, here are some committees that need to make some decisions: