Open Space Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2021 05 12

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L City f Louisville COLORADO • SINCE 1878 David asked about the wording "for use on open space," and whether there would be mass planting on open space. Steve cited an example of an area where weeds have been removed and staff wants native plants to be reestablished (a restoration project), but he said the standards could also be used for aesthetic value at trailheads (an enhancement project). Nathan commented that it could be helpful for management of private open space, too. David asked whether this document is intended for park management. Steve said that, while PPLAB is being asked for their feedback at a future PPLAB meeting, this document is intended for use on open space lands only. He said PPLAB might be interested because HFAB wrote the original document and sometimes this document could apply to places that are on park/open space boundaries or parks that are more "natural" rather then bluegrass. Laura asked if the city has species lists recommendations for citizens interested in small restoration projects on their own land. Steve talked about the Dutch Creek pocket prairies as demonstration gardens for citizens to emulate and said there are lots of online resources for this information. Ember added that this is for the master plan, so it is high level and a companion document will provide more specific seed mix recommendations to serve as a resource for developers and citizens. Peter moved to approve the new document's wording as written. Tom seconded. The motion passed with unanimous approval. IX. Informational Item: Overview of City Weed Mapping Application. Presented by Steve Roels, Senior Natural Resource Specialist. The Weed Mapping Application is a project done by staff with GIS contractors over the last few months. The plan is to deploy this app in the 2021 weed season. It is a cloud -based version of ArcGIS that can be used on a smart phone in the field. Its purpose is to aid in mapping weed infestations and management activities as they happen. It should improve management accuracy and assessment of projects over time. The intention is for this app to be internal for use by staff, not public -facing, partly because there isn't enough information to be self-explanatory to outside users. Steve showed a map of mechanical weed control action on open space during 2021. Then he showed areas where chemical control had occurred (spot spraying, not broadcast spraying). He showed an infestation of baby breath on North Open Space and the data associated with that particular mapped polygon, including species, density, phenology, treatment priority, efficacy, etc. He noted the app has been designed to be flexible. The phone itself can be used as a mapping tool: you can turn on the phone and walk a polygon to map it. He demonstrated how the attribute tables in the app can filter and search the data to answer specific questions. He is excited to start using the tool this year. Jessamine commented that it was great to see staff time and resources used for land management projects. Laura asked if the tool would be used on non -open space land, for example for on private land with weed infestations that act as source populations. Steve answered that this isn't the plan, but the app has that capacity. David asked for a link to the tool, but Steve said he is not releasing it to but would be happy to screen share with David to answer questions at a later date.