Minutes

Board Meeting of the Massachusetts/New England Chapter of the

Society for Conservation Biology

6:00 PM, 29 May 2002

Massachusetts Audubon Society, Wenham, Massachusetts

Note: As of this meeting, the organization is still constituted as the Massachusetts Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology (MassSCB). However, as the name change is imminent, these minutes generally use the name New England Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology (NESCB).

Present:

Lisa Delissio, President
Charles Chester - Vice President
Rebecca Bishop-Harris - Treasurer
Gib Chase - Government Representative
Robert Buchsbaum - NGO Representative
Sarah Rhodes - Career Program Chair
Steven Bentley - Membership Coordinator

Dates set for next two meetings

• Tentative dates for the next two meetings were set on:
  • 5 September 2002, at Salem State
  • 16 January 2003, at Tufts
• There was discussion of requesting Elizabeth Farnsworth to host the subsequent meeting (perhaps in May 2003) at the New England Wildflower Society in Framingham, Massachusetts.

To do: Charlie will check these dates with the absent board members, and will check with Elizabeth about hosting the spring 2003 meeting.

Financial report

Charlie gave the financial report for Elizabeth. There have been no substantive changes in our finances since our last meeting.

Keeping supporters informed

• Lisa noted that she and Charlie have not performed adequately in this department. There was discussion of developing a combined annual report/pamphlet/membership recruitment flyer. Lisa will talk with Jose Nieto regarding his help in producing this document. Lisa and Charlie will also follow through on the task of calling our supporters, thanking them, and requesting them to continue their support of our organization.

To do: Charlie and Lisa will begin working on an "all purpose" pamphlet/membership/multi-annual report.

Board positions

Lisa noted that there were three empty positions on NESCB's Board:

• The legal position, which will soon be vacated by Jamie Bechtel. Charlie brought up the possibility of looking for interested individuals at law schools in the area.
• The media position. Potential individuals named for this position were Steve Curwood (NPR/Living on Earth) and Beth Daley (Boston Globe). Two institutions where we might find interested individuals are the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) and the MIT Science Writing Program.
• The education position may be filled by a colleague of Lisa, although this individual may not continue residing in the New England region. Dan Perlman, who had declined an invitation to the Board last year but had indicated at the time that he might be interested in the future, was suggested as an alternate.
• Rebecca (Becky) Harris introduced herself to the Board. A motion was made to invite her onto the Board as a Member-at-large, and was unanimously approved.

To do: Charlie will inquire of his contacts at Tufts and Harvard Universities about individuals who could fill the legal position. Lisa will contact Steve Curwood and Beth Daley about filling the media position (and, if they decline, whether they know of other journalists in the region who might be interested in the postion). If neither of these are fruitful, Charlie will inquire with both the SEJ and the MIT Science Writing Program. Lisa will keep the Board informed of the status of her colleague for the media position; if this individual does not work out, Charlie will contact Dan.

Membership

• Charlie reviewed the membership sign-up and renewal rates, both of which are very low. There was some discussion of how to increase membership. Charlie suggested that we should hold off any membership drive until we make a formal announcement on our name change. As this will entail a mailing to all members of the Society for Conservation Biology who live in New England, it is possible that we will generate a significant increase in membership.
• It was noted that several Board members who believed that they had signed up for membership in 2001 were not included in the membership list.

To do: The officers of the Board (Lisa, Charlie, Lelia & Elizabeth) need to discuss the status of the membership list, and review its completeness.

Website Report

• Steven has procured 10 hours per week of work/study for the organization. He will begin by focusing on helping Lelia with website development and maintenance. His other key task will be the development of the Conservation Science Network. Other tasks may be assigned to him by Board members with approval from Lisa and Charlie.
• Charlie reintroduced the idea of making the organization's website as the premier source of information on conservation in New England. One aspect of this would be to construct a searchable annotated "calendar" of past events. This could entail the posting of downloadable presentation summaries and notes (e.g., PowerPoint shows).
• Discussion of recent website activity was held off to the next meeting.

To do: Steve will begin working 10 hours/week immediately. Charlie will continue to update a webpage he is constructing of New England conservation websites.

Conservation Science Network

• Steven is close to purchasing the software package FileMaker Pro for development of the Conservation Science Network. Charlie suggested that it might be most efficient for Steven should find training in the software, and that it would be a good use of our funds to pay for that training. Steve said he will first attempt to find free training.
• Becky noted that Caroly Shumway at the New England Aquarium is thinking of similar initiative.

To do: Becky will inquire of Caroly regarding her plans and if there is any way to integrate the two.

Events reports

• Charlie noted that the Native Plants presentation in February had gone exceedingly well, far beyond our expectations. A potential follow-up event was discussed.
• Sarah noted that the Conservation Career Day had gone very well, with approximately 40 students in attendance. Initial preparation for next year's event, which will also be held at Salem State, have already begun.

Upcoming events and meetings

• Lisa noted two upcoming events that NESCB will be cohosting. Both events will take place at Salem. State. The first is a "Future of Life" panel discussion, which will take place sometime in June. The second will be a "Shellfish Restoration through Aquaculture Dialogue", slated for September.
• Charlie has put aside plans for a June "Global Climate Change Dialogue", attributing the delay to the fact that UMASS Boston had recently hosted a full day event on biodiversity and climate change. As all attendees fully understood this to be a pathetic excuse for mere procrastination, Charlie suggested hosting an event on climate change and biodiversity in January. Robert suggested that the Mass Audubon Society would be interested in cosponsoring such an event.
• There was extensive discussion over NESCB hosting a one-day event in order to
  • (1) bring conservationists throughout New England together for networking, and
  • (2) encourage participation in NESCB, and
  • (3) introduce the Conservation Science Network.
• Gib updated the Board on the extant but remote possibility that the international SCB will hold its 2004 annual meeting at UMASS Amherst. There was extensive discussion of what our role could be in helping to organize and assist the meeting. There was also discussion of holding off the meeting until 2005.
• Gib informed the Board of two upcoming relevant conferences:
  • (1) the Northeast Fish & Wildlife conference in Newport, and
  • (2) the Wildlife Society's conference in Vermont. The possibility of having a booth and/or handing out NESCB literature was discussed, but not resolution made.

To do: Lisa will inform the Board and NESCB membership of the dates of "Future of Life" and shellfish dialogue as soon as they are specified. Charlie and Robert will continue planning for a global climate change & biodiversity event. Charlie will draw up a draft agenda for a one-day NESCB-hosted meeting, and will email it to the Board for extensive redrafting. Gib will talk with SCB President Malcolm Hunter about what our role could be in assisting with the SCB's annual meeting if it takes place in Amherst in either 2004 or 2005. Gib will also forward information on the two meetings he informed the Board of.

Progress on name change an by-laws

• ¥Lisa described the status of our name change. We have the paperwork accomplished and are closing in on obtaining approval from SCB, but have yet to figure out where the paperwork should be submitted.

To do: Lisa and Charlie will continue efforts to submit paperwork. Charlie will contact Jamie about this.

Conservation Perspectives and Natural New England

• Charlie updated the Board on efforts to place articles from Conservation Perspectives in Natural New England. He noted that Greg Walsh of Natural New England has been emailing him regarding his desire to initiate this collaboration. A major hold-up has been the delay in obtaining the name change to NESCB.
• Charlie informed the Board that Marsha Salett plans to have the next issue of Conservation Perspectives out after mid-June.

Approval of minutes

To do: Minutes for the previous meeting (11 February 2002) were not approved. This will have to be done at the next meeting.