Lisa Delissio, President
Charles Chester, Vice President
Lelia C. Orrell, Secretary
Elizabeth Farnsworth, Treasurer
Jamie Bechtel, Legal representative
Steven Bentley
Robert Buchsbaum, NGO representative
Gib Chase, Government representative
Sarah Rhodes, Career Program Chair
Marsha Salett, Editor, Conservation Perspectives

Minutes compiled by: Charles Chester

1. The next two meetings will take place on:

• Thursday, January 30, 2002
• Thursday, May 30, 2002

Location to be announced for both meetings.

2. Board positions:

• Election results: Lelia and Lisa were voted back into their positions unanimously.
• Media position is empty. Discussion of various potential candidates
• Education representative is open. Discussion of various potential candidates
• Board biographies need to be submitted to Lelia

3. Financial Report, Elizabeth

• We are in the black! Our financial trajectory is going "in the right direction"
• Elizabeth has put our financial accounts in order.
• Donations and membership fees continue to come in on a slow but steady basis. Lelia noted that we get one or two members a month
• One of our most generous supporters, Kamal Bawa from ATREE, wants to know the specific areas/activities to which his generous gift is being applied.
• Lisa was concerned over whether the Bank signatories form was OK: Elizabeth said yes.

4. Membership renewal, Lelia

• Lelia said she will work with Elizabeth on getting reminders/solicitations out.
• Thank you notes draft is in the works.
• On the question of whether membership fees should be due all at one time or on a rotating basis (i.e., a year after one first signs up), it was generally agreed that the latter was the preferred method. Elizabeth said that we can keep track of that.
• Elizabeth will send a monthly notice to Lelia about members coming up for dues

5. Responsibility to keep donors informed

• The question was raised as to what the best way to keep our major supporters informed of our activities. Gib noted that this was an important task.
• Charlie suggested personal phone calls would be one thing he and Lisa should do.
• Lisa and Charlie to write an annual report.

• We have over 300 people on the listserve
• With every mailing, we get about half dozen people asking to be taken off the list; at the same time, we receive about the same number of people wanting to become paid members.
• Gib asked whether we have thought about where to look for increasing membership. Lisa responded that we can probably have access to the list of email addresses for all Massachusetts members. Lelia offered to look into it.

7. Events

• Wildflower conservation dialogue, Elizabeth
  • Dates are flexible. Discussion of possible venues and dates
• To increase attendance, a high profile individual should attend as guest speaker
• Booth at Flower show
• Career Day at Salem State, Sarah
  • This event will take place near, but not on, Earthday 2002.
  • Lisa noted that last year’s career day was very successful.
  • Sarah will send out a request for possible panel members to board members.
• Global climate change and biodiversity dialogue, Charlie
  • A tentative date for this presentation was set for June.
• Shellfish Restoration through Aquaculture, Lisa
  • (This event may also take place during Salem State’s Earth Day celebration.)

8. New Initiatives

• Conservation perspectives, Marsha (http://www.MassSCB.org/epublications/)

• Gregory Walsh of the magazine Natural New England has agreed to print in his magazine one article from Conservation Perspectives per issue. Each article would be accompanied by a box describing and highlighting Conservation Perspectives.
  
  
• Operationally, this agreement would work by Walsh and Marsha choosing and editing an article from Conservation Perspectives together. Walsh and Marsha are working on deadlines for their current issues, and will begin actual collaboration once they have them out.
  
  
• The magazine Massachusetts Wildlife is interested in republishing Win Staples’s article on chestnut trees. This brought up the issue of whether Conservation Perspectives should attain copyright of the individual articles it publishes. Currently, Conservation Perspectives gets right of first publication, but does not ask people to sign over copyright of articles and none of the articles are proprietary of MassSCB. After some discussion of the issue, Jamie Bechtel offered advice.
• Marsha needs contacts for new articles.
  
  
• To attract new writers, Jamie suggested a scholarship system used in which qualified undergraduates and graduate students submit articles, the winner then receiving a $100 scholarship (and a published article). To submit, you have to be a paid member. This system has successfully raised money for other institutions. Marsha said this could be a good idea for implementing after the next couple issues are out.

9. Proposed name change to the New England Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology

• Lisa noted that this issue has been discussed since MassSCB was first organized.
• Motion that the name of our organization be changed to the New England Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology (NESCB). Seconded the motion. A vote was taken, with seven yeas, 0 nays, and 2 abstentions. Charlie said he would contact Robert for his vote, as he had to leave the meeting early.
• Jamie will find out what is involved in the name change.

10. International Society for Conservation Biology meeting in Massachusetts, Gib

• The probability of Massachusetts hosting the 2003 annual SCB meeting is diminishing. There is also the possibility of having the meeting in Massachusetts in 2004.

11. Science Conservation Network, Charlie, Robert, Lisa, and Steven

• Lisa, Robert, and Charlie held a 1-hour teleconference on this topic last week. As the NGO representative to the Board, Robert said that what would be useful to NGOs is access to specialists on various issues.
• Charlie noted that there were three fundamental questions to putting such a network together.
• Steven is working on a questionnaire to build a database. Lisa noted that a major component of this will be creating appropriate categories.
• Charlie will come up with a one page summary/proposal for the idea, which will then go to Robert and Lisa, and then to the board as a whole.