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I am on the Public Policy and Field Committees, hence the extra amount of reporting on them compared to Education/Communications and Science. Corrections and additions welcome at my email address.
| NB: Any
remarks attributed to individuals in this report are not
direct quotations. I take notes during the meeting and do
not attempt verbatim transcripts. After the meeting I
rebuild the notes and attempt to represent the intentions
of the people speaking. I may rearrange the order of
remarks to make a topic of conversation more clear. I do not record every individual comment. People speak quickly, people speak simultaneously, microphones fail, and so on. Sometimes remarks are repeats of thoughts already expressed; this is particularly true of discussions on motions when there is a lot of consensus-building. In short, these notes are my reconstruction of a 3 day meeting. Please do not hold any of the attributed speakers to the letter of the remarks I put beside their names. -- Charles Bragg, Board Member, representing the Western Region. |
President's Report to the Board
Finance Committee - Audubon Camps; Budgeting for Chapter Services.
Regionally Nominated Directors' Caucus
Policy Committee
Field Committee
NAS Board Meeting, March 22nd.
Education and Communications Committee
Public Policy Committee - Garrison Diversion
Science Committee
John Flicker
We have made exceptional progress during this quarter to advance several of Audubon's key programs. I am pleased to highlight a few of these successes in this summary. Most of our other activities are outlined in the enclosed reports from the various divisions.
BirdSource: After nearly two years of planning and preparation, BirdSource went on-line with the Great '98 Backyard Bird Count. Over 12,000 birders from every state contributed data through the Internet during the first three days of the program, greatly exceeding our expectations. BirdSource is designed to eventually become the most authoritative source of information on the status and trends of bird populations by engaging thousand of citizen - scientists across the country. It is a partnership between the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. John Fitzpatrick and his talented staff have teamed up with Frank Gill's Science Department to do an outstanding job of putting this program in place.
CSX Scholars Program: In an effort to attract talented minority employees into our workforce, Audubon has formed a partnership with the CSX Corporation and the United Negro College Fund to undertake the CSX Scholars Program. Each year, about 20 students will be chosen to become CSX Scholars. Each student will receive full college scholarships of up to $13,000 per year, plus two paid summer internship jobs. Each student will work one summer at Audubon and one summer at CSX. CSX has pledged $1.5 million to fund this program.
Mississippi State Office: Audubon has received a spectacular gift from Mrs. Margaret Shackelford of about 2,000 acres of land near Holly Springs, Mississippi. The property will become the Strawberry Plains Audubon Sanctuary, and the home of Audubon's 15th state office. Jesse Grantham has been selected as the new state director and sanctuary manager.
The gift of land comes with a major gift to fund the sanctuary and the state office. Glenn Olson and Jesse Grantham, working with Scott Hoot, deserve major credit for making this gift possible.
South Carolina State Office: A bequest of over $1 million was received from an individual who has a particular interest in South Carolina. The gift will be used to endow a new South Carolina state office. This will become either our 16th, 17th or 18th state office, depending on the order in which we are able to select directors in South Carolina, Iowa and Wyoming, each of which will be coming on line in the coming months.
Research Ranch: Thanks to Ben Olewine's excellent efforts, we received a $300,000 cash gift from Fritz and Ken Maytag to build a new education facility at the Research Ranch in Arizona. Bill and Laura Nell Branan are eagerly designing the new facility. Credit to Frank Gill for an assist with Ben.
Latin America Program: Our long search has been worth the wait. Alejandro Grajal has been selected as the new Latin America/Caribbean Program (as of May 5th). A native of Venezuela, Alejandro received his Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Florida. He has a successful history in Latin America conservation, most recently as the Director of Latin American Programs for the Wildlife Conservation Society in new York. We are thrilled to have him on our team.
In addition to the items mentioned in the President's Report, we heard the following during the Board Forum:
The Packard Foundation has made a 3rd distribution of $1 million. The Packard foundation still very enthusiastic about Audubon and the Strategic Plan. They are also very interested in the proposed Audubon Center in East Los Angeles.
Mellon Foundation: Cindy Dunn (director of the PA state office) persuaded the Mellons to give $150,000 for the Pennsylvania state program over the next 3 years.
Ed Harte, director emeritus, gave Audubon $1 million for operations; he expressed an interest in supporting the Latin American campaign, as well as chapter services and state office formation.
Living Oceans program: "Song for the Blue Ocean" by Carl Safina is getting excellent reviews; a great book and a must read; has been called the Silent Spring for the ocean. The Packard Foundation has given a $600,000 grant for two years to expand the Living Oceans program.
Toyota has made a grant of $200,000 for Birds For A Purpose over 3 years; we hope to expand this program with the Toyota foundation.
We have received $100,000 from IMC-Agrico for the Corkscrew campaign. Bernie Yokel has long been trying to get the business community into the environment. We hope we have made strip miners like IMC better stewards of post-mining recovery plans, as well as piqued their interest in Audubon issues.
Carol Ann May reminded us that we are only talking about our successes (there are failures). However, she told us about yet another success: she secured a $500,000 anonymous donation for Corkscrew from a couple she took on VIP tour; they gave the money and supplied a list of people to approach on a challenge grant basis; we are now on the halfway mark for the Corkscrew campaign and will go public soon.
Wayne Mones said we're having a great year in the Planned Giving program; life income funds under management have risen to $25 million. DON O'BRIEN - I think our Strategic Plan is really working, not least because of the effective leadership from John Flicker's staff; perhaps most of all due to John himself.
Board Forum Report on Audubon Science (Frank Gill)
The image of birdwatchers is changing. We are no longer cartoons. More Americans prefer birding to golf as a vacation relaxer.
What comes after watching the birds is an awareness of the environment. Roger Tory Peterson knew from the start that birders turn into conservationists. First you create birdwatchers - give them the ability to name the bird. Then, you start counting the birds. The Christmas Bird Count growth is proof of the power of the count. Next step for the birder is to look at trends. Breeding Bird Surveys, for example, are great tools for seeing trends.
BirdSource <birdsource.cornell.edu> is the black box that puts birders and technology together for citizen science. It provides public data entry, interactivity, rapid feedback, and awesome maps.
The Backyard Bird Count in February was a one-weekend peek at what people see in their backyards, and we also wanted to see if the interactive program would work. It did. There were 1.2 million hits in that weekend from everywhere but Nevada. Boy and Girl Scouts participated as groups. 1000 newspapers did stories. AOL rated it as a Cool Site. The data was good - we had a few roadrunners in Canada, but not many. One of our approaches was to call it an El Niño's eye view of birds. Robins were found further north than in non-niño years. People did provide reliable data, which was one of our question marks. 14,000 reports were submitted. Starlings were the most common, Red-naped Sapsucker (2) least common.
Our next step - computerize the CBC by end of this month. We need stable financing and growth management - this is so hot that we get proposals all the time.
Goals for BirdSource:
We are building a system to link BirdSource, IBAs and the Watchlist into an integrated scientific system for Audubon.
Basic goals:
The program focuses our attention on the most essential sites; covers most species and all seasons; includes public and private lands; uses science-based, normalized criteria; promotes conservation partnerships; involves volunteers and amateurs; is backed by Audubon, American Bird Conservancy, Partners In Flight, Birdlife.
The new North Carolina state office held a meeting with members and scientists to map out potential IBAs; the meeting was a large success with the members. IBAs are a great tool to start a state office and/or inspire the members and prospective donors.
NY state created legislation modeled on NY Audubon's IBA program. DON O'BRIEN - these programs really do educate politicians about the environment. FRANK GILL - conservation through participation works.
In Pennsylvania the state bought 3000 acres on Bald Eagle Ridge, an identified IBA.
The budget year is on track. We have received a high level of contributed income (see the Board Forum and President's Report).
Commentary on Major Revenue Categories (Jim Cunningham)Contributions - The Development staff has completed an in-depth review of contributed income goals with each of our Development Directors and Field Managers. As a result of this process, we are projecting a $625,000 shortfall primarily in the following areas: $140,000 related to cancellation of corporate dinner; $300,000 Field Offices; $100,000 - Education; $85,000 - Litigation. Annual Giving - The direct mail appeals and premium program are on or close to budget through January. On a comparative basis, we are $133,000 below last year's actual. The Annual Giving Program is expected to reach their goal for the year. Bequests - Traditionally, we budget on a straight line basis for bequest Income. On this basis we are $2,998,000 ahead of goal through January and $2,638,000 ahead of last year's actual. Included in current bequests is an additional $1,000,000 distribution from Alice Werk Estate. Grants - We are on budget at this time and $28,000 ahead of last year's actual. Membership - Our July direct mail campaign resulted in a $140,000 shortfall vs. budget. Since most other environmental organizations experienced a similar falloff to their summer acquisition programs, there is speculation that third class mail was adversely affected by UPS strike. In addition, we are experiencing a $20,000 falloff in chapter-member acquisition and a $40,000 decline due to sluggish response to our "dead-expire" telemarketing effort. At this time, first, second and third renewals are all performing better than budget. The membership team is putting together a number of successful efforts to help offset this $200,000 shortfall, however, they do not anticipate receiving the income in the current year. Advertising - Although we were under budget for the first three issues of "Audubon", the January and March ad sales have exceeded budgeted goals. Our March issue sold 69 ad pages, and produced $752,000 in sales revenue - a record for any single issue of "Audubon". At this time, we do not have projections for the final issue of the magazine but the Advertising team feel confident that they will reach their budgeted goal for the year. List Rental - We are on budget for the first seven months and at the same level as last year's actual. Subscriptions - We are on budget at this time and at the same level as last year' s actual. We have already enrolled in excess of 13,000 classes to participate in our Audubon Adventures program. The Education staff is experimenting with several different marketing strategies to increase subscription sales and reach a greater number of children. Tuition (net) - Camp tuition is $200,00 below budget. Overall, our camp program had a 61% attendance rate (530 adults) and attendance was down 25% compared to last year's season. The decline in registrants for this season was due to: a reduction in scholarships from chapters and City Garden Club of New York, a price increase and a more narrowly targeted mailing and advertising distribution. Admissions - We are on goal as projected. On a comparative basis, we are $85,000 ahead of last year's actual due to increased attendance at Corkscrew. Investment Income - We are on budget for the first seven months and at the same level as last year's actual for this period. Overall, we will meet our goal as budgeted. Royalties - The Marketing team has completed a review of contracts and new business goals and project a $300,000 shortfall for the year. Several contributing factors are: new proposals for greeting cards, jewelry, Subaru, Kodak and Full have not come to fruition ($100,000); Bushnell sales are off ($70,000); Wagner sales are down ($35,000), Graphix and Footprints contracts were never signed ($75,000), sales from several other contracts did not meet expectations ($20,000). We are $92,000 below last year's actual through January. T/V Productions - We are projecting a $300,000 shortfall on Television Production revenues. We have been unsuccessful in generating support for our All Bird TV and Wild! Life Adventures series. Rentals - We are on budget through January and $22,00 behind last year's actual. We anticipate reaching our budgeted goal for rental income generated from the retails space and our 2nd and 3rd floor leases at 700 Broadway. Sales - We are on goal as budgeted and $126,000 ahead of last year's actual. Mineral Rights (net) - We are on budget at this time and $179,000 ahead of last year's actual. All other - We are on or close to budget for the first seven months. Expenditures - We have a $683,000 favorable variance vs. projected budget for the first seven months of the year. This is due to $583,000 savings generated from our unspent contingency through January and $100,000 of interest expense savings generated from a favorable market for our bond issue. |
CA, WA and NY state offices have been asked to cut expenses because of shortfalls in contributed income. They have done so.
Shortfall from camps is due to lower grade facilities than our competition. Maine would easily absorb $500,000 in capital improvements, but.... we feel that local management at Maine would allow better use, longer time use of the camp. We are exploring ways of cooperating with Maine Audubon in the management of Hog Island.
CHARLES BRAGG - there seems to be no line item in the budget that describes our commitment to supporting state chapters that do not yet have a state office. JIM - it is worth looking into, if difficult to do. DON O'BRIEN - Glenn Olson is doing a great job of managing chapter services and needs the flexibility of a budget that can allocate funds where they are needed most. JOYCE WOLF - the line item would prove our promise. BERNIE YOKEL - an official mention of the problems that some states are having is needed. (This issue will be raised in the Field and Regional committee meetings tomorrow.)
Would the Regionally Nominated Directors (RDs) please nominate members for the Callison Award - volunteer division. Nominations needed by 4/20/98.
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NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY REQUEST FOR NOMINATIONS FOR CHARLES H. CALLISON AWARD NOMINEESNominations are needed by April 20, 1998 for the Charles H. Callison Awards that will be awarded at the July, 1998 National Convention. There are two award categories. Individual awards will be given for 1997 and 1998 at the Convention for each category, totaling 4 awards.
Following are the criteria for the award. A nominee need not pass each criterion nor even the majority. These are not listen in any priority order.
Nominations of no more than 2 pages addressing the nominee's accomplishments under any of the above criteria no later than April 20, 1998 to: Walt Pomeroy email: wpomeroy@audubon.org The 1998 Callison Award Committee includes: Joyce Wolf, Chair; Ted Lee Eubanks, Bernard Yokel, Glenn Olson, and Jim Cunningham. |
Recertification: RUTH RUSSELL - how can we make this a tool that makes chapters self-evaluate? We spent Thursday discussing revisions. We have a new form which will be reevaluated for next year. Next month form will go to chapters for board or committee review (earlier than usual). A cover letter will accompany the form, but would each of the RDs familiarize with it and pick two or more chapters in two states and call them to say it's coming and ask them to look seriously at the form and offer suggestions? Feedback is best when personally requested. Call back after it has been received to get your feedback. The name has been changed to the "Chapter Annual Report". HARDY ESHBAUGH - what happens if a chapter does not respond? RUTH - we will follow up and help them; this has not been done in the recent past.
DAVE PARDOE (What is a member? task force) - we are in a brainstorming stage; how can we broaden membership; how do we deal with independent Audubons; how do we use centers and sanctuaries as membership centers; how do we generate members from donors and campaigns? One of our mandates is that none of the pre-existing entities will have a financial loss as a result of affiliating with us. But, how many ways can we slice the pie? We will have a report for next board meeting. AMY SKILBRED - what about chapter members who are not NAS members? DAVE - some exist (grandfathered), some are "Friends of". We want everyone in one database, but without ruining the independent activities of these people.
GLENN OLSON (regional/state update) - we propose an exhaustive June report on what's working and what's not. It's working with the chapters and NAS and Strategic Plan; we want to identify funding sources up front so new directors have a running start. CHARLES BRAGG - what are the problems NAS is having with the Oregon office proposal? GLENN - NAS is not happy with shared responsibilities of a state/Portland director; we would like to see a state director who has no divided responsibilities. HARDY - I am concerned that we are not making progress in services for chapters without state offices. Who provides service to West Virginia, for instance. RUTH - at the next meeting the Field Committee will focus on such regions.
NORM SHAPIRO - the lack of a returned recertification form does not mean the chapter is not working - they may not have time (my own chapter, for instance, from a combination of unlucky circumstances). GLENN - there are 213 chapters who do not have 501(c)3 status. At least 60 of those think they have it. NORM - 4 of our chaps don't have it; people don't understand non-profit status differences at the federal and state levels. DAVE - if you don't renew your temporary ruling in five years you lose it. NORM - our chapter is an advocacy chapter and doesn't want 501(c)3; too restrictive. PAT HEIDENREICH - is there a date for final closing of the regional offices? GLENN - none. As states come up, likelihood of closing goes up. We will move some regional people into state offices. PAT - I'm not hearing a clear answer. I'm concerned about the effect on remaining chapters. There is no concrete plan the chapters can see. If we don't have one very soon we risk another uprising - we don't want that. GLENN - we are trying to do it efficiently. There are places with problems. PAT - we need the plan. AMY - apparently many chapters were not serviced before (i.e. the 501(c)3 problem). There may be a few chapters that feel the lack intensely, but how many? HARDY - my problem is that I can't answer the plan question. NORM - Audubon Academies were supposed to help with this. GLENN - we have a funding source that has expressed interest; Walt is deploying himself and some others. AMY - could we provide funds to send aggrieved chapters to Estes Park for discussions? LYNNE DOLNICK - it's better for us to go to them. DON O'BRIEN - it's not that we don't have a problem, but it's hard to have a specific plan. We have to be opportunistic and flexible. We are giving better service than we did before. We should emphasize the positive. DAVE - the problem is that we don't have answers to those who ask. HARDY - problem is sometimes at the chapter, but uncertainty is bad. GLENN - we'll have a complete report to the board in June about options available to chapters. BERNIE - make sure information gets to the chapters affected, not just to the board as a report. For instance, if we don't help Tennessee they will just wither away. WALT POMEROY - the Networker will spread the word. JOYCE - will there be a list of resources for chapters to call upon? That would encourage them.
Regional Election Task Force: brief discussion here amplified in the Field Committee. Click on Task Force to see that report.
Relations with independents: DON O'BRIEN - John Flicker is the first president we have had to reach out to these people and relations are basically good. GLENN - Many of them will be at the convention in July.
White Papers: Please click on White Paper for discussion in the Field Committee section.
Planned Giving - WAYNE MONES - there are chapter guides to bequests and life income gifts. We're working on a tax guide to raffles and so on.
Population & Habitat:
National Audubon Society Population and Habitat CampaignReport to the Public Policy Committee March 21, 1998 AccomplishmentsThe National Audubon Society's Population and Habitat Campaign is beginning its year with a solid set of accomplishments. We successfully deflected restrictions on international population assistance in the FY98 budget process. In the past year, the Campaign has worked through nine votes in the Congress on international population assistance. All but one were related to imposition of onerous restrictions on international population assistance. Throughout the year we worked with supporters in Congress, the Administration, and a coalition of concerned organizations. The fact that we were able to ward off the very strident and determined opposition was a tremendous accomplishment. Over the past year, we have added over 4,000 new individuals to the Population and Habitat network. These individuals have been recruited through a variety of means. A major recruitment effort exists in the system of state coordinators and grants to Audubon state councils and chapter grants. We currently have full-time campaign coordinators in the states of Washington, California, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. In Montana and Arizona, part-time coordinators work with all of the chapters to build a cohesive Population and Habitat Network. Individual grants for building the network have been provided to individual chapters in Nebraska, North Carolina, and Vermont. A grant also has been given to the New England Population Network which covers the other states. Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota are in the early stages of establishing state programs. And we are working with activists in Massachusetts. The Campaign's listserve and web site have enabled us to get out action alerts and information briefs. They also stimulate discussion and attract new members to our effort. Participation in the listserve has grown steadily over the past year. Over 600 new network participants were recruited through a full-page ad in the July-August issue of Audubon magazine. In addition to advertising the campaign and its goals, contest for a campaign slogan generated entries from across the United States. A bumper sticker is being printed with the new campaign slogan, and the winner will be our guest at one of the Audubon camps this summer. This past year, programs have been conducted in the key states and training programs have been held nationally to give activists the skills they need to fulfill their roles as community leaders:
Educational materials delivery continues to be a major aspect of the Population and Habitat Campaign:
Upcoming ProjectsThe campaign is working with the League of Women Voters and Population Reference Bureau on a project to educate U.S. citizens about their connection with the rest of the world. A publication on urban sprawl will localize population issues in the community and provide a means for recruiting additional network members. The 1998 Biennial Convention of the National Audubon Society will feature a population and habitat track, and former Senator Tim Wirth will be a plenary speaker. A two-hour television special is targeted for completion by 1999. The film will look at the billion teenagers who will be facing the year 2000. A traveling exhibit on population and habitat that could be used by museums, zoological gardens, or shopping malls to highlight the history of humans on the planet and the challenges we face in the years ahead. ChallengesThe biggest challenge we face is how to measure the effectiveness of our advocacy activities. We can enumerate activists recruited, workshops completed, and materials distributed. At the last advocacy days workshop, participants made out report forms. Some activists will send us copies of their letters to members of Congress, but this is not a consistent practice. What can we do to improve feedback on activist activities? |
Discussion: PAT WAAK - I need to know how to track our effectiveness. DAN BEARD - we had our lobby week in February. Lobby weeks are complete and inspiring. PAT W - got great feedback from our activists for lobby week. AMY SKILBRED - we ran a campaign where we asked people to send a copy of their advocacy letter to us; we could ask the congressmen how many letters they got, if they were friendly. PAT W - was this only one group calling? AMY - no, it was a coalition, and no group breakout was possible, from the congressman. No way to tell how many sent letters w/o copies.
PAT W - objectives for next year: the sprawl issue is growing rapidly. Congressional education will continue. There will be a PBS film about 1 billion teenagers facing the Year 2000 - we're helping. We're targeting the millennium with a traveling exhibit with our message, for recruitment. LESLIE DACH - do you have a geographic target? PAT W - yes, we prioritize our target areas. DOUG COSTLE - do we get inquiries from other groups about our views? PAT W - yes. We work closely with the Population Reference Bureau, for instance. DOUG - well documented fact sheets can be very useful for recruiting. When people see the numbers they are shocked into awareness. WALTER SEDGEWICK - are most of other groups on the same page as us? PAT W - some major groups work together; it happens at local level too. But, there are issues we don't get into. WALTER - how do they coordinate? PAT W - we try to do that. We don't want to waste resources with overlap. In Massachusetts where there are no chapters, the Sierra Club uses our campaign. WALTER - what are the prospects for funding? PAT W - very good. Many foundations are approaching us as the campaign gains visibility. As far as "message", we're the only ones really trying to link population, habitat and birds. We have more of a field structure than other groups. Other groups do use our materials. DAN - our fundamental message is very sound and is an effective, unique presentation. DON O'BRIEN - we've been in this longer than other enviros. BART REA - do you rate politicians on the issue? PAT - we do it internally, but not publicly. We also use the League of Conservation Voters numbers. ERIC DRAPER - we use "anti-family planning members" as a descriptor for low-rated politicians. NORM - if our message is unique and effective, this may be a warning to stick to it and not get spread out with other groups' messages. ERIC - politically, international and national objections come from the same people in Congress. DOUG TRENT - have we approached the ABA for support? PAT W - wildlife people are coming in, and we could talk to ABA. CHARLES BRAGG - I think we would be wasting our time. ABA is having is own struggle over whether to spend time on conservation issues, and P&H is not on their radar. AUDIENCE - soon the Sierra Club uproar will hit the press. Do we have a response? PAT W - I'm being called already. ERIC - we're taking advantage of the opportunity to talk about habitat loss. We stick to our message and discipline the staff to stick to it. REID HUGHES - I hear consensus to stay the course with our current message.
The Audubon Citizenship Project
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Draft concept on enhancing policy effectiveness Audubon Citizenship ProjectGoal: Ability to deliver direct messages of issue support or opposition to key Members of Congress and Senators on behalf of ESA, Wetlands, Farm Bill, Forest Policy, International Migratory Bird Act and Appropriations issues. The ChallengeAudubon has an effective policy office supported by professional campaign and program staff. The office works in partnership with other conservation advocacy groups to influence federal legislative and administrative decisions. Yet, Washington representation alone will not pass or stop proposed changes to conservation laws. About four years ago we stopped supporting the network built around the newsletter Audubon Activist. Nearly 20,000 Audubon members and friends still receive issue newsletters and alerts. The number of contacts with Congress produced as a result of these appeals is uncertain. The communication is one-way, and it is difficult to measure how people respond to our requests for action. Other interest groups with local affiliates have reinforced issue action appeals to their active members with targeted projects in key House districts and states. The Policy Division proposes to do the same. The ApproachPersuasion works best at a personal level. Political persuasion, expressing preference for a policy decision is based on direct contact between constituents and decision makers. The more direct and personal, the more effective. Some Members of Congress are predisposed to vote with us and some are ideologically locked in against us. Many others can be persuaded. They may vote with or against depending on how they perceive constituent support. Some Members of Congress, because of rank or committee assignment are more important than others on our issues. We propose that, rather than trying to have the capacity to deliver effective, persuasive communication to every Member and Senator, we narrow the list to key decision-makers and strengthen our ability to lobby those. We propose to develop this capacity by the start of the 106th Congress. The essential element for success is district and/or state policy leaders. The ideal profile is an Audubon member with a strong interest in wildlife issues who is involved in local political circles, gives contributions to parties and candidates, has held or stood for a public service (office?), has served on a citizens' board, is comfortable with the press, and has effective inter-personal skills. To find and utilize these special attribute, we need:
Steps from March 21 to January, 1999:
Identification and Recruiting Steps:
Enlisting and Deploying Steps:
Training, Retaining and Personal Growth Steps:
Cost to NAS: $75, 000 Ongoing Process DescriptionPolicy Director creates list of priority issues and positions Staff develop draft briefing materials to support positions Outreach coordinator phones citizen leaders to give personal briefings on issues and get feedback on positions Issue positions are adjusted if necessary Citizen leaders reach out to allies in partner organizations (BASS Federation, Garden Club, etc.) Leaders schedule meetings with Members/Senators Coordinator works by phone with leaders to plan approach to meetings Leaders follow through on meetings and report outcomes Coordinator works with leaders to learn from and build on experience Recognition mailings, newsletters and awards honor effective leaders Sample Process for Reacting to Bad LegislationPolicy Director works with staff and allies to anticipate legislation Policy Director develops a strategic approach for passing or stopping proposals and assigns field citizenship component of plan Audubon Advisory and Alerts give advance notice to citizen leaders that key issues need support States and districts are selected for priority contacts Outreach coordinator draws up list of Audubon citizen leaders Briefing materials are prepared for mail, email and fax distribution Coordinator makes phone contact to selected leaders Leaders are deployed to enlist allies from other affiliations Leaders make appointments with Members/Senators Coordinator coaches leaders on issues and positions Leaders follow through on meetings and report outcomes Coordinator works with leaders to learn from and build on experience Recognition mailings, newsletters and awards honor effective leaders |
ERIC DRAPER - Reid Hughes is a model for the kind of person we are looking for. Every two years communication techniques change. We need to use new models to be effective. Our proposed technique is being used very well by our opposition. We need to nurture our volunteers as well are recruit them aggressively. AMY - we should find out who contributes to the campaigns, find out if our people know these people; find out which Audubon members vote regularly (voter lists). REID - the closest congressman for me is conservative and I'm liberal. But, issues where he can produce for us have worked (sometimes). He's pragmatic. Don't overlook leadership, even if it seems extreme on the surface. LESLIE DACH - you were able to affect him because of the personal relationship. WALTER SEDGEWICK - I strongly support this project. Is it proposed for the next budget cycle? ERIC DRAPER - yes. DON O'BRIEN - we should not overlook the office staff and legislative assistants. JOHN FLICKER - and district staffers. DOUG COSTLE - endorse. A wider net would be useful, not just to the key congress people. DAVE PARDOE - we have used GIS map overlays on our own maps of environmentally important areas to find critical contacts in Congress. LESLIE - we should be "modern" (web page click and mail technology); that's an aside from this particular proposal, but should be included in our arsenal; let's find an agreeable Silicon Valley mogul who might fund such a project. AMY - try Paul Brainerd and NW One. PAT HEIDENREICH - Working Assets does this kind of issue - can we tie to them? DON CARR - let's not spare the resources to get this done. REID - we don't know who the potential contacts are for board members. That is basic. We've got to know the players - we have the persuasive ideas. AMY - we have to be able to show electoral power. 501(c)3 orgs don't know how far they can go doing this kind of lobbying. The Alliance for Justice has given presentations on what is allowed - we should give such instruction to our chapters. CHARLES BRAGG - this kind of network is ideal to run with the sister chapter program. DAN BEARD - TNC uses their stewardship councils for contacts. [Consensus to move forward with budget request.]
Maintaining Balance among Audubon Campaigns: (in lieu of the overheads themselves, the editor notes that we saw current budgets for the 14 current campaigns, national and regional. Annual budgets ranged from $90,000 (Forest and Habitat) to about $1.5 million (Everglades)). DAN BEARD - Litigation expenses will be folded into each campaign and therefore the campaign will budget for it. WALTER SEDGEWICK - is "Takings" a major issue any more? DAN - we don't have our own people active here; other groups are doing work; there is a bill pending but it is widely opposed. "Trade" includes wildlife conservation and trade (CITES); we were using Trade money in other areas too; the reality is that we have a track record of raising money and we continue to pursue this money. LESLIE DACH - Forest and Habitat (F&H) is funded much lower than its importance to members would reflect. REID - I hear in the field and among board members that F&H must be raised. This year the raise is not enough. F&H is woefully underfunded. AMY SKILBRED - do any other of these items tie into F&H - is there crossover? DAN - yes, there is crossover. I spend a lot of time on F&H, for instance. We are proposing a modest increase and will add a trainee. AMY - why is there so little money for F&H? DAN - because it's tough to raise it. ERIC - we spend more on F&H than is shown here, if you include efforts at the state level. LESLIE - but that is not a National budget decision. NORM SHAPIRO - what networking do we do with the state programs? DAN - Mike Leahy has done a good job developing a forest network. DAVE PARDOE - has the board established priorities? LESLIE - yes but they are unranked (either it is a priority or it isn't). DAN - Pat Waak (Population and Habitat Campaign) raises a lot of money because she has been doing it a long time. Wetlands (and F&H) is run by someone new. It take time to build a campaign. DAVE - but Trade is not a top priority and it gets NAS funding beyond F&H. DOUG COSTLE - these numbers are really related to our ability to raise money. We need something more than this budget listing, something else to tell us how well the numbers match our priorities. JOHN FLICKER - within the pool or priorities we try to get the most money for the most projects. REID - within our mission the F&H is as important as any; it is not being addressed by any other environmental group to the degree it deserves; at the grassroots level it resonates very strongly and should be a heart emphasis. BERNIE YOKEL - it's clear where the money is; are there any reasons why it's hard to raise money? DAN - yes: competition; F&H history is of giving to coalitions, not single organizations; we have very active regional organizations and have begun to prepare the way for a strategy meeting. DON O'BRIEN - F&H is out of balance. DAN - I hear the message. JOHN FLICKER - so do I. WALTER - I support Reid; I think the money is there, but we're not getting it. To look at another campaign, is the ESA money adequate? DAN - we're working with states on joint proposals, have funding requests out on this basis; funding is adequate now. JOHN - it's important to remember that first we need good people, then real solutions, and finally funding. DON O'BRIEN - I agree with John. AMY - we might recommend there be work on what the NAS perspective should be for solutions. CHARLES BRAGG - it seems there are two ways to fund a campaign: we can raise the money or fund it internally. What do we do if we have a campaign priority for which we cannot get outside funding? REID - move we devote more resources and emphasis to F&H. DAN - we will find funds when we have a plan. DON CARR - then we should devote more resources to writing more carefully articulated priorities. DOUG COSTLE - we have a responsibility as a board to have priorities and know where resources go related to those. When we seem to be out of balance it affects our ability to raise money for the more difficult ones. AMY - it would be helpful to know what all of Audubon is doing on any issue. DAN - we can try to put that information together. The odd thing about F&H is that outside DC is where lots of the action happens. The budget up there is a DC activity budget. (Ed. Note: the clear sentiment of the committee was that F&H needed resource and planning help ASAP. Staff heard the message. Somewhere in this dialogue I thanked everyone on behalf of the forest activists in the Northwest, and then made a point which I cannot remember. Of the four things I was doing (talk, think, type, remember) I can only do two at a time. And that's immediately after coffee.)
U.S. Sustainable Population Policy Project (Background: many Audubon members and several chapters have endorsed this project, and at least one member serves on its Executive Committee. The PPP is "a multi-phase project leading to a population policy for the United States to achieve long-term environmental and economic sustainability.")
BERNIE YOKEL - my objective in introducing a draft resolution of support for PPP is to get population growth on the table for the board. The PPP goal is a nationwide discussion. My 2nd objective is that many regional Audubons have already endorsed PPP, so where are we? PPP touches on sustainability which we should address. We need to talk. Population pressure impacts our stated message of birds, other wildlife and habitat. I now propose that we set up a task force to look at the population problem in the US (our current program is mostly offshore) and bring us a well-thought out policy. REID - does Pat Waak feel that we already have a position? PAT WAAK - our campaign is narrowly focused; the board should find its position. CHARLES BRAGG - is 3-6 months long enough for us to develop a coherent position? The PPP will take 3 years. BERNIE - maybe. We should take as long as it takes. NORM - we have to understand what is real out there in the world. The US has a policy called Welfare Reform, not mentioned in PPP. We also have to look at immigration and aging in federal programs. BERNIE - part of the task will be to decide what factors we should include. JOYCE WOLF - one of the pieces I want to see is alternatives for urban growth. DON CARR - we need to focus, and this is the mother of all diffuse agendas. [The committee agreed to form a sub-committee to recommend an NAS population policy in 6 months.]
Petroglyph National Monument. JEFF MYERS - a road through the monument is proposed and it would chop the escarpment into pieces. Congress is seeking to redefine the monument and exclude 8 acres from it in order to run the road through. We need people to call Sen. Daschle and ask him not to attach a rider for this to the Bosnia Relief Act (the proposal was SR 633 before it became a rider).
Corporate Partners (Background: a concept proposal to hold irregular meetings with representatives of selected corporations. Immediate objective - start a dialogue. Long term objectives: open-ended; anything is possible.)
DAN BEARD - we found a perfect match with CSX for the CSX Scholarship Program, but only after we started to talk. This proposal would give us a way to get together with corporations to talk. DAVE PARDOE - two fatal flaws to avoid are: mixing fundraising with dialogue; involving so many organizations that you have no common interest. AMY SKILBRED - be careful with whom we associate. DAN - CSX has had trouble with environmental compliance; they felt they had fixed their problems and needed an outlet to show they had changed. BERNIE - I agree with Amy's comments; that said, the state level Auduboners could benefit too. JOHN WHITMIRE - we have a lot of common goals with industry; there isn't enough dialogue; we can provide meaningful projects for them to invest in. DOUG COSTLE - we need to think through to the very end of issues; if we ask for advice we should be prepared to take it. JOHN W - I disagree; they are realists. CHARLES BRAGG - I have always been impressed by the Board members' integrity with personal conflicts of interest, even in tangential issues; what we must remember is to be open with the membership about what we are doing as an organization and why. AMY - we have to keep separate the dialogue and the fundraising. NORM - we don't have to back away, but we have to be open. LESLIE DACH - we are only at the point of talking about the partnership project. Dan can come back next time with clearer objectives. JOYCE - I agree with John Whitmire; if we can define our objective, let's work with corporations and we can agree to disagree on other issues. DAN - CARE (?) works because the NRA is a member, so we are dealing with NRA in this case. AMY - from experience I can tell you that coalitions of not-for-profit and for-profit groups are perilous.
Procedure for Consideration of Policy Resolutions. The Policy Committee has written out the draft of rules under which it will consider resolutions which require Board action.
Background
The Public Policy Committee will be called upon on a regular basis to consider resolutions concerning a variety of policy matters. At the current time, neither the Board of Directors nor the committee has a specific procedure or format for consideration of these resolutions. In some cases, the committee (and the Board) has considered very narrowly defined resolutions taking a position on individual bills or policy matters. On other occasions, the committee has considered broader policy issues that were the subject of one or more legislative or administrative proposals.
This lack of a specific policy has both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, the lack of a procedure for determining which matters to consider has enabled the Board to respond to quickly because we aren't encumbered by onerous procedural requirements. In addition, the current approach has provided committee members with maximum flexibility for determining what to consider and when.
On the other hand, the lack of a procedure for consideration resolutions has meant that there is little consistency in the types of issues addressed by resolution. Furthermore, chapters and members are unsure how to approach the Board with requests for resolutions. Finally, the types of issues considered has varied widely. In some cases, we've considered national issues; in other cases, we've considered issues of only local or regional concern.
Procedures
There is a need to lay out for a procedure for consideration of resolutions on policy matters. To assist members, chapters and Board members, the following is offered as guidance:
Ruth Russell introduced us to Alejandro Grajal, our new Executive Director of the Latin America and Caribbean Program (see President's Report). Alejandro told us he was very glad to be a part of Audubon. At the age of 16 he picked up a copy of Audubon Magazine and was fascinated by some of the photographs. His most recent position with the Wildlife Conservation Society had him in charge of 100 projects in 17 countries in Latin America, with a $4.5 million annual budget. He admires NAS because it is a "back to basics" organization - birds and habitat. Other world enviros have become too bureaucratic. He brings a pretty good Rolodex for contacts in Latin America. What Alejandro needs to learn, he says, is what Audubon is doing now, so he can link projects and people together.
Six Essential Components of State Offices.
DOUG COSTLE - compliments on a good thorough job. Suggest we recognize that all components can't be done at once. NORM SHAPIRO - state programs should have protocols for discussing and adopting issues. (Discussion followed on changes and additions to draft. Move to present as amended to the board.)
Essential Elements of a State Program1. Administrative and Management Capacity:
2. Development Capacity:
3. Science and Bird Conservation Capacity:
4. Chapter and Member Services:
5. Communications and Education Capacity:
6. Conservation Advocacy and Campaigns:
NAS Field Committee March 21, 1998 |
DOUG COSTLE - are we sending a cover letter with the new recertification form? RUTH RUSSELL - yes. And I must remind everyone that the requirements for chapters have not changed, so this report must ask about those activities. Those requirements will be addressed starting at Estes Park in July. Our bylaws require that any changes in the Chapter Requirements be made only after consultation between NAS and the chapters. NORM SHAPIRO - this is a good start but we have to go further. DON O'BRIEN - this could have a few words added to make it more friendly. AMY SKILBRED - this form is OK by me - it's a 1040-EZ compared to the old one. JIM CUNNINGHAM - how about a chapter computer literacy requirement? CHARLES BRAGG - I've been nagging people about creating a Communications Chair for Chapter Boards for the last two years. I will do my best to promote computer literacy during our chapter consultations. DOUG - perhaps the state office is the font of computer literacy? JIM - we have a responsibility to monitor these reports. REID HUGHES - and we need to insist that the requirements be met. This makes our relationship valuable. DON CARR - I agree with Reid. DAVID HEIL - more attention should be paid to the returned reports. And, I would like to see this data but I can't get it. GLENN OLSON - we make a great effort to follow up in my region. RUTH - we used to do a better job, and this is a step to getting back.
Regional Board Member Election Task Force. Click on Status Report for background; click on Suggestions for a draft Position Description and Suggestions to Candidates; click on Nomination Procedures for draft proposed changes to current methods.
BILL ROSS - Regional offices are being phased out. What should replace them for the purpose of nominating the nine regional board members? Our rationale was to try to equalize the number of Audubon councils in each region, with a maximum of 8 and a minimum of 5. This would tend to equalize the work loads of the RBMs. After many drafts we have come up with "Plan G". NORM SHAPIRO - the Northeast region has 58,000 members now; adding 32,000 non-chapter members makes a load. CHARLES BRAGG - the rationale Bill has used is as good as any, but there are many possible rationales we could use. Also, what is valid as a reason today could change tomorrow. Secondly, the last time we offered a proposal to divorce Alaska and Hawaii (also proposed by Plan G) we got an impassioned plea from Dave Klein arguing against it. My question is, what states and chapters actually feel they are being harmed by the current regional alignment? JEFF MYERS (NM) - we have felt peculiar to be associated with TX; we have little in common. We like Plan G. RUTH RUSSELL - I wonder if you are the only state that feels this way. BILL - another problem (with the current regional setup) is attracting candidates to the board. We have 4 candidates for 3 elections this year. AMY SKILBRED - I will send Bill Dave Klein's letter, since he has not seen it yet. RUTH - we should get the states' opinions. Spheres of interest can be plotted 50 ways - why not do it the way the states want?
3/14/98
Report to the National Audubon Board of DirectorsBy: Bill Ross Subject: Regional Board Member Election Task Force - Status Report
In June of 1997 the Board of Directors authorized the appointment of a Task Force to review and recommend changes in the procedures whereby Regional Board Members (RBMs) are chosen. Subsequently, Chairman Don O'Brien appointed the following to serve on this Task Force: Art Feinstein (California), Dave Pardoe (Maryland), Dorothy Poulsen (Montana), Carmen Santasania (Pennsylvania), Bruce Walgren (Wyoming), Lit Woedl (Ohio), Bernie Yokel (Florida), Ruth Russell (Arizona), Ex-Officio, and Bill Ross (Connecticut), Chairman. Staff liaison is being provided by the Vice-President for Chapter Services, Walt Pomeroy. Virtually all of the communications among the members of the Task Force have been through the use of an E-Mail "List Serve" which has proved to be invaluable for this purpose. Methodology: The Task Force recognized that input from chapters would be essential and this was solicited first by an article in the Chapter Networker, which was sent to several leaders in each chapter. This generated only a couple of responses so a Questionnaire was then sent to all chapter presidents. This resulted in 125 responses from about 24% of the chapters, compared to 343 responses to a very similar questionnaire sent out ten years ago by the task force which designed the existing regional board member nomination procedures.
A few respondents attached letters expanding upon their questionnaire comments. In addition, some members of the Task Force interviewed former RBMs and input has also been obtained at the quarterly meetings of the current regional board members. Election Procedures: A draft of the proposed revision of the "Procedures for Regional Nominations to the Board of Directors" is being distributed here to the Regional Board Members and to the Field Operations Committee for review and comment. The following is a summary of the changes which are being recommended:
Not yet resolved is whether NAS should make public how each chapter voted, whether this information should remain confidential, or whether this should be a responsibility left to the chapters. 50 chapters presidents said the votes should not be made public, 38 said they should and 5 volunteered that this should be done only by the chapters. Regional Board Member Position Description: Several years ago, Ruth Russell prepared a useful document which outlines the key duties and responsibilities of NAS and Regional Board Members, and provides valuable input from the then current RBM's so that candidates for the Board could better understand what would be involved if they chose to run. This document is still valid but the Task Force is suggesting that it be re-issued with a few minor revisions. These changes rearrange the topics somewhat, emphasize that all Board Members are expected to assist in fundraising, indicate that funds may be available to encourage RBM's to attend state council meetings, and adds e-mail to the list of useful tools for Regional Board Members. Copies of a draft of this proposed revision are being distributed at the Santa Fe meetings of the RBM's and the Field Operations Committee. Regional Boundaries: Because the current Election Regions were established to coincide with the administrative regions, which are gradually being dissolved, they vary widely in their numbers of chapter members, chapters, states and councils. The Alaska-Hawaii-Guam Region has only 4037 chapter members and 6 chapters while the Western Region has 82,098 chapter members, 92 chapters and 8 councils, including 5 in California, and the Southeast Region has 83 chapters in 7 states, but has 12 councils including 6 in Florida alone. Because attendance at council meetings is one of the best ways for Regional Board Members to be in touch with chapter leaders, we attempted to modify some of the regional boundaries to distribute the workload and representation more evenly, while maintaining some commonality of interest. I believe this proposed plan for Regional Boundaries more nearly represents what might have been the design if it had been done originally without regard for the existing administrative regions. It should be noted also that this plan would not result in any two current regional board members being in any one of the new regions. It should also be noted that this plan has not been agreed to by the Regional Elections Task Force and that I am requesting the advice and counsel of the Field Operations Committee as to whether this should be pursued further. Some Observations and Conclusions: There are several indications that chapters are growing less interested in what is happening at the national level within Audubon. 76% of the chapter presidents did not respond to our rather simple questionnaire about the election process and several who did made unflattering remarks about the board, its members, their chapters' lack of interest in national issues and their remoteness from what is going on. No questionnaires were received from 4 states, with a total of 25 chapters, in the Southeast Region, as well as from a scattering of other states. We should also be concerned that there are only 4 candidates in the 3 regions holding elections this year. Some of this seeming apathy may reflect the lack of major national issues around which all chapters can rally, and some may be due to the growing emphasis on and interest in our new state offices and local issues. But some may also be because regional board members are finding it difficult to be in close touch with their constituents through attendance at council meetings or regional conferences, which are becoming less common. It will be interesting to see if the member attendance at the upcoming national convention at Estes Park is as great as it has been in the past. The Board may want to consider different ways in which it and its members can keep in closer touch with the membership, either by personal contact or through the Internet. Charles Bragg's unofficial but comprehensive reports on Board meetings should perhaps be given more internal publicity. Regional or multi-regional conferences should be resumed or continue so that leaders can meet with each other as well as with potential board candidates. And regional work sessions could be scheduled at the national conventions. We really need to find and maintain a multiplicity of ways for Audubon people to keep in personal touch with each other if we are to achieve the "seamless Audubon" to which we aspire. |
DRAFT 3/13/98
National Audubon Society Regional Board Members Position Description and Suggestions to Candidates
Responsibilities of All National Audubon Board Members:
Additional Responsibilities of Regional Board Members:
The nine individuals elected to be Regional Board Members define their own roles as they respond to the different expectations of the Audubon members in their regions but, as Board Members, they all have a commitment to the Mission of the National Audubon Society. Fundraising: All members of the National Audubon Board assist in the Society's fundraising program by helping to identify prospective donors and by participating in fundraising programs such as the annual Birdathon. Board members are also encouraged to make personal contributions commensurate with their abilities to do so. Time Devoted to Board Responsibilities: From an average of 4 hours to 24 hours per week. Expenses: It is the Board's position that, while Board members who are able to do so are asked to pay their own expenses, no one should be precluded from serving for financial reasons. Individual expenses of Regional Board Members during one recent year ranged from $2000 to $8000. So that the best available chapter leaders will be encouraged to serve as Regional Board Members, some financial help, including the expense of attending Board meetings and some council meetings, is available. Requests for financial assistance are kept confidential. Several councils have also provided assistance for Regional Board Member visits. Non-reimbursed expenses are often tax-deductible. Suggestions by Regional Board Members for Fulfilling their Responsibilities: "Evaluate the time you have available... Be willing to spend the time it takes... Do your Board member homework, especially on the Budget... Be a consensus builder. Understand the structure and function of NAS... Get to know as many staff members as possible and learn which staff members to refer members to on various issues... Have good communications throughout your region... Having access to a personal computer, e-mail, a copier and a FAX machine is very helpful." Factors Influencing Decision to Run: "Encouraged by others to run. .. Felt I could make a difference because of my experience. .. Had enough time available. .. My interest and involvement with Audubon... Felt I had something to offer. .. An opportunity to learn and to serve. .. Had my spouse's support... Opportunity to represent my region to the Board and to interpret Board and management decisions to chapters." From Regional Board Members running for a second term: "Enjoying being a Regional Board Member... Felt my first term makes me a more useful Board Member." Campaign Methods and Suggestions: "Write letters to all chapters and councils and to specific leaders. .. Visit chapters, attend council meetings, make phone calls. .. Try to get the support of large chapters... (personal comment: I try not to inject my opinions into these notes unless I express them at the meetings. In this case, however, this document was not discussed at the meeting. I disagree with this opinion strongly, and I saw no evidence that any of the candidates in the last Western Regional election pursued this strategy.) Help chapters understand the roles of Board members... Make sure chapters understand the nomination process so they will follow through and vote. Go where members are, speak to as many people as possible... Get help. .. A campaign manager can be a great help - someone to make phone calls and speak for you. .. Have someone else (possibly your chapter president) write a letter of endorsement to all chapters... Ask others to call chapter leaders on your behalf.
Drafted by the nine Regionally-Nominated Board Members on October 27, 1994. Revised by the Regional Election Task Force in 1998 (Job Description - NAS Board) |
| DRAFT: Additions underlined, (Deletions in
parentheses).
3/12/98 wross@snet.net National Audubon Society PROCEDURES FOR REGIONAL NOMINATIONS TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Nominations, Campaigning, Balloting, and Conducting a Regional Election Article III, Section Three, of the National Audubon Society Bylaws states, "the Board shall include no fewer than one Director representing each region of the National Audubon Society, who shall have been nominated by either chapters or members of the Society in the region each represents, through procedures approved by the Board. . . The names of the regionally nominated Directors shall be placed upon the official slate of nominees of the National Audubon Society for election at the Annual Meeting of Members. . ." . NOMINATION PROCEDURES * All chapters in a Chapter Election Region where an election is to occur shall be sent in September by (their Regional) the Chapter Services Office a letter and information about the election and nomination process and a schedule of deadlines for (their) the election. * Each chapter in good standing on the July 1st preceding the election cycle in a National Audubon Chapter Election Region has the opportunity to nominate one National Audubon member to run via the chapter nomination process. * The member must live in the Chapter Election Region where the election is occuring. * The specific nomination process for each chapter is to be determined by that chapter. The process must be open with (public) notice to chapter members at least 30 days prior to the selection of the nominee. All nominations must be received by the (Regional) Chapter Services Office by January 30 of the election year. CAMPAIGNING PROCEDURES * Campaigning by nominees may take place between February 1 and June 30. * The (Regional) Chapter Services Office will provide each candidate in the regional election, for campaign purposes, one set of mailing labels containing the names and addresses of each chapter president in the region, and another set of mailing labels containing the names and addresses of each chapter newsletter editor in the region. (One setof mailing labels of chapter vice-presidents, conservation chairs and newsletter editors is also available upon request). One set of chapter president mailing labels will also be sent to any chapter which nominates a candidate for the regional election. *Each nominee, chapter and council has the opportunity to take whatever campaign steps it deems appropriate to promote the election process. CHAPTER VOTING PROCEDURES * The Chapter Regional Election process uses a weighted vote system that provides each chapter with a specific number of ballots. The number of ballots assigned to any given chapter is based on the total National Audubon Membership size of the chapter as of June 30 preceding the election as validated by the Membership Department of the National Audubon Society. Chapters with up to 500 members will receive 1 ballot; from 501 to 1000 members, 2 ballots; from 1001 to 1700 members, 3 ballots; 1701 to 2500 members, 4 ballots; and over 2500 members, 5 ballots. A chapter may choose to cast all of its ballots for one candidate or split its votes among the candidates. * Each chapter is responsible for developing and carrying out its election in a fair and appropriate fashion. Whether the election is by membership vote, action of the Board of Directors, or otherwise, the chapter should provide reasonable notice (of at least 30 days) of all aspects of the election process to the members. * Notice of the election could be provided in newsletters, correspondence or memos to members, posted on bulletin boards in places where Audubon activities are normanlly announced and/or by announcements at regular chapter meetings. These notices should inform the chapter members of the nominees and their biographies. The date, time and place where the actual chapter voting will take place should always be included. * Ballots will be mailed to the chapter presidents on or about April 1. Chapters are eligible to submit their votes to (their Regional) the Chapter Services Office upon receipt of the ballots. The results of the chapter election must be certified by the chapter and mailed to the (regional) Chapter Services Office by June 30. Chapters must return the Election Certification Form provided by the (regional) Chapter Services Office in the envelope along with the ballots allotted to the chapter. Chapter elections will be certified with two signatures, one of the chapter president and one of another chapter officer. * Ballots and Election Certification Forms postmarked after June 30 will not be counted. * Chapters are strongly encouraged to return their ballots to the (Regional) Chapter Services Office using certified mail with a return receipt. * The Chapter Services Office will maintain a site on the National Audubon Web page for each election. The site will contain information on the candidates, a reminder of the key dates, a "chat room" for chapters to query their candidates and a listing of chapters that have returned their ballots. BALLOT COUNTING PROCEDURES * All ballots will be held unopened by the (Regional) Chapter Services Office until a ballot counting meeting is convened at a predetermined time and place that has been announced to the chapters with the distribution of the ballots. Usually this meeting will be in the Chapter Services Office. * The ballot counting is open to any Audubon member. The official ballot counting team should consist of not less than two chapter representatives from a state or states not having candidates and, where possible and feasible, from more than one chapter. The ballot counting team will open, count and tally the chapter ballots. The candidate receiving the most votes, and at least 40% of the total votes cast, will be declared the regional nominee. The ballot counting team will then certify in writing, to the chairperson of the Nominating Committee for the NAS Board of Directors, the name of the winning regional nominee, whose name will be placed on the slate of nominees to the Board that is voted upon at the Annual Meeting of Members in December. All ballots will be secured and retained by the Chapter Services Office until after the Annual Meeting. * The (Regional) Chapter Services Office will announce promptly in writing the results of the election to all candidates and to the president, or acting president, and newsletter editor of each chapter in the Chapter Election Region. * In the event of a tie among the candidates receiving the most votes, or in the event that no candidate receives at least 40% of the votes, the Chapter Services Office will promptly make arrangements to conduct a runoff between the two top candidates. Runoff ballots will be sent to all chapters in the Chapter Election Region. * Chapters with disqualified ballots will receive a prompt letter from the (Regional) Chapter Services Vice President explaining the fact of the disqualification and the reason why the chapter’s vote was disqualified. * Any other questions on the election process should be directed to the (Regional) Vice President for Chapter Services in (your Regional) the Chapter Services Office. ________________ Not Yet Agreed Upon: The name of the candidate for whom a chapter voted will not be released by National Audubon but each chapter is expected to inform its members of the chapter’s choice by an appropriate means as determined by its board of directors.
(Procedures - Regional Nominations) |
White Papers (joint committee meeting with Science. HARDY ESHBAUGH - the question we are addressing is how can we help chapters deal with the need for issue information? SUSAN DRENNAN - we surveyed chapters on what kinds of documents they could use. We came up with a maximum of 4 pages with bibliography. Among the desirable delivery systems was an area on our web page. We need to know what format would work. AMY SKILBRED - some issues won't fit in 4 pages. SUSAN - we were going to propose doing some original research, but not yet. FRANK GILL - these are not policy statements. They are informational only. BEN OLEWINE - issues that address troubled bird populations should be top priorities. NORM SHAPIRO - the Policy Committee needs information on forests so we can create policy. HARDY - now that we are in Latin America, some of these will be of interest to them; shouldn't they also be in Spanish? ALEJANDRO GRAJAL - we (at the new LACP office) will translate the necessary ones. WALTER SEDGEWICK - how about Spanish language papers for North American audiences? DON O'BRIEN - how do we separate policy from science? FRANK - some topics would require consultation with board committees. RUTH RUSSELL - the origin of this was a search for facts, not policy. HARDY - the Canada Goose issue is rife with erroneous information. We need to give our members the science on what is really happening. DON O'BRIEN - we need to select issues where science rules. AMY - we should set criteria for topics to be allowed; not policy, not too broad in scope, etc. ALEJANDRO - even a science document can be treated as a policy document. What about peer review? FRANK - if there is debate it should be noted. JEFF MYERS - these could be very useful, for newsletters for instance, but the Cat paper, for instance, is not footnoted. It must be more rigorous. WALTER - the format should be easily photocopied, web-friendly, with simple graphics. NORM - this concept would be very useful to chapters. CHARLES BRAGG - when we first discussed it, the concept was extremely simple: short papers using available and non-controversial data; easy to footnote and to add a bibliography at the end. Now we are talking about research, peer review and committee consultation. That's a completely different product. What happened? HARDY - I uess we were naive back then. FRED BAUMGARTEN - lots of these topics are policy and should be dropped. HARDY - please comment on this list. Also, if we do this in house there is a limit on how many we can produce. RUTH - putting the Cat paper in the Networker was great. How about publishing future papers the same way, numbered and dated? [Ed. note: the sense of this joint meeting and also the following short discussion in the Board Meeting proper was that the list of topics should be pruned to remove those that would involve a political or policy or subjective judgment. White Papers should be firmly science-based.]
White Papers Project Possible TopicsWhite Papers will not be policy recommendations so much as factual sources of information offering points to consider before taking a stand on controversial issues. They will guide our members to take positions that are supported by good science, and to take into consideration how others have dealt with the same issues. By providing this means of support, we will be able to help our members respond to issues of local concern in a timely fashion. Each of these issue reports will be from one to four pages in length (more only if necessary) and will include a current bibliography so that those interested will be able to easily find the best references on the topic. We would like to solicit further topics that will help our constituencies. We would also like to encourage you to indicate which of the named topics might be most urgent. If possible please try to prioritize the topics below. Then we can set up a publication schedule for the remainder of the year. Cowbirds and Conservation Raptor Electrocution in the Western States Responsible Cat Ownership Responsible Bird Feeding Sensitive Arctic Ecosystems and Goose Overpopulation The Migratory Bird Treaty Act Updated The Conservation Reserve program Explained The Teaming With Wildlife Initiative Impacts of Alien Vegetation to Western Grassland Birds Birds and Birding as Socio-economic Resources in the U. S. Why Migratory Stopovers Should Be Preserved Mourning Dove Population Effects of Lead Shot on Raptors Raptor Electrocution Issues Nationwide Wind Generation and Its Toll on Migration Impact of Windpower Generators on Birds Developing Bird-Friendly Golf Courses Responsible Golf Course Management Crane Hunting The Canada Goose problem The Mute Swan problem Land Use Issues Excessive Wetlands Regulations Horseshoe Crabs and Migratory Shorebirds Management Techniques for Exotic Weed Species Bird Depredation at Fish Hatcheries The Audubon Position on Hunting The Impact of Deer on Biodiversity Sustainable Forests and Forestry (as related to production of products) The Great Salt Lake: Planning for its Future |
WALTER SEDGEWICK - the committee recommends Christopher Harte, President of Harte-Hanks Communications and currently on the Board of the Maine Audubon Society. [Mr. Harte elected to the NAS Board unanimously.]
Education and Communications Committee:
LYNNE DOLNICK - the state office directors are forming a task force on education in state offices. We heard several reports on Audubon Centers. We heard reports on the Greenwich and Randall Davey centers from their directors. We heard a progress report on Birds For A Purpose and the CSX Scholarship programs. We came up with three questions for study: what are Audubon priorities that all state office must follow; how should they create strong state office role for education; what are the respective roles for NAS, state and chapters in education?
BEN OLEWINE - regarding Audubon Magazine, we heard a report from Lisa Gosselin, our new editor. She talked about her vision for the magazine; it follows the line of president's report. Her goals are to make the magazine more relevant and useful for current readers, and at the same time to entice new readers. She wants to take people along a continuum from appreciation to understanding to conservation. We see a great team effort coming from Lisa, Jim Cunningham and Vicki Shaw.
Regarding Audubon TV - no resolution by the Board is needed. Audubon TV is running at a deficit; this can't go on. The response to our market plan of a for-profit production company has not been good. We do not plan now to spend any more research money for phase 2 ($225,000 allocated for phase 2). We will continue to sell the market plan with other investors; if this fails there are other options. Vicki will look into those options. We have formed a subcommittee to work with Vicki.
REID HUGHES - phase 1 success will depend on new investors; it's important for other board members and friends see the business plan and seek these prospects. So far a limited number of people have been looking for investors. DON O'BRIEN - thanks to Reid for his efforts already; it was refreshing to hear from Lisa about how much she cares about Audubon and wants to give us the best magazine.
Field Committee: (click on FieldCom for more details)
[Move to adopt the 6 Essential Elements of a State Program.] A preamble will be added by Jack Dempsey. HARDY ESHBAUGH - this is a template that can be used for prospective donors, as well as state directors. DON O'BRIEN - we do understand that different states will have different priorities. This is not intended as an inflexible code. [Adopted unanimously.]
RUTH RUSSELL - We need applications for WY and IA for state office directors. Please share your ideas with us. CAROL MAY - what about the applications on file for PA and NC - let's revisit them. JOHN FLICKER - these state director positions are absolutely critical for NAS.
Public Policy Committee: (click PolicyCom for more details)
DAN BEARD - the Garrison Diversion will not die. In December 1996 Don told me to go testify at 20 below. I was the skunk at the picnic and the project was shelved again. Later we met with a congressional delegation and laid out some principles. Not until last fall did a bill come out. They asked us to a meeting to confer on the bill, before a scheduled hearing. I refused to go which bugged them - they wanted to hear our objections so they could prepare for the hearing. They did get some local enviros to agree with the bill. It was a $1.9 billion bill written by the Diversion advocates. We advertised this on the hill. The bill is now on the back burner. Genevieve Thomson, Gary and I are all working on it. We have delayed it for at least a year. We hope the Wall Street Journal will put out an (unfavorable) article on the economics. Reid has suggested some FL legislators that might help us. This started in 1974!!! I just hope we won't be doing this in 2024. Bottom line - Audubon will not back off.
Goose and Cat Resolution Updates. HARDY ESHBAUGH - We were worried about the amount of impact these would have on staff. It has been minimal. The Goose Res has enhanced our credibility with the involved agencies. They know we will take a science based position. The agencies are going cautiously on implementation. Re the Cat Res: Susan Drennan produced a one page advisory and copy of the resolution. Conclusion - we will win every time if we take a science-based position.
BirdSource: we have moved from a plan to implementation - we now have a product. The Backyard Bird Count in February captured people far beyond the Audubon organization. It also had a large impact on the media. The next step? How do we meet the expectations of the people who see our product and want to participate and expand it? It could be overwhelming. Projects coming up: CBC data collection will be complete in a few days; Warbler Watch, a project to track migrations. OAKES AMES - there is a strong link from science to education for BirdSource; part of our hoped-for "seamless" Audubon. CHARLES BRAGG - is there a link from the BirdSource web page to the rest of Audubon? I'm hoping we can translate interest in BirdSource into activity for our conservation goals. FRANK GILL - the BirdSource web page is being redesigned and this kind of linkage is on the list. DON O'BRIEN - other organizations have recognized that BirdSource is a brilliant concept. We owe a major thank you to Frank and John Fitzpatrick. (Ed. Note: there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that BirdSource will be renamed GillNet, as suggested by Barbara Eshbaugh.)
HARDY - a comment: there are 338 employees at Audubon; 49 have advanced science degrees but these people are not all working specifically in the science department. This means that science pervades the organization. How do other organizations compare? Second comment: we looked at how science is budgeted and have two questions. How do we assure BirdSource financially. How will science be embedded at the state level (see #3 in the 6 essentials).
FRANK GILL - Lucy Waletzky raised the issue of the health of bird populations as an indicator for environment; we will sponsor a conference of experts to hash this out; we don't have in house ability to do this.
DON O'BRIEN - I propose an orientation meeting for new directors and staff, realizing that a sense of history (the events of 1987 among others) are important to an understanding of Audubon.
HARDY ESHBAUGH - we should try to nominate Carl Safina for a MacArthur grant. DON O'BRIEN and WALTER SEDGEWICK - we should generate some guidelines for a voluntary swordfish boycott. The next magazine will have a guide to eating from sensitive fisheries. WALTER - this is also an opportunity to talk about safe foods as well as unsafe, an opportunity for our support of these foods. NORM SHAPIRO - could we put white papers in the magazine?
Audit Committee - no report
Development Committee: CAROL MAY - we raised $14 million last quarter. The search on for new development director is on. DON O'BRIEN - I just want to say that since Carol has become the chair of our Development Committee we have had activity at a level I cannot remember. Carol is the best chair ever.
Finance Committee: see in official minutes.
Investment: no report.
Site Committee: please submit nominations for the year 2000; we know it's early but if we wait we will not get the best financial agreements.
Meeting adjourned at 10:35 a.m.