North Cascades Audubon Society Minutes Board of Directors Meeting1207 EllsworthApril 2, 20187:00 PM Board Members Present: Pam Borso, Paul Woodcock, Steven Harper, Sue Parrott, Nicole Huson, Jamie Huson, Chris Brewer, Robert Kaye, Kirsten Anderson, Judy Krieger
- Additions to Agenda – added below.
- Approval of February Minutes – approved as written.
- Treasurer’s Report – Sue noted that there was one small mistake on the worksheet in banking fees. It will be corrected in the next report. We seem to be getting more donations possibly because of our presentations and notices for renewal.
- Committee Reports as needed
Vote on and welcome new board members – The board voted to have Kirsten and Robert join as board members. Board and governance committee: Nicole described the process for creating and revising all board position descriptions. There are a few more comments and edits and she will send the draft final versions out one last time before the board is asked to approve them. Nicole has created a draft welcome packet for new board members and it will be sent out to new board members once reviewed and approved. Sue led a discussion on discrepancies in the bylaws in regards to who is officially a board member and how they are chosen. It is not clear according to the bylaws whether advisory board members are voting members. However, the practices are that all persons acting as committee chairs have been considered to be full voting board members. We have a number of open Board Committee Chair positions. It was recommended and agreed to by the board that Robert will be Conservation chair, Pam will be Volunteer Coordinator chair, Kirsten will be Publicity chair and Paul will be Field Trip chair. Pam will follow up with Annie to make sure she can continue as Hospitality Chair with the responsibilities as noted in the draft position description. Education update: (see attached committee report) The native plants and birds programs have been very successful and a number of organizations have requested additional programs. We now have great materials for nurseries and for the general public and Deborah Kaye is working with the nurseries to distribute handouts. Birds and Brew is scheduled for May 19th and the committee will be attempting to expand the event to include additional dates and locations. Next committee meeting is April 9. Scholarship committee update – The scholarship announcement has now been released and we are waiting for applicants. Nicole has distributed the necessary materials to WWU. Website update: Website Review, Membership software, Google Docs – Jamie is working on the web page and needs a high resolution picture to place on the website of all board members. Any other public digital documents should be sent to Jamie for placement on the website. The new website will be going live very soon. Nominating committee update – The slate proposed for next year (staring June 2018) includes Steven Harper for President, Jamie Huson as Vice-President, Pam Borso as Secretary and Sue Parrott as Treasurer. The board agreed to extend Sue’s term for another year. Paul will present this slate to the May membership meeting for a vote. Program report – Steven reported on upcoming programs and noted that the Sept – January programs will all be related to the Endangered Species programming scheduled by the Whatcom Museum.
- Communications & Input
State board changes and State and National Funding channels – Pam described the work that Jenn Syrowitz of WA Audubon has done in the past 5 years and noted that she is leaving to become Exec. Director of Washington Wildlife Federation. Allan Gibbs, Regional Representative, is coming to the next board meeting to get our feedback on Jenn’s position. Newsletter input due April 15 for May; It has been suggested that we include a “Year of the Bird” article.Audubon at the museum April 22 (Sue), May 27(Pam).At a later board meeting the board will discuss criteria for sending out time sensitive, environment related issues email messages to members. It was noted that NCAS lacks clear policy on many issues and that at some point in the future the Board may want to develop policies. It was suggested that we keep a list of issues that arise that would benefit from a NCAS Board policy.VARC field trip for Board members: Steven will organize the carpooling for the May 6 event.Audubon table: What’s the Point: Whatcom Land Trust – We will host a table at this event on June 16.NW Region 1 meeting will be at Padilla Bay from 10-2 pm on April 21. All board members are welcome.2018 Audubon State Chapter gathering will be somewhere in the Seattle area on May 19ACOW October 13, 2018, Brightwater Center, Woodinville, WA. There will be more details later.
- Old Business
Duck sign for City of Bellingham: No update as Rae is traveling.Cornell/ Whatcom Land Trust/ Audubon Grant collaboration on: Harrison property, Kendall: No news until April 30
- New Business
Audubon Grants available – There are grants from Audubon ($1,000 - $25,000) available for chapter efforts. There is specific criteria associated with these grants and we will potentially pursue a grant for the WLT Harrison property project and for working with WWU birding club to establish an associated college program. Education Committee will follow up at their meeting.
- Programs & Events
April 8: Family Bird Walk: Scudder Pond/Whatcom Falls 9:30April 14: Native Plants and Birds: Deming Library 3-4 April 17: Native Plants and Birds Ferndale Garden Club 11:30-1:30April 21: NW Regional Meeting at Padilla Bay 10:00-2:00 pmApril 24: Dan Streiffert: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Whatcom MuseumApril 28: Backyard Habitat and Native Flora Fair/ WNPS Plant SaleMay 19: Birds and Brews at 3 pm at Stones Throw BreweryMay 22: Connie Sidles; Bird Evolution, Whatcom MuseumMay 31- June 3: Pearrygin Lake CampoutJune 16: What’s the Point tabling at Point Whitehorn 10:30-3:00pmSeptember 25: George Divoky: Black Guillemots of Cooper Island, Whatcom MuseumOctober 23: Richard Gammon: Global Climate Change: Impacts in the Pacific NW and Salish Sea, Whatcom MuseumNovember 27: Fenner Yarborough: Threatened and Endangered Wildlife in Washington State, Whatcom MuseumDecember 10: Holiday Party, YWCADecember 16: CBC Potluck, Downtown Coop (Community Connections Room)January 29, 2019: Maria Ruth: Rare Bird: Pursuing the Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet, Whatcom Museum Adjourn - Next Meeting: May 7, 2018. 7 to 9 PM Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship 1207 Ellsworth Bellingham. Education ReportApril 2018 Education Committee met on January 31 and will meet again April 9th. Joining us is Kristen Fredericks Murray! Completed Education ProgramsNative Plants and BirdsPrograms have been successfully presented at the Blaine, South Whatcom and Ferndale libraries (March 3, 10, 24) as well as at the March membership meeting. Thanks, Pam! The program is getting Audubon out in many areas to share some excellent resources and info. Roz Spitzer has done a terrific job helping to get some local materials completed. Thanks too, to those who helped out tabling: Deborah, Gayle (Stebbings), Kristen Murray. Upcoming Education ProgramsApril:Family Bird Walk: Chris Brewer and Gayle Stebbings will be leading the walk-through Scudder Pond and Whatcom Falls Park to Darby Pond Native Plants and Birds.April presentations include the Ferndale Garden Club, Master Gardeners and Deming Library as well as having materials at the Backyard Habitat and Native Flora Fair on April 28. May Birds and BrewsMay 19, 3 pm at Stones Throw Brewery. New and Upcoming Program Planning Youth ProgramPaul Woodcock and Chris Brewer will be sharing ideas at our upcoming meeting about engaging local youth and offering an opportunity in 2019 that encourages teen / young adult birding. Bald Eagle Interpretive ProgramChris Brewer is leading the development of a fall program for educational presentations and bald eagle field trips on the Nooksack. Anyone interested in leading a trip between late November and the end of December contact Chris. Endangered Species Programming and Holiday TreeSteven Harper has been locating a fall presenter on endangered species. Chris is looking for someone to research endangered/threatened birds (mostly from State of the Bird Report!) to identify birds to highlight in the Holiday Tree as well as someone to help contact artists for creating artwork for it.