July Board Minutes

North Cascades Audubon SocietyBoard of Directors Meeting MinutesHome of Steven Harper and Sue ParrottJuly 2, 2018, 7:00 pm Board Members Present: Steven Harper, Paul Woodcock, Sue Parrott, Chris Brewer, Owen Bamford, Robert Kaye and Deborah Kaye. Advisory Board Members Present:  Pam Borso, Steve Irving, Judy Krieger, Rae Edwards, Kirsten Anderson, Anne Ziomkowski  and Lynne Givler.  Guest: Helene Irving and Milt Krieger Pam welcomed all to the meeting and thanked Steven and Sue for hosting. 

  1. Installation of Officers – The following officers were installed into office: Steven Harper - President, Jamie Huson - Vice President, Deborah Kaye – Secretary, Sue Parrott - Treasurer

Steven thanked Pam and Paul for their five years of service as President and Vice President (respectively). Steven expressed special thanks to Pam for recruiting new members and bringing new energy and programs to the Board. Pam is now our Volunteer Coordinator and Paul Woodcock is our Field Trips Coordinator. 

  1. Additions to the Agenda – none

 

  1. Approval of May Minutes – Approved with minor corrections to some event dates.

 

  1. Treasurer’s Report

Sue reviewed the Treasurer’s Report noting that membership revenue is going well and that we are ahead of where we were this time last year.  Member donations were projected at $800 and we are already at $1,000. The Education Committee is slightly over budget due to increased copy expenses for materials for our Native Plants for Birds presentations.  Scholarships were dispersed to three students. 

  1. Communications
  • Submissions for the September newsletter are due August 15th.
  • Audubon at the Museum – Events are scheduled for July 22nd, August 26th (Sue and Steven), and September 23rd. Volunteers are still needed for July 22nd and September 23rd.  Pam will try to obtain volunteers for all open dates.
  • Farmer’s Market – July 28th and August 25th. Pam has three volunteers scheduled each day. At Kirsten’s suggestion, Pam will have NCAS membership applications available at the market.
  • This year’s ACOW will take place on October 13, 2018 at the Brightwater Center, Woodinville, WA
  • Update on Harrison Reserve Grant – Unfortunately, we did not receive either the Cornell or the Audubon grants for this project. Steven contacted Audubon for feedback about our submission.  The response was that we had a strong proposal.  They suggested that in future grant proposals, we try to include strategies for leveraging the use of grant monies to increase membership and involvement in our chapter.  Audubon may offer another round of grants in the fall.  A discussion followed about the possibility of organizing a fundraising campaign among members to raise money for a specific aspect of the Harrison Reserve project, such as a bird blind or classroom birding kit.  It was also suggested that our chapter could offer matching donations for the campaign from bequests to the Education fund. Steven proposed continuing our discussion of a special fundraising campaign at the August board meeting.

    

  1. Committee Reports as needed
  • Education Committee: In collaboration with the Whatcom Museum’s upcoming exhibit on endangered species, Chris is in the process of identifying local artists and asking them to create bird themed ornaments for our NCAS tree that will be on display at the museum during their annual holiday tree event.  A list of 25 endangered birds will be provided to participating artists.  Eagle presentations have been scheduled in the fall at four libraries.  Associated field trips to view eagles are in the planning stage.  Pam has given eight Native Plants for Birds presentations to groups at libraries, garden clubs and nurseries and has two additional talks scheduled during August.  Deborah has established Audubon Plants for Birds – Native Plant Nursery Partnerships with seven local nurseries.  Pam has also led several plants and birds walks at state and county parks.  Birds and Brews was a huge success!
  • Conservation Committee: Local groups who oppose a proposed change in the county ordinance to allow use of ORVs on forested lands in the county have requested NCAS’s help with their petition drive to collect signatures in opposition to the proposal.  It was determined that the Board will discuss the actions NCAS might take in support of the petition at our August board meeting.  The Conservation Committee met to discuss strategies for raising awareness regarding the Important Bird Area at Semiahmoo Spit.  The Committee will consider different options including engaging with homeowner’s associations and the resort.  Seattle Audubon has received a grant to expand its monthly bird surveys to include sites in Whatcom County.  Robert, Steven and Pam participated in a conference call with Toby Ross of the Seattle Audubon and John Bower, WWU professor, and Eleanor Hines regarding the logistics of the program.  Further discussions are planned to determine how best to expand the bird surveys in Whatcom County.  John and Toby will compare the protocols of the current bird surveys in the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve area with those of the Seattle Audubon surveys to work towards a protocol that can be used for all of the surveys. 
  • Governance Committee: Sue will follow up with Nicole and Jamie and report at our August meeting.
  • Membership Committee: Owen and Kirsten will discuss strategies to increase membership, especially among young people, and they will review resources on the Audubon National website.

 

  1. Old Business
  • Web Page: Updates are needed to our current website.  Steven will remind Jamie about updates and to share a non-live version of new website with Board members.
  • National Audubon Membership List Event: This item will be moved to the August meeting agenda.

  

  1. New Business
  • Whatcom Land Trust Pickford Ad: The Whatcom Land Trust is currently showing an ad at the Pickford Theater and would like to include a photo and information about NCAS in their ad as a way of highlighting our two organizations’ partnership and cooperative efforts with the community.  The Board agreed to provide a suitable photo and/or logo, etc. to the WLT for inclusion in their ad. The deadline for the photo is August 1st.  Steven will follow up with a suitable photo.
  • Photo Release: It was suggested that we add a photo release to our field trip liability release form.
  • Possible NCAS Presence at Jane Goodall’s Presentation. Western Washington University is hosting a presentation by Jane Goodall at the Mount Baker Theatre on October 8th. It may be possible to have an NCAS table at the event. Chris will follow up.

    Programs & EventsSeptember 25:  George Divoky: Black Guillemots of Cooper Island, Whatcom MuseumOctober 6, 2 PM:  Eagle Program at South Whatcom LibraryOctober 23:  Richard Gammon: Global Climate Change: Impacts in the Pacific NW and Salish Sea, Whatcom MuseumNovember 3 at 3 pm:  Eagle Program at Deming LibraryNovember 10 at 1 pm:  Eagle Program at Blaine LibraryNovember 17 at 2 pm:  Eagle program at Ferndale LibraryNovember 27:  Fenner Yarborough:  Threatened and Endangered Wildlife in Washington State, Whatcom MuseumDecember 10:  Holiday Party, YWCADecember 16:  CBC and 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:  August 6, 2018. 7 to 9 pm Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, 1207 Ellsworth, Bellingham.