WDAFS Archives, Reports and Minutes

Western Division American Fisheries Society
3^rd Annual Executive Committee Retreat
November 16^th and 17^th, Salt Lake City, Utah

Don MacDonald, President WDAFS
Tom McMahon, President-Elect WDAFS
Lynn Starnes, Vice-President WDAFS
Eric Knudsen, Past-President WDAFS
Monica Hiner, Secretary/Treasurer WDAFS
Steve Elle, President Idaho Chapter
John Alves, President Colorado-Wyoming Chapter
Dave Zafft, Vice-President Colorado-Wyoming Chapter and Riparian Committee
Mark Brouder, President Arizona-New Mexico Chapter
Chuck Knutson, California-Nevada Chapter
Eric Wagner, President-Elect Bonneville Chapter
Tom Pettengill, Vice-President Bonneville Chapter
Mary Buckman, President Oregon Chapter
George Guillen, Past President Humboldt Chapter
Keith Wolf, President North Pacific International Chapter
Carol Kerkvliet, President Alaska Chapter
Mary Whalen, Newsletter and Electronic Communication Committee Chair

Establishment of Quorum: A quorum was present with nine Chapters (Colorado-Wyoming, California-Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Humboldt, Bonneville, Arizona-New Mexico, NPIC, Alaska) represented and all Western Division Officers present.

Program of Work, Don MacDonald: The program of work for the Division for this year focuses on three key areas: promoting aquatic stewardship; providing leadership in information transfer and outreach; and providing excellent member services.

In order to promote aquatic stewardship, several strategies have been developed. The Division will focus on enhancing dialogue and providing leadership on key issues that are currently influencing fisheries sustainability. We will also work to build and maintain partnerships with key participants in the aquatic management process. In working towards this goal, the Division is developing a summary for the 2002 annual meeting and working closely with the NPIC Chapter to develop sub-basin planning workshops. The Division will also work to support other aquatic stewardship initiatives by convening annually at the retreat to identify emerging issues and also supporting aquatic stewardship projects through the grants funding program.

The Division will also work to provide excellent member services, since the strength of the WDAFS is in its members. Students are one of the principal keys within the Division, and are supported through the Eugene Maughan and William Trachtenburg (funded by the Sustainable Fisheries Foundation) memorial scholarships. Several ways to increase and promote membership were discussed included having each incoming chapter president automatically serve on the Division's Membership Committee; creating a mentorship program; soliciting nominations from each Chapter president for one “President's Gift Membership”; and increasing the visibility of the benefits of AFS membership to potential members. We will also work to recruit marine professionals and international members (mainly Canadian and Mexican) at the upcoming 2003 annual meeting.

Another key strategy for the Division is to enhance access to information and facilitate outreach. Efforts will be focused our annual meetings, our newsletter, website, and continuing education courses. We will also work to provide leadership training workshops and promote publications from special committees.

An itemized worksheet characterizing actual and budgeted expenses for FY 2002 was distributed to the group. At the mid-year retreat in December of 2001, our budget showed that the Division at the risk of being 13K in the red at the end of the fiscal year. Fortunately, our financial situation was turned around by a mix of superb efforts in fundraising, which raised over $19K for the Division, and Don negotiating the cost of our Annual Business and Executive Committee meetings so that they were blanketed into the overall cost of the meeting. By increasing our fundraising and decreasing meeting-related costs, the Division actually had a net profit of $15,583.26.

An itemized worksheet characterizing YTD actual and budgeted expenses for FY 2003 was also distributed to the group. The group changed several of the budgeted line items for both income and expenses. Under income, the group decreased the income from the 2003 annual meeting from $10,000 to $5,010 due to projections given by Tom. Special donations were also decreased to $0 from $10,000 since all of the fundraising is built into the 2003 annual meeting budget. Under expenses, we zeroed out annual meeting expenses for photocopying, supplies, travel for invited guests, and meeting seed money. This decreases our total annual meeting expenses from $4500 to $500. We also decreased projected expenses for the retreat from $4,400 to $3,100. Under miscellaneous expenses, projected expenses for ballots were decreased from $700 to $0 since this expense is covered under general tributary expenses. Under student support, we changed projected expenses for student registration fees from $150 to $0. With these changes, the budget for the division is expected to be in the red for FY 2003 unless we decrease costs or increase fundraising efforts.

Account Balances are as follows: Checking $23,553.67; Savings $17,348.37; 6-month CD $13,127.54 (matures 3/21/03); Charles Schwab Grants Funding Account $41,420.19. In addition, the account balance for the Cutthroat Documentary is $40,490.33. Contributors to date include the State of Montana (USFS) $24,500; National Park Service $2,000; State of Montana $4,950; State of Utah $5,000; Montana Chapter AFS $2,000; and the Idaho and Bonneville Chapters of AFS have both contributed $1,000 each.

Copies of the September 23^rd and October 28^th WD Executive Committee Teleconference Meeting minutes and the annual Executive Committee Meeting minutes (April 28^th) were distributed among the attendants for review. Steve Elle motioned that we approve the September notes, and Tom McMahon seconded. A unanimous vote followed. Mary Buckman motioned that we accept the October meeting minutes, Steve Elle seconded, and a unanimous vote followed. Tom McMahon motioned that we approve the annual Executive Meeting minutes from the annual meeting on April 28^th, and Mary Buckman seconded the motion. There was a brief discussion regarding the section about Coal Bed Methane, and Eric Knudsen made electronic changes to the notes. The minutes were unanimously approved as amended (Steve Elle motioned, Mary Buckman seconded).

Tom distributed copies of the proposed 2003 annual meeting budget. There was much discussion about the budget, and Eric proposed that we approve the budget as is and focus on increasing fundraising efforts since we are only anticipating raising $20K for the meeting. Keith Wolf also suggested that we focus on increasing the number of registrants. Don suggested that we revisit the amount of money currently projected being spent on socials and the amount of alcoholic beverages being provided at the socials. Tom addressed these concerns and stated that he would discuss with Dave Manning potential savings by decreasing the number of beverages provided at each of the socials. Tom is hoping that someone (potentially NMFS?) will sponsor the Scripps Admission Charge for the Wednesday evening social. The group also discussed registration fees and decided to decrease the member late fee from $365 to $335, and decrease the non-member regular fee from $365 to $325 and the non-member late fee from $465 to $395. The budget was approved with the stipulation that the changes discussed would be made and that Tom would discuss the alcoholic beverages concerns with Dave Manning and determine how much money could be saved by decreasing the total beverages provided by the Division during each social.

The Alaska Chapter had their annual meeting in October, and it was much larger than anticipated, with approximately 370 people attending. On the first day of the meeting, three continuing education classes were held. Ira Newbreast and Adelheide Herman from the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society gave presentations and would like to continue a partnership with the Division.

The Oregon Chapter has been working on planning their upcoming annual meeting, which has the theme “Fisheries Science in Decision Making: How is it Used?” The Chapter is also trying to stay involved with current legislation (they had a legislative liaison until last year).

Members of the NPIC Executive Committee are also busy focusing on planning their annual meeting, which will focus on environmental regulations and their results on effective resource management. There will also be a Salmon Summit held between November 21^st-23^rd in Lake Chelan, which will be hosted by the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery group. Overall, participation within the Chapter has decreased, but they are trying to start a new student subunit. Keith Wolf is the President and John Monahan is the Vice President.

The Chapter had their annual meeting this past year in Lake Tahoe, with approximately 300 people attending. The theme was human impacts (population growth, global warming, etc.). The Chapter made approximately $9,000 from the meeting. The Chapter has also been active in public outreach—they have a booth at the American River every year and also are looking to participate in the California State Fair. They have developed a brochure to help fundraising. Current issues being addressed by the Chapter include expanding the Conservation Committee, updating the website, and reviewing the strategic plan.

The Idaho and Bonneville Chapters had a joint meeting at the end of February, which included a one-day seminar on the geology and fish distribution in the “desert sink” in Southern Idaho. The Chapter is currently trying to endow an undergraduate scholarship fund—they set aside 1/3 of the $10K this year. They already have an established graduate student scholarship program. The Chapter is working on the 2^nd Edition of the Fishes of Idaho book. Next year's annual meeting will be held during the first week in February, and they are planning a continuing education course before the meeting that will encompass technical manuscript preparation.

Goals of the Colorado-Wyoming Chapter include increasing membership and membership participation. The Chapter is also looking at smaller colleges with biology programs to involve students in AFS. The endowment funds for scholarships at Colorado State and University of Wyoming are approximately $12K short, and the chapter is accepting donations on the web. They are in the process of developing a joint meeting with Bonneville that will be held March 4-6^th in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Chapter is also concerned about the development of coal bed methane mining and submitted comments to the BLM's recent EIS.

Basically, the Chapter has been in “hibernation” since the 2001 Annual Meeting in Phoenix. They are not looking back, though! They are currently working on adopting a strategic plan and annual work plan that will energize the Chapter. They are also going to try and jumpstart an EXCOM retreat over the next year.

The Bonneville Chapter has been working with Utah State University to increase student membership and now has an official student subunit. The subunit has weekly seminar speakers and has completed an aquatic education display. Efforts within the Bonneville Chapter are now focused on the upcoming 2003 and 2004 annual meetings.

The Humboldt Chapter has been very energized lately in focusing efforts to address Klamath Basin water issues. In late September/early October, a fish kill in the lower basin killed over 30,000 adult salmonids, including chinook, steelhead, and ESA Listed coho. One green sturgeon mortality was also observed. The Chapter has made recommendations (Dr. David Hankin, HSU, and Mike Belchik, Yurok Tribe) to the NRC for people to serve on their in-house review committee. They are currently working on organizing an annual meeting, to be held in March, and a symposium on the Klamath River fish kill.

Room rates at the Hyatt Islandia will be $99/room (dbl. occupancy). The master schedule has been worked out, and the planning group is holding a retreat in January at the Hyatt. There has been a great response with the proposed symposia and the sessions have filled the Hyatt and are now overflowing into the nearby Marina Village. Between 16-17 symposia were submitted by November 1^st. All abstracts will be due January 17^th. Sportfishing trips (1/2 and whole day) will be offered during the meeting dates as part of the activities.

Eric sent a document to everyone detailing the strategy for involving Mexican professionals. Eric discussed his travels to La Paz last year and the excitement it generated among Mexican Fisheries professionals. There will be travel grants available to Mexican fisheries professionals and students to promote their involvement in the upcoming annual meeting. An international welcoming social will also be part of the itinerary. One plenary speaker during the meeting will be from Mexico, and there will also be a symposium centering on Mexican fisheries issues. A “conclave” will also be held at the meeting during which time Mexican professionals will meet with AFS leaders to discuss starting their own Chapter or Division.

In short, more effort needs to be put into fundraising for the upcoming annual meeting. Don and Eric volunteered to head up efforts and will coordinate with Jim Steele and Chuck Knutson.

We reviewed eight grants totaling approximately $25K. Grants were submitted from the Whirling Disease Foundation, Hutton Jr. Biology Program, Michael Fraidenburg, Yaak Valley Forest Council, WDFW Habitat Program, World Fisheries Congress, Idaho Chapter AFS, and International Fisheries Section of AFS. After much discussion about the total amount the Division would fund during this funding cycle, it was decided that of the $15K excess from the 2002 budget, $5K would go directly into the endowment fund (Charles Schwab) and $2500 would be added to this year's grants funding, creating a total of $7500 for the Division to award during FY 2003. The remaining $7500 in “surplus” from FY 2002 will be held as a reserve for the 2003 annual budget contingency, since the overall budget may be in the red at the end of the fiscal year depending on the outcome of the annual meeting. The Executive Committee unanimously approved this decision.

The group decided that we would fund the Idaho Chapter, Hutton Jr. Biology Program, World Fisheries Congress, and Michael Fraidenburn (Lessons Learned book) projects. Tom proposed that we grant $2K to the Idaho Chapter, $2K to the Hutton Jr. Biology Program, $2500 to the WFC, and put the additional $1,000 into the endowment fund. Monica proposed that we fund $1,000 to the Fraidenberg book. Chuck proposed that we grant $2K to Idaho, $2K to the Hutton Program, and $5000 to the WFC ($3500 funded this cycle and $1500 funded during the next grant cycle). Don made a friendly amendment: $2K to the Idaho Chapter, $1K to the Hutton Jr. Biology Program, $5K to the WFC (with $3500 funded this cycle and $1500 during next fiscal year), and $1K to the Fraidenberg book project. Tom accepted the amendment and the appropriations of grants funding was unanimously approved.

The deadline for nominations (5 awards routinely given by Division) is January 31^st. Chapters also need to decide if they want to compete for the Chapter of the Year.

Eric has received some nominations for Vice President, with Joe Margraf being one of them. He is also soliciting nominations for Nominating Representative (for Parent Society) and Secretary/Treasurer. Nominations are due before the next Tributary is published in early February.

This committee needs members, and discussion occurred earlier in the morning about requesting annual nominations from each Chapter.

The committee is currently focused on evaluating the rule from USFWS regarding critical flow for Bull Trout.

Bob Wunderlich would like to step down as Chair of the Committee. Efforts need to be focused on appointing a new Chair and also Committee members.

Coal bed methane mining has been going on in Colorado for approximately 10 years. The process involves mining methane that is trapped in coal beds by using water to pump it out. In Colorado, they are required to reinject the water after it is pumped out. Currently, proposals in the Powder River Basin (Montana and Wyoming) are not reinjecting the water but are pumping it into a lake or allowing it to flow into the nearest stream. The BLM did a draft EIS for Montana and Wyoming, and the Montana and Colorado-Wyoming Chapters of AFS provided comments. The current draft EIS does not list alternatives to the proposed action. The majority of the drilling is currently on private land against the wishes of the landowners (who don't own the mineral rights).

Eric proposed that this issue be elevated to the Environmental Concerns Committee. Don proposed that those who know the most about this issue write a one-page recommendation on what actions the Division should take. Next, Terms of Reference will be developed and a sub-committee will be appointed.

A letter that was developed by Mike Belchik for the Humboldt Chapter (addressed to Gale Norton) was distributed through the group. Monica will check with the president of the Chapter (Ethan Bell) to determine whether the letter was sent. George Guillen, who is the chair of the sub-committee, gave a brief description of the issue. Several committee members have been identified and will meet via teleconferences in the future.

Mary has been doing a great job with the newsletter and will be working on the upcoming issue, which submissions are due by January 15^th. Pictures are welcome, and the next newsletter will include information about the upcoming annual meeting in April and ballots.

Mary has been busy reorganizing the format and contents of the website to make it more user-friendly. The software being used for the current website is FrontPage, but Mary is looking towards newer software that is more robust and easier to use (DreamWeaver). USGS is currently donating the use of this software and Mary has developed templates for some of the pages. She can create a new website on the USGS page so that the Executive Committee can review it and make adjustments before implementing. Mary is also checking into the cost of using a different server instead of the Parent Society webpage, since this page seems to have problems and is costly to buy space from.

Two awards were given out in Spokane and the committee began soliciting for 2002/2003 award nominations in the October Tributary. There was also talk about including other agencies, since these awards are exclusively for BLM and USFS. Another option is to add an award for other agencies. Dave is going to talk to people from the BLM and USFS about restructuring the awards. In addition to the awards nominations, Dave has been working on developing the history of the committee and also a procedures manual.

This committee was formed to solicit funding to support the endowment of the WD Grants fund and make recommendations to the WDAFS Executive Committee. Currently, we have invested $50K into an endowment fund with a goal of $100K. We need to look at options for raising the additional funds. Bill and Ken (Hashagen) were working on a draft letter to solicit donations. Another option is to auction or raffle off Commissioner's elk tags from Wyoming to raise funds.

There has been a lot of interest from members about serving on this committee. There was much discussion about how the project should be formatted, which species to include, how to organize distribution, and whether to include gray literature and nongame native species. The committee is also working to identify potential funding sources. Each Chapter was encouraged to look through the list of committee members and ensure their nominees were on the committee, and if they had not nominated anyone they were encouraged to do so. The committee will try and meet in conjunction with the 2003 annual meeting in San Diego.

Jim Steele has already made some potential funding sources via letter. Don and Eric will work to pick up the pace and serve as leaders for fundraising efforts, and will sign people up for contacting funding sources identified on our list.

The 2004 Annual Meeting will be held here at the Little America Hotel. A tentative general meeting schedule was distributed to the group. There was some discussion as whether to include the Banquet scheduled for Wednesday, March 3^rd, since the Parent Society has done away with banquets. Don expressed his concerns with the flexibility of Little America towards our needs, since they really don't seem to be trying to accommodate our group.

This meeting will be held at the Eagen Center, with the plenary session in the Performing Arts Center. The Hilton will serve as the headquarters hotel. The meeting will last four days—Monday through Thursday (September 12^th - 16^th) and will include a Western Division business breakfast and socials every night. Sessions will be limited to ten.

This is a big issue of concern for agencies that receive funding through the Sportfish Restoration Program. The boating industry is requesting more money that comes into the fund, which would decrease the amount available to fisheries programs. Distribution of the fund may switch to a percentage rate instead of a fixed rate since the fund keeps growing. If the boating industry succeeds in increasing their percent profits, California would lose approximately 2 million dollars per year in funding. Chuck has discussed this issue with Gus and sent him a work-up of the impacts that California will face. Currently, the boating industry is getting ready to lobby the new Congress. Don suggested that the Division prepare a letter to the President of the Parent Society (with a cc to Gus) discussing the importance of this issue and that the Parent Society needs to be lobbying it. Chuck will draft the letter and send it to Don.