Society for Conservation Biology
Central California Chapter
Bella Mia Restaurant, San Jose, CA
October 16, 2007
In attendance: Troy Rahmig, Karim Al-Khafaji, Henri Folse, Ashley Flagg, Ryan Navratil, David Zippin, David Boughton, Steve Rottenborn, Eric Abelson, Stuart Weiss, Alicia (Lisy) Torregrosa, Don Arnold
Action Items:
- Karim will submit bylaws to SCB using Eric’s Stanford address
- Ryan will post draft bylaws and meeting minutes on the blog
- David will send Karim the emails of the active and interested professional chapter members
- Tim will be asked to draft a mission statement for consideration at the November meeting
- Stu and Ryan will develop a preliminary list of groups to contact to generate interest in the chapter and attendance at the early meetings in 2008. All others are encouraged to think of additional groups, and contacts within those groups.
- All interested member should bring a check made out to SCB for the amount of $20 (professional) or $10 student to the November meeting
- Our interim Treasurer, Eric, will set up a bank account for the chapter
- Lisy, Troy and Karim will look into Suraj for the January meeting
- Karim will look into a restaurant in Palo Alto for the November meeting
Meeting called to order and introductions were conducted. There was then a review of discussion items from the last meeting. Follow up on those items include:
Chapter Name – Discussions continued about the name of the new chapter. Six votes were cast on the weblog that Ryan set up since the last meeting. After further discussion it was decided that the name would be the Central California Chapter of the Society of Conservation Biology.
Bylaws - Karim passed out the Society for Conservation Biology bylaws template. He also handed out copies of the draft Central California Chapter bylaws that he wrote up for submission. There were a few minor changes to the draft bylaws. These changes primarily dealt with the proposed officer positions and the required elements that will be covered at each meeting. Following the comments it was decided that the bylaws could be submitted. Once they are accepted by SCB then they will be posted on the web.
Officer Positions – It was determined that there should be four officer positions: Co-presidents (2), Treasurer/CFO (1), and Communications Officer/Webmaster (1). For the initial bylaws submittal Karim agreed to be listed as the interim chapter president, Eric agreed to be listed as the interim chapter treasurer, and Ryan agreed to be listed as interim communications officer. An election of new officers will be held at the first meeting in 2008. Eric also agreed that the chapter could use his Stanford address for the chapter application and the opening of a chapter bank account. That will allow the chapter to begin to collect dues. The goup agreed that it was not necessary for the local chapter to apply for non-profit status at this point. Dues and other revenue can be circulated through the parent organization of SCB and sent back to the local chapter for use on local events.
Dues – All members of the Central California Chapter need to be members of the SCB parent organization; membership in SCB parent is normally $10 (without journals). SCB is currently offering free membership to active chapter members (January 31, 2008 deadline). However, events and chapter activities will be open to non-members. In addition, dues for the Central California Chapter will be $20 for professional members and $10 for student members. All interested members were encouraged to bring a check to the November meeting. Checks should be made out to SCB but the memo line should state that the check is for Central California Chapter dues.
Programming – Steve Rottenborn talked about several ideas for speakers during meetings in 2008. It was decided that Stuart Weiss would discuss the Upland Habitat Goals Project as the initial speaker for the Central California Chapter during the January meeting. Other concrete speakers include David Zippin (Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan) and Steve Rottenborn (South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Program). Steve will have a list of proposed speakers at the November meeting.
Meeting Venues – Troy and Karim discussed the different venues available on the Stanford Campus. It was pointed out that most of the venues were expensive and required in house catering. The group decided to attempt to find and use restaurants or other facilities that have reasonable prices for their facilities, provided dinner is purchased by attendees. Lisy mentioned Suraj (www.surajrestaurant.com) in Redwood City. Suraj has a banquet room that can be used for free provided dinner is purchased. Lisy said she would follow up and get back to Troy and Karim. It was discussed that Jasper Ridge would be a good place to have a meeting, but that it would work best in the spring or summer when it stays light later.
Field Trips – David Zippin handed out a list of field trip opportunities. There was much discussion about the proposed list and several new ideas were added. The group decided on the following field trips for 2008:
February: Blue Oak Ranch, a new UC Reserve in northeast Santa Clara County by Dr. Mike Hamilton
April: Coyote Ridge serpentine grassland tour by Dr. Stuart Weiss
June: Henry Coe State Park trip to inspect the recovery from the 2007 fires (tour leader: Dr. Grey Hayes?)
August: Tour of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in Moss Landing by Dr. Steve Webster (tentative)
October: Farallon Islands cruise and tour
December: View elephant seals at Año Nuevo State Reserve on the coast.
The group also discussed agenda topics for the Nov. 7 meeting:
- Plan agenda for January kick-off meeting
- Review list of outreach targets for the next two months and assign responsibility for outreach to each group
- Review draft mission statement
- Finalize 2008 program
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