| The Board of Directors of the New York State
Ornithological Association, Inc. met at Nuthatch Hollow Nature Preserve
in Vestal on July 16, 2005. The meeting was called to order at 9:35 a.m.
Present were Tim Baird, Brenda Best, Phyllis Jones, Berna Lincoln,
Andy Mason, Kevin McGowan, Bill Ostrander, Carena Pooth, Bill Reeves,
and Bob Spahn.
Summary of Action Items:
1. Approved minutes of previous board meeting. (Item 1)
2. Began offering discounted subscription rate to BNA Online to individual
members. (Item 6)
1. Minutes of Previous Board Meeting – Brenda Best –
Tim Baird made a motion to approve the draft February Board Meeting minutes
with changes. Bill Reeves seconded. Approved unanimously.
2. President’s Report – Kevin McGowan – Dick
Sloss passed away and a letter was sent to the family.
3. Treasurer’s Report – Bill Reeves – Treasurer’s
Report dated June 30, 2005 was distributed. (See Attachment A.)
4. DEC Report – Kevin for John Ozard – Staff is working
on Bird Conservation Areas, with possible inclusion of islands in Lake
Ontario. DEC is also analyzing NEXRAD migration data for use in evaluating
wind power sites. Kevin says this is “cutting edge science”
driven by wind power needs. Results of the Bald Eagle nesting survey is
online and shows 92 pairs (up from 84), 86 breeding pairs (up by 7), with
62 successful (fewer than last year), and 110 fledged (one less than last
year).
5. Committee Reports
a. Archives – Phyllis Jones – Ongoing.
b. Atlas – Phyllis for Valerie Freer – We expect
to meet our goal of visiting all blocks in the state. Data is due to
Regional Coordinators by 8/15 and must be submitted by 9/30 for inclusion.
c. Awards – Bill Ostrander and Andy Mason – No nominations
for awards to be presented at Annual Meeting have been received to date.
No response from Charlie Rouse yet. No new certificates have been issued.
Bob Spahn will contact Shai and Manny regarding the Elliott award.
d. Conservation – Andy Mason – Letters have been
prepared regarding deer management and oil/gas exploration in state
forests. Some changes were suggested in the deer management letter,
such as checking BBS data for species mentioned, changing example species
to Least Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, and Wood Thrush, and removing
the “lead” issue and including it in a separate letter.
e. Field Trips – Tim Baird – No new coordinator
has yet been found. Tim sent a letter to all club presidents advising
that we would like to advertise locally sponsored field trips with the
stipulation that the club would be contacted for further information.
Current issue of New York Birders contains some field trips sponsored
by member clubs.
f. Finance Committee – Berna Lincoln – Budget will
be prepared for approval at the November board meeting. Advise Berna
of any expected changes in items.
g. Membership – Brenda Best – Since the April meeting,
we have had 8 new members. Currently, annual and life member total is
715. This will drop in August when unpaid renewals are removed from
the database. Two clubs have not yet paid. Tim Baird will contact RTP
Ornithological. It was recommended Bob Adamo be contacted regarding
North Fork Audubon.
h. Nominating Committee – Bill Ostrander – Report
has been published in the July New York Birders.
i. NYSARC – Kevin McGowan – No recommendation for
next opening in NYSARC yet. Gerard Phillips’ term ends this year,
but he may have already resigned. There has been no response from him.
Angus Wilson has been invited to discuss the pending guideline changes
with the Board.
j. Publications –Tim Baird and Kevin for Manny Levine
–Manny questioned the title of Bob Budliger’s book and felt
the title belonged to Bull’s; however, there is no legal argument
against using the same title. Tim advises New York Birders is
at the printer. The June issue of The Kingbird will contain the
CBC results with permission and is not yet at the printer.
k. Web site – Carena Pooth – All NYSARC individual
reports since inception (approximately 1300 reports) are online. We
will request Angus write an article regarding this for New York Birders.
6. Old Business
Annual Meetings – Plans for this year’s meeting
seem to be going well. The BCA Advisory Committee, with Andy representing
NYSOA, will be meeting that Friday morning in the same hotel. For 2006,
no date has yet been set and the college in Oneonta has been contacted.
For 2007, there is no venue yet. Brenda will discuss a possible joint
venture with the Nature Club of Central New York and the Kirkland Bird
Club. For 2008, we may possibly meet in Rochester.
New York eBird – Version 2 with more tools will soon be
out (September 1). There will be a workshop with Brian Sullivan at the
annual meeting. No official agreement has yet been signed. Bob Spahn
will contact the regional editors about constructing filters.
Birds of North America Online – We will now offer a discounted
annual subscription rate of $25 per year to all current and new individual
members of NYSOA. A special access code will be given to those who request
it; Brenda will be the contact person so that membership can be confirmed.
We will promote BNA Online in our publications, brochures, etc. and
it should be announced on our web site. BNA personnel will review our
materials. Each member club should be advised and provided with brochures,
and this can also be announced in the clubs’ newsletters. BNA
can provide us a list of subscribers who have used our code, which can
then be compared to our membership list.
Governance – There is an item in New York Birders
that this will be discussed at the Annual Meeting with clubs and individual
members.
7. New Business
Donation – We have received a donation of about 20 copies
of Bob Budliger’s book that we may use as we see fit. These were
distributed to some Board members.
Our next Board meeting will be held at Nuthatch Hollow Nature Preserve
in Vestal on November 12. Andy Mason made the motion to adjourn, which
was seconded by Bill Reeves. Approved unanimously. Meeting adjourned at
11:35 a.m.
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