| The Board of Directors of the New York State Ornithological
Association, Inc. met at Nuthatch Hollow in Vestal on March 3, 2007. The
meeting was called to order at 9:39 a.m.
Present were Brenda Best, John Confer, Valerie Freer, Jane
Graves, Gail Kirch, Berna Lincoln, Andy Mason, Bill
Ostrander, Carena Pooth, Bill Reeves and Kathy Schneider. Also
present was guest Tom Salo, from Delaware-Otsego Audubon.
Summary of Action Items:
- Approved 2006 Annual Meeting minutes with changes. (Item 1)
- Approved revised guidelines for NYSARC (Item 4e)
- Approved expenditure for digital archiving of NYSARC files and purchase
of software (Item 4e)
- Approved re-appointment of Shai Mitra to NYSARC (Item 4e)
- Agreed to write letters of support for Golden Eagle and Golden-winged
Warbler State Wildlife Grant Requests (New Business)
1. Minutes – Brenda Best
Minutes from the November 18, 2006 meeting were reviewed and revised. Brenda
will incorporate the changes and re-present the minutes at the next meeting.
Minutes from the 2006 Annual Meeting were reviewed. Bill Reeves
made a motion to accept the minutes with changes; seconded by Jane Graves. Approved
unanimously. These minutes must be printed in an issue of The
Kingbird that will be published before this year’s Annual
Meeting.
2. President’s Report – Andy Mason
Andy reports that he has responded to several “website contacts” and
written to members renewing at the Kingbird Club level.
3. Treasurer’s Report – Bill
Reeves
Treasurer’s Report dated December 31, 2006 was distributed (Attachment
A). Bill pointed out that, although a deficit had been budgeted,
we actually had a surplus due to only three issues of The Kingbird being
printed in 2006. Bill also brought to our attention the increase
in insurance cost in 2006, and stated that the cost is even higher in
2007. Our bond that matured on January 31, 2007 has been rolled
over to another at $100,000 at 5.03% interest payable every six months. This
bond will mature January 31, 2009.
4. Committee Reports
a. Finance – Berna Lincoln – No activity.
b. Archives – No report.
c. Membership –Brenda Best – Current
individual memberships stand at 585 with 55 life members. New life
member is Shai Mitra. Dues notices were sent to 432 members in
January; 128 remain unpaid to date. Nine clubs have not yet renewed,
and two subscriptions remain unpaid. Second notices will be sent
soon.
d. Nominating– Gail Kirch – Suggestions
have been made to the committee, chaired by Bill Lee. Directors
whose terms are expiring this year are Phyllis Jones, Berna Lincoln,
and Bob Mauceli. Since Phyllis had served a partial term prior
to election to a full term, question was raised whether she is eligible
to serve another full term. At this time, we advise the Nominating Committee
that Phyllis is not eligible. This issue will be discussed at a
future meeting.
e. NYSARC – Revised guidelines
were presented and additional revisions were made. Motion was
made to approve the guidelines with changes was made by Jane Graves and
seconded by Kathy Schneider. Motion was approved unanimously. The
final document will state “Approved by the Board on March 3, 2007” and
will be distributed to the members of NYSARC.
Jeanne Skelley has received price quotes for archiving NYSARC records
ranging from $1500 to $5600. She feels the best proposal comes
from Integrated Filing Systems in Fairport at a price of $2,150 with
work to be completed in two months. Hard copies will be made into pdf
documents with photos, which can then be burned to a CD and given to
NYSARC members. Andy will obtain a copy of the written quote from Jeanne. At
this time, Jeanne proposes delivering one box for processing as a trial. This
is an unbudgeted expense, but would not come out of the general operating
fund. Instead the General Memorial Fund would be used. Kathy
Schneider made a motion to approve the expense not to exceed $2,500 to
hire Integrated Filing Systems to scan and produce pdf files. Seconded
by Bill Ostrander. Motion passed unanimously. Future expense
will be incurred, probably annually, when new NYSARC files are processed. Berna
Lincoln made a motion that the cost of archiving be charged to the General
Memorial Fund and that the cost of purchasing Adobe Acrobat for Jeanne
Skelley be charged to NYSARC expense account in the General Operating
Fund. Seconded by Bill Ostrander. Approved unanimously.
Andy has re-appointed Shai Mitra to another term on NYSARC ending December
31, 2009. Motion to approve the appointment was made by Berna Lincoln
and seconded by Jane Graves. Approved unanimously.
f. Publications – No report
from Tim regarding New York Birders. Shai has advised
Andy that the September 2006 issue will be out soon; the December 2006
issue is near going for layout; the March 2007 issue is laid out and
will be done on Long Island. However, covers have been printed
at American Printing for 2007. Concern was expressed that we are six
months behind on The Kingbird. Several members have inquired
about their lack of issues, new members are receiving “older” publications,
and institutional subscribers routinely inquire when they will receive
their missing issues. It is felt that we are not serving our membership
very well. Andy will discuss this with Shai to see what can be
done to get The Kingbird back on schedule.
A new Checklist of the Birds of New York State is needed, and
Barbara Butler will help out. Since the checklist is set up and
just needs to be revised, the actual file will be obtained and sent to
Barbara. Berna offered to proofread. Brenda has a backorder
of over 130 checklists at this time.
g. Atlas – Valerie Freer – Species
accounts need to be reviewed and revised which is time-consuming. This
is delaying getting the book to the publisher. The contract developed
by DEC, Cornell University, and Cornell University Press (CUP) is being
reviewed by state attorneys, which has been and continues to be a lengthy
process. CUP has advised they can get the publication out next
spring if they have the manuscript by the end of May. Kim Corwin
will work another year after submission. Kathy advises that the
intermediary between DEC and the comptroller’s office should start
making weekly contact now. Valerie reported a new chart
of expected dates (egg dates, unfledged young, fledglings, etc.) has
been developed and will be included in the book. Initial printing
will be 4,000 copies and anticipated price will be $50.
h. Website – Carena Pooth – Regular
maintenance has taken place. Carena states she is not the creative
writer for the New York eBird front page and that the articles are getting
old. If you have an item of interest, it should be relayed to Carena.
i. Awards – Bill Ostrander – Certificates
of Appreciation will be sent to Len DeFrancisco for his work on wind
power, to Gail Seamans for stepping up to host our next Annual Meeting,
and to Norm Klein for hosting a Rufous Hummingbird. Bill advises
a letter regarding the Stoner Award will be issued soon.
j. Conservation – John Confer – John
advises the Wind Power committee is working. Andy presented a letter
written by Audubon New York regarding a proposed biofuel facility at
the former Seneca Army Depot and asked if we should also write a letter. John
Confer will draft a letter and send it out for review.
5. DEC – John Ozard sent a written report with updates since
last September. DEC is currently soliciting proposals for a total
of $2.9 million in State Wildlife Grant funds, and for the first time,
non-DEC staff is eligible to apply. DEC and USDA Wildlife Services
have been sampling mostly waterfowl, gulls, and shorebirds for highly
pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which through all samples to date
(810 by USDA and 795 by DEC) has not been detected. Wintering Short-eared
Owls have been monitored, with five radio-tagged to date. These
are being tracked weekly to delineate winter home ranges, activity patterns,
and dispersal dates, as well as determine numbers through the winter. More
recommended Bird Conservation Areas are being developed. At existing
sites, monitoring programs, habitat restoration work, and installation
of interpretive kiosks is continuing.
OLD BUSINESS
New York eBird – Bob Spahn continues to work with Cornell
Lab of Ornithology, in particular on the Kingbird Regional layer. He
will be meeting with them regarding some problems he sees.
Whip-poor-will Monitoring – Matt Medler will be looking
for volunteers. There should be an article regarding this in the
next New York Birders.
Biodiversity Research Institute grant – Kathy Schneider
states these grants fall into categories and are scored with points. They
are funded annually, proposals are to be submitted by December of each
year, and funding occurs hen the state budget is passed. The grant
would need a writer and an administrator, and funding must be tracked. Putting
issues of The Kingbird online and making them searchable might
be worthy of submitting a grant request, and software would be needed
to accomplish this.
Annual Meetings – This year’s Annual Meeting will
be held October 5-7 in Batavia. Gail Seamans advises speakers have
been lined up and work is progressing. Information needs to be
put into the April New York Birders.
The 2008 Annual Meeting will be held in Rochester, and we have no host
yet for 2009.
NEW BUSINESS
Golden Eagle Project – Tom Salo, of Delaware-Otsego Audubon
and Franklin Mountain Hawkwatch, was introduced. A grant request
entitled Mitigating the Effects of Development of Wind Power on Golden
Eagles in New York State is in process to apply for a State Wildlife
Grant. Tom explained the project and asked for NYSOA sponsorship. He
stated we would have no responsibility for accounting or research. It
was felt that since we are not actually participating, we should only
write a letter of support. Jane Graves made a motion to write a
letter of support, seconded by Brenda Best. Motion passed with
9 ayes, 0 nays, and 1 abstention.
Golden-winged Warbler Project – John Confer spoke of the
Golden-winged Warbler project and his grant request. He also requested
a letter of support. Kathy Schneider made a motion to provide this
letter, seconded by Carena Pooth. Motion passed unanimously.
Future board meetings will be held on June 2 and August 4 at Nuthatch
Hollow.
Berna Lincoln made a motion to adjourn, which was seconded by Bill Reeves. Approved
unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 2:33 p.m. |
