Draft Minutes
Virginia Audubon Council
July 27, 2002

DGIF Building, Richmond, Virginia

The first part of the meeting was dedicated to a Grassroots Advocacy Workshop presented by NAS staff members Christian Berry and Emily Byron.

Lack of quorum prevented a regular VAC council. The minutes of the April meeting were read and approved. There was no Treasurer’s report available. Andy Tate, Vice President, then held an informal session to hear reports on the following issues:

Margaret O’Bryan reported on the Shirley Plantation fund raiser which she deemed very successful. John Flicker, Glenn Olson, Thomas Urquhart and Dave Pardoe attended. Governor Warner’s Chief of Staff also attended. A total of about 60 guests showed up, including some “high rollers”. While no dollars were raised at the event, Anheuser-Busch did fund the event and Shirley Plantation provided the facility for free.

As a follow-up, we need to organize smaller gatherings of people with substantial resources. Urquhart and Olson are willing to attend.

Next, Eileen Rowan reported on Important Bird Area activities. She described the IBA conference in California, a three-day event which included representatives from 30 U.S. programs and 6 Latin American/Caribbean programs. The IBA conference took place in conjunction with the Partners in Flight conference. At the PIF Conference, John Fitzpatrick of Cornell Labs called for a bird conservation program for the next 100 years with National Audubon in the lead. Eileen also said that Brian Watts, William and Mary College, presented a paper on managing lands for birds.

Eileen reported on her IBA work. Once funding/contractual issues are settled her immediate goal is to put together a Technical Committee and identify 2 or 3 high-priority bird areas. Criteria for an IBA would include concentration of endangered birds, colonies of birds, or a significant percent of the population. The program will determine which sites meet criteria through a combination of mass mailings soliciting input and personal interviews.

EL Carlyle reported that he had talked to Lynn Tennefoss about the Rappahanock Chapter and that chances of reactivating that Chapter were small. Apparently, monies belonging to the Chapter were to be transferred to the Northern Neck chapter.

Consideration of changes to the Strategic Plan was tabled until next meeting due to the lack of a quorum. Blandy Farm was selected as the place for the next meeting, either on the 26^th or 19^th of October, depending on Tom Urquhart’s schedule. The informal meeting ended at 1:45.

Attendance: The following were present for the workshop but may not have remained for the afternoon meeting.

Cape Henry

Andy Tate

Richmond

Sue Ridd

Jerry Uhlman

John Coe

Carolyn Pitts

Bruce Bass

Brian Moores

Barbara Williamson

Margaret O’Bryan

Ellen Ackerman

Pam Dummitt

Jerry Wyatt

John Roberts

Henry Riely

Fairfax Audubon

Manny Barrera

Joe Ferris

Virginia Beach Audubon Society

E.L. Carlyle

Sue Carlyle

Debbie Schroeder

Kurt Schroeder

Respectfully submitted,

Manny Barrera
Secretary

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