Minutes of the 2011 Board of Directors Meetings
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Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of Tulsa Audubon Society January 7, 2011 Members Present: John Kennington, President; Gail Storey, Vice President; Mary Jackson, Treasurer, Martin Brown, Cheryl Kilpatrick, Secretary, Kathy McAnally, Newsletter Editor, Bob Germany The monthly meeting of the Tulsa Audubon Society Board of Directors was called to order by President John Kennington. Minutes of the December 7, 2010 meeting were approved. Board members approved the December, 2010 treasurer’s report. Oklahoma Audubon Council a. Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival: Planning and organization for the 3rd Annual Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival is continuing. The Festival registration form is now on-line and inquiries are coming in. The first registration has already been received. Merlin Little Thunder is completing a painting for the festival and will be the festival artist. He will also offer a workshop during the festival. Bill Caire and Gloria Caudell will attend the festival although the bat caves are currently closed; thus, there will be no tours of the caves this year. Field trips will include a trip to the Salt Plains rather than the Four Canyons area. There will be a Harper County tour with 3 buses taking participants to the designated areas. Other field trips and activities include the Selman Living Lab, prairie and bat cave areas. The next OAC meeting is scheduled for January 29, 2011 in Stillwater. b. Important Bird Areas: No new funds for the IBA program have been designated. Eric Beck is no longer employed in that position; however, Martin Brown will talk with Eric about what Eric might be able to continue doing on a project by project basis with reimbursement per project. OLD BUSINESS: 1. TAS 75th Anniversary Events Several additional checks have been received to help support the anniversary celebration. Thank you notes have been sent to those donors. 2. Together Green: Final paperwork for the 2009/2010 Together Green projects has been filed. TAS has not received the final funds for the 2009/2010 period, and no funds for 2010/2011 period have been received as of this date. Project Date Status 1. Ray Harral Nature Center: Native Plants, Bluebirds November 6, 2010 Completed 2. Oxley Nature Center: Habitat Improvement December 11, 2010 Completed 3. Redbud Valley: Habitat Improvement February 12, 2011 4. Lesser Prairie Chicken Protection: Fence Marking April 16 – 17, 2011 5. Habitat Garden Tour May 21 -22, 2011 3. Audubon Adventures: A new coordinator for this program is still being sought. 4. Ghost Bird Screening: Screening is scheduled for Sunday, January 9, 2010 at the Hardesty Regional Library. 5. Scholarship Updates: Cameron Cross is the recipient of the youth scholarship. Cheryl Kilpatrick will receive the adult leadership scholarship. 6. Borders Offer: There has been no response from any attempt to work with Borders for a fund-raiser to benefit TAS. Borders initially approached President John Kennington about the possibility but has not responded to any expression of interest or attempts to schedule a time. 7. Owl Pellet Class: Todd Humphrey, TAS Board member and developer of the Jenks ornithology class has expressed interest in talking with the individual in possession of the owl pellets. He will make arrangements for a class presentation or workshop for the ornithology classes. NEW BUSINESS 1. Garden Center Information Fair: Saturday February 9, 2011 Board members voted not to participate in the fair this year. 2. Bird Feeding Talk with John Kennington: Thursday, January 13, 2011 The Tulsa Garden Center has asked that a TAS member provide a talk on bird feeding basics. President John Kennington will give that talk. 3. Pianalto Bench: Details have been worked out with Oxley Nature Center to site the bench at Oxley by the pond that can be seen from the Center’s classroom. A rededication ceremony will be held in the spring. 4. Newsletter Discussion: Kathy McAnally, current newsletter editor, brought up the possibility of “going green” with the newsletter. The newsletter could be published on-line with individuals who still want a paper copy choosing to “opt-in” to receive a paper newsletter copy. No decision was reached with respect to this possibility. Meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. The next board meeting will be held March 1, 2011 at 7 p.m. at the Zarrow Library 2224 W. 51st Street. Respectfully submitted, Cheryl Kilpatrick, Secretary
Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of Board meeting was cancelled due to weather conditions
Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of Members Present: John Kennington, President; Gail Storey, Vice President; Mary Jackson, Treasurer, Cheryl Kilpatrick, Secretary, Kathy McAnally, Newsletter Editor, Bob Germany, Todd Humphrey, Terry Mitchell The monthly meeting of the Tulsa Audubon Society Board of Directors was called to order by President John Kennington. Minutes of the January 4, 2011 meeting were approved. The February 3, 2011 board meeting was cancelled due to weather conditions. Board members approved the January, 2011 and February, 2011 treasurer’s reports. Oklahoma Audubon Council a. Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival: Planning and organization for the 3rd Annual Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival is continuing. The Festival registration form is now on-line; 21 registrations from 9 states and British Columbia have been received thus far. The City of Woodward has sent out numerous brochures advertising the festival. The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition has awarded a $1200 grant that will cover most of the expenses for Merlin Little Thunder’s painting for the festival. John Kennington will post a picture of the completed painting on Facebook for publicity. Board members discussed potential singers for the cookout and star gazing at the Selman Living Lab. Monty Harper is one possibility. Sue Selman also has a recommendation for a Native American singer. Suggestions for the Friday night reception were discussed. One possibility discussed was soliciting a local winery to provide libations. The Oklahoma Tourism Department paid for the Friday night refreshments last year. J. B.’s Steakhouse will cater the Saturday night dinner. The Bill Thompson workshop on bird identification will be presented Saturday afternoon. As previously noted, Bill Caire and Gloria Caudell will attend the festival although the bat caves are currently closed, and there will be no tours of the caves this year. Field trips will include a trip to the Salt Plains rather than the Four Canyons area. There will be a Harper County tour with 3 buses taking participants to the designated areas. Other field trips and activities include the Selman Living Lab, prairie and bat cave areas. b. Important Bird Areas: No new information regarding the IBA program was available for this meeting. Eric Beck is planning on continuing to work, especially in finding new areas for inclusion in the IBA. At the current time, Salt Plains, Wichita Mountains, and Selman Ranch have attained global status as Important Bird Areas. c. Future Direction for OAC: Board members discussed some of the ideas that grew out of the January 29, 2011 OAC meeting in Stillwater. OAC is considering the possibility of requesting grant money from the Wildlife Department. OAC attendees discussed approaching Audubon members around the state to make donations as a way of enhancing the likelihood of receiving an OWD grant. In the past, there were chapter assessments/member for the OAC; however, smaller chapters have not been supportive of this assessment. The need to communicate more with individual chapters was addressed. The IBA is the primary activity of the OCA, and local chapters would benefit from receiving more frequent updates regarding the program. OAC members were apprised of Don Winslow’s efforts in organizing a local chapter in Shawnee. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Together Green: Final paperwork for 2009/2010 Together Green projects has been filed. TAS has not received the final funds for the 2009/2010 period, and no funds for 2010/2011 period have been received as of this date. President John Kennington will follow-up regarding status of the grants. Project Date Status 1. Ray Harral Nature Center: Native Plants, Bluebirds November 6, 2010 Completed 2. Oxley Nature Center: Habitat Improvement December 11, 2010 Completed 3. Redbud Valley: Habitat Improvement February 12, 2011 Cancelled/Snow 4. Lesser Prairie Chicken Protection: Fence Marking April 16 – 17, 2011 5. Habitat Garden Tour May 21 -22, 2011 2. Ghost Bird Screening: Because of the technical difficulties that occurred during the screening, which were associated with the DVD, not the library’s equipment, the producers have sent 10 copies of the DVD. Gail Storey suggested a movie night at the Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival. However, copyright status would preclude this possibility. Therefore, board members discussed the alternative possibility of showing Sue Selman’s video of lesser prairie chickens displaying for the festival. 3. Scholarship Updates: As announced at the last meeting, Cameron Cross is the recipient of the youth scholarship. At the current time, there is not an available spot for the camp at Hog Island that he had selected. However, he is at the top of the wait list, and a position will likely become available for him. 4. Borders Offer: The Borders fund raising offer is currently off the table due to the company’s financial status. Borders is closing both Tulsa locations. 5. Habitat Garden Tour: A planning meeting to organize the May garden tour and to begin garden selections will convene March 16 at Gail Storey’s home. All board members are encouraged to attend if possible. NEW BUSINESS 1. OKLLLI Class: Kathy McAnally conducted a class for OSU on bird identification at Oxley Nature Center. Using “Birding 101,” she instructed 12 participants who were a part of the Oklahoma Life Long Learning Institute (OKLLLI). 2. Camp Fire Group Birding Interview: John Kennington participated in a Camp Fire learning project for underprivileged kids. The girls asked John questions via telephone interview. Sample questions included: “Where do birds go in winter?” What can you do to help birds?” “What is your favorite bird?” 3. Lodging for March Chapter Meeting Presenter: John Kennington reported that Brian Reynolds has requested lodging after his presentation at the March 15 chapter meeting. Kathy McAnally volunteered to provide lodging if Jim and Anita Mitchell are not able to do so. 2. Lefarge Cement Plant Toxic Waste Disposal: Board members discussed the possible approval by the EPA for a toxic waste disposal burning facility at the Lefarge Cement Plant at 2609 North 145th East Avenue, ½ mile south of Redbud Valley. Lefarge has applied for an air quality permit allowing for burning of hazardous wastes that would release toxic materials such as dioxins and heavy metals into the atmosphere. The comment period for individuals to contact the EPA ended February 8, 2011. However, there is still the possibility of a hearing. The deadline for request for a hearing is March 9, 2011. Board members were encouraged to contact Senghani Dinesh with the EPA. 3. OCC Wind Regulation Comment Period: Hearings are currently being conducted regarding OCC’s request for utility status. Hearings were conducted today and will continue Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Although hearings are in Oklahoma City, individuals unable to attend the hearings can make calls to express their concerns to Judge Miller (405-521-6820) during the hearing times. Sue Selman, who attended the hearings, reported that opposition and support for OCC has been about 50-50 thus far. Board members were urged to make calls to express their concerns about wind energy regulation in the state. 4. Oxley Birding Festival: Terry Mitchell advanced the idea of partnering with Oxley Nature Center to present a birding festival with the target audience being less experienced birders. Oxley already presents “Woodpecker Days” as well as sponsoring butterfly and bird walks for less experienced birders. Kathy McAnally suggested that this might be a good project for an Eagle Scout if approached on a smaller scale. No decisions were made with respect to this possibility. Meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. The next board meeting will be held March 29, 2011 at 7 p.m. at the Zarrow Library 2224 W. 51st Street. Respectfully submitted, Cheryl Kilpatrick, Secretary
Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of Members Present: Gail Storey, Vice President; Mary Jackson, Treasurer, Cheryl Kilpatrick, Secretary, Kathy McAnally, Newsletter Editor, Martin Brown, Todd Humphrey, Terry Mitchell The monthly meeting of the Tulsa Audubon Society Board of Directors was called to order by Treasurer Mary Jackson. The April board meeting is being held this date due to the upcoming activities related to the Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival. Minutes of the March 1, 2011 meeting were approved. The treasurer’s report was not reviewed this meeting. Oklahoma Audubon Council a. Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival: Planning and organization for the 3rd Annual Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival is continuing. President John Kennington, who is spearheading the prairie chicken festival activities, was not present to provide an update of festival plans. Planning and registration are going smoothly, however. b. Important Bird Areas: No new information regarding the IBA program was available for this meeting. Eric Beck is planning on continuing to work, especially in finding new areas for inclusion in the IBA. At the current time, Salt Plains, Wichita Mountains, and Selman Ranch have attained global status as Important Bird Areas. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Together Green: Final paperwork for 2009/2010 Together Green projects has been filed. TAS has not received the final funds for the 2009/2010 period, and no funds for 2010/2011 period have been received as of this date. President John Kennington was not present to report on his follow-up regarding status of the grants. Project Date Status 1. Ray Harral Nature Center: Native Plants, Bluebirds November 6, 2010 Completed 2. Oxley Nature Center: Habitat Improvement December 11, 2010 Completed 3. Redbud Valley: Habitat Improvement February 12, 2011 Cancelled/Snow 4. Lesser Prairie Chicken Protection: Fence Marking April 16 – 17, 2011 5. Ray Harral Nature Center May 7, 2011 5. Habitat Garden Tour May 21 -22, 2011 Board members voted to submit an application for a Together Green grant for the coming year in addition to scheduling additional events to complete the current year. Cheryl Kilpatrick will coordinate the May 7 event at Ray Harral; plans are to complete planting of the butterfly garden begun last year. Another project to remove invasive species from Oxley Nature Center will be scheduled soon as well. 2. Habitat Garden Tour: Board members discussed further plans for the Habitat Garden Tour. At the current time, there is still only 1 garden confirmed although several other possibilities are being evaluated. Committee members are continuing to contact potential owners to determine their willingness to participate in the tour. A volunteer sign-up sheet will be circulated at the chapter meeting on April 19. NEW BUSINESS 1. Officer Nominations: Jim Mitchell has once again agreed to handle nominations for new officers. The slate will be presented to chapter members present at the April 19 meeting. Elections will be held at the May 17 meeting. 2. Print Newsletter: Newsletter editor, Kathy McAnally, initiated a discussion of the print newsletter. There continues to be a dearth of articles submitted for the newsletter. Board members discussed the possibility of discontinuing publication of a print newsletter with an emphasis and focus on continuing to communicate with chapter members via electronic media. Board members voted to discontinue the printed version of the Tulsa Scissortail. Meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m. The next board meeting will be held May 3, 2011 at 7 p.m. at the Zarrow Library 2224 W. 51st Street. Respectfully submitted, Cheryl Kilpatrick, Secretary
Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of Members Present: John Kennington, President; Gail Storey, Vice President; Mary Jackson, Treasurer, Cheryl Kilpatrick, Secretary, Kathy McAnally, Newsletter Editor, Carol Eames; Todd Humphrey; Bob Germany; Alyne Eiland The monthly meeting of the Tulsa Audubon Society Board of Directors was called to order by President John Kennington. Minutes of the April, 2011 meeting (held March 29 to accommodate scheduling for the lesser prairie chicken festival) were approved. The March/April combined treasurer’s reports were approved. Oklahoma Audubon Council a. Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival: John Kennington discussed possible changes for the lesser prairie chicken festival next year. Some of those changes include scheduling the event a week later with pre-festival trips beginning Tuesday or Wednesday rather than following the festival. A pre-trip to Black Mesa may be held on the week leading up to the festival with Salt Plains on Friday and the Wichita Wildlife Refuge date changed as well. There has also been discussion of a pre-trip to the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve for greater prairie chickens. Dwayne Elmore knows of land owners in Osage County who might participate. Sue Selman suggested having a separate blind for photographers and marketing somewhat differently to them. The idea of a photography blind for the chickens and then providing the opportunity to photograph on Sue’s property was discussed. Gail Storey suggested the possibility of a scenic field tour. Jeff Gordon, new ABA president, was mentioned as a possible keynote speaker for next year’s festival. Economic impact figures for this year’s festival are not complete yet. b. Important Bird Areas: No new information regarding the IBA program was available for this meeting. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Together Green: The next Together Green Project will be held May 7, 2011 at Ray Harral Nature Center in Broken Arrow. Carol Eames has purchased the plants for completing the butterfly garden begun last year. Cheryl Kilpatrick will coordinate other aspects of the project, and Todd Humphrey will have 15 or more students from his ornithology classes on hand to do the planting. Project Date Status 1. Ray Harral Nature Center: Native Plants, Bluebirds November 6, 2010 Completed 2. Oxley Nature Center: Habitat Improvement December 11, 2010 Completed 3. Redbud Valley: Habitat Improvement February 12, 2011 Cancelled/Snow 4. Lesser Prairie Chicken Protection: Fence Marking April 16 – 17, 2011 Completed 5. Ray Harral Nature Center May 7, 2011 6. Habitat Garden Tour May 21 -22, 2011 7. Oxley Nature Center: Habitat Improvement June 5, 2011 2. Habitat Garden Tour: Board members discussed final plans for the Habitat Garden Tour and stamped postcards to be sent to the individuals on the mailing list. The following 5 gardens are to be included in the tour: Owners Address Plant Vendor Debby and Ken Bezan 8829 S. Kingston Ave Clear Creek Farm & Gardens Cynthia & Ed Gustavson 2817 E. 34th St Wild Things Nursery Judy and Ken Bailey 1404 E 35th Pine Ridge Gardens Mark Linhold & Kenneth Joslin 1524 S Newport Missouri Wildflowers Toni Hill 14574 E 12th Pl Bird Houses by Mark Board members voted to spend approximately $200 to update the signage for the tour. The signs will read “Wildlife Habitat Tour and Native Plant Sale.” Grogg’s Green Barn will have a drawing for individuals who have completed the tour and who bring their completed tour guides by the greenhouse. The drawings will be for a $100 gift certificate and for 2 $30 gift baskets. 3. Officer Nominations: Jim Mitchell presented the nominations for new officers at the at the April 19 chapter meeting. Elections will be held at the May 17 meeting. The slate of officers and board members for the coming year includes: President: John Kennington Vice President: Cheryl Kilpatrick Secretary: Kathy McAnally Treasurer: Mary Jackson Directors: Carol Eames, Bob Germany, Terry Mitchell, Margaret McQuaig, Jay Pruett Meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. The next board meeting will be held June 7, 2011 at 7 p.m. at the Zarrow Library 2224 W. 51st Street. Respectfully submitted, Cheryl Kilpatrick, Secretary
Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of
Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of Present: Jay Pruett, Todd Humphrey, Carol Eames, John Kennington, Kathy McAnally, and Cheryl Kilpatrick Cheryl presented the minutes from 5/5/2011 which were approved. Mary presented the treasurer's report. A discussion was held of the receivables on the festival and they were approved. John suggested that Jeff Gordon President of ABA as a possible speaker for the next festival. He will check on dates to see if Jeff is available. It was decided to approach optic companies for sponsorships as well as OG&E to replace OSU's past support. John delivered a program at the Fort Worth Audubon Society on the LPC. A Greater PC viewing will be added and Dwayne has found an land owner for such an event. Council will meet in Shawnee at 10 AM on 7/16/2011. The Together Green Report was presented and a discussion of probable events. We will add Jenks HS to the list. A discussion of field trips was held and the schedule was approved. We will hold monthly field trips on the second Saturday of the month, meeting at 8:00 a.m. at the Tulsa Garden Center. Destination will be decided at that time, based on current conditions and current bird sighting. The Ghost Bird DVD were in and it was decided to donate them to Oxley. A discussion of the two scholarships for Cameron Cross and Cheryl in Maine was next on the list. We need a representative for Deep Fork. No one volunteered. We discussed Ray Harall and the sign which should be ready in the fall. 2012 LPC Festival date will be 4/27 to 29 A discussion of the eagle watch. We will change the location to somewhere that we have a pair. Todd will coordinate it and hold it on Jan 7 and/or 15. John will host the Purple Martin watch. The Jenks HS project was discussed. Carol and Martin have viewed it. We have no fencing and some security concerns have been raised from the HS police. It is estimated that the electricity and water is about $2500. Some brush has been cleared to date. Cheryl asked for program ideas. A discussion was held and several suggestions were offered. Cheryl will form a committee. Respectfully submitted, Kathy McAnally, Secretary
Minutes of the
Board of Directors' Meeting of Members Present: John Kennington, President; Cheryl Kilpatrick, Vice President; Mary Jackson, Treasurer; Todd Humphrey; Terry Mitchell. The monthly meeting of the Tulsa Audubon Society Board of Directors was called to order by President John Kennington. Since a quorum was not present no votes were taken during the meeting. Minutes of the July, 2011 meeting were read by John Kennington. The July combined treasurer’s report was discussed, and the 2011-2012 budget was presented, and will be voted on in September. Programs. John Kennington read an email update from Gail storey on her health issues, and we were pleased to hear the doctors do not recommend chemotherapy for her.
Oklahoma Audubon Council a. Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival: No new updates from last month b. Council Meeting The Council voted to use the upcoming year's collaborative funding for the IBA program. Jay Pruett and John Fisher will approach George Pierson to see if hew would lke to work onthe IBA program. TogetherGreen Carol provided an estimate of $1,000 for the signs to be placed at Ray Harall Nature Center, at the wildflower garden we planted earlier this year. \ Todd Humphreys updated us on the Jenks school property, and shared some photograph of the site. It has both water and electricity available. Todd will be contacting some suggested landscape designers to help us develop a master landscape plan for the area, which we can then be use as a guide for development and a fund raising tool.\ Eagle Days. Todd Humphreys provided an update on ideas for the 20912 Eagle Tours. The dates will be January 14-15, on a consecutive Saturday-Sunday (same weekend). Reason being, if we have anyone bringing a live eagle for display (or even a taxidermied one) it would be easier to deal with one weekend rather than two, and if will be more convenient for any speakers we may bring in. Todd's ideas include: 1) I will find a decent viewing spot in town along the river. 2) I’d like to have additional time in-doors at Jenks where we do the following: A) I’d like to try to
have a live Bald Eagle here (at Jenks Freshman building, where my room
is located). I will approach the Sutton guys and/or Iowa Tribe (though
JK does not believe they currently have an eagle available for
educational purposes.) What I envision is an eagle watching time and then about a 3 hour block of time at the school providing the seminars listed above and have these items run both days so people could catch things they may have missed on the first day. Respectfully submitted, John Kennington
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