2010 Meeting Minutes

AFS Fish Habitat Section

Second Annual Meeting, 2010

Pittsburgh, PA

September 13, 2010 – Meeting minutes

Present:  Section Officers:  Joe Margraf, Kyle Hartman, and Amanda Rosenberger; 14 non-officer members present.

Quorum Present?  Yes

• Meeting called to order by Joe Margraf.

• Determination of quorum. Quorum met for meeting (14 members plus 3 officers)

• Approval of minutes.

–  Correction on name spelling – minutes stand approved as presented if name spelling corrected.

• Treasurer’s report.

– Amanda delivers treasurers report.  Dues are in minus a few bank fees; not much, but a start.  Shows that the habitat section presently has 78 paying members, an unknown number of student members.

• AFS President’s report.
• Wayne Hubert à He will be available as the year goes by what he can do to step in and give a hand.  Next year’s meeting in Seattle – theme is new frontiers in fisheries management and ecology:  leading the way in a changing world.  The emphasis will be on diverse field that is now fisheries management as things change rapidly.  Habitat a major component for climate change research, which will be highlighted at this meeting.
• Policies in review:  1) Lead in fishing tackle.  Went through policy committee, approved by governing board, now up for a vote by the membership.  Concerns have been raised as well – so a special committee can review the late comments.   Habitat Section may wish to be involved.  Guidance and direction for the president will be needed regarding membership in the special committee.

• President’s (Joe Margraf’s) report.
• Many members are now presenting in concurrent symposia, hence relatively low attendance
• Now have 78 paying members. And an unknown number of free student members; we are waiting to hear final numbers from the Parent Society.  This is pretty good for a first year of the section.  As we start to get deeper into the business of looking into habitat in a variety of ways/ continuing ed., our membership will increase.
• President explains low activity of excom – new job transition has been a challenge and move also complicated things. Will do more now to keep the section humming along now that the transition is through.

• Committee Reports – primary focus is on soliciting volunteers to lead committees.
  1. Continuing Education à Soliciting volunteers à  Adam Kaeser  accepts
     1. Foster and support habitat-related continuing education opportunities

1. Newsletter à Soliciting volunteers à Amanda Rosenberger and Jay Dieterich.  Will make use of electronic Newsletter format available from Steve Chipps from Education and Fish Management Section.  Jay Dieterich also volunteered to help out with the newsletter.  (dieterich@usm.edu; jaydieterich@gmail.com).

1. Nominating à Soliciting volunteers à Bruce Vondracek will serve with Joe Margraf as chair.
   1. Past President usually serves, but, since this is a brand-new section, Joe will be chair; seeking additional volunteers.

1. Program, 2010, 2011

The Habitat Section sponsored the following Symposia:

1. Emerging issues affecting functional connectivity within and among riverine, lacustrine, and marine fish populations (co-sponsored with the Genetics and Fish Management sections).
2. Working toward better fish habitat and fishing: a management perspective (co-sponsored with NE Fisheries and Streams Technical Committee and the Fish and Wildlife Service)

• The big picture of fish habitat – how science supports conservation under the National Fish Habitat Action Plan. (co-sponsored with the National Fish Habitat Action Plan Board).

John Boreman plugged a special workshop regarding science perspectives on the Oil Spill on the Gulf of Mexico.  Leads from multiple agencies will be there.  Expect one and ½ hours of discussion.  They are looking to create an oil spill task force that will funnel information held by agencies to the AFS membership as needed.   AFS is offering their services as a depository of information.  3:30 in Social Room 316 downstairs.

• Program 2011, 2012 (Kyle Hartman will take the lead and Margaret Murphy volunteered with Bruce Vondracek to help with the process)

1. Symposia ideas for next year à each issue below highlighted by 1-2 key speakers
   1. Quantifying habitat in a meaningful way
      1. Particular emphasis on satellite imagery and GIS capabilities – invite remote sensing people to talk about new tools
   2. Defining essential fish habitat
      1. New Ocean Policy and Zoning and implications on habitat – fisheries and habitat science – can they make a contribution to the regional boards as they are put into place?
      2. Habitat restoration and how we integrate with biological response (Bioengineering section could get involved with this)
   3. Habitat in the face of climate change
   4. Consider overarching theme of defining habitat in the most biologically meaningful way (in re. Riverscapes)
2. How do we get this together – Kyle takes the lead on making a strawman proposal. Bruce Vondracek and Margaret Murphy will help.

• Resource Policy (Liaisons, Thomas Bigford, Amanda Rosenberger)
  1. Lead in fishing tackle brought up by Wayne during AFS president’s address
  2. 31 policies need to be reviewed for relevance, appropriateness, and need for updating. Many are habitat-related.  Habitat Section could play a large role in lending a hand to the resource policy committee.
     1. Screening is first need (Work of the Resource Policy Committee – nearly complete)
     2. Participate an iterative process begun by the Resource Policy Committee on one or two policies that need to be revised. (Tom Bigford provides details on the committee – this new process is being proposed at the 2010 meeting held at 4PM this afternoon)

• Section liaisons (multiple members participate)
  1. Estuary Section à Thomas Bigford anticipates more action this year
  2. Education Section à Steve Chipps mentions that they are trying to get students more involved in AFS – having an active section like fish habitat section will be a good way to get students into AFS.  Give them opportunities to get engaged.  Joe Margraf anticipates working a lot with the Ed Section on upcoming continuing education projects.

1. Webpage
   1. Larval webpage in place by Kyle Hartman – call for someone to take over the process and make it useful. It will dovetail nicely with the efforts of the society as a whole and E-delivery will be a major issue dealt with by the parent society over the year.  Want Habitat Section webpage so we can participate.  May fall to one of our students to do.
      1. Will get a list of students from Gail at the Bethesda to identify potential people.

9)  New Business

1. We need a logo.

– Funded prize for the habitat logo?  Send out a solicitation for designs.  (AFS book of their choice? Plus ‘free’ membership – do this after we have student members on the listserve)

• 1. Quorum maintained throughout meeting prior to adjournment.