From nagl0026 at umn.edu Mon Feb 2 23:00:27 2009 From: nagl0026 at umn.edu (Fiona Nagle) Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2009 23:00:27 -0800 Subject: [SCB Chapters] All-Chapters Conference Call for 2/3/09, 5:00pm PST: New Washington, New Chapter Voices Message-ID: <8CBC0DAC-AF54-4DB9-A84E-B043656E39AC@umn.edu> Dear Chapters, With the new administration and new congressional leaders and members, this is a new day in Washington for the environment. And the next few weeks are going to be critical for bringing your local conservation issues to the attention of your policy makers. To help you make a difference, next week's conference call will focus on how to approach these policy makers, make your concerns heard, and help educate them on the issues. Guest callers are John FitzgeraId and Dominick Dellasala. I hope you can join in! Call-in number and instructions are in the note below. Cheers, Fiona > Dr. Fiona Nagle, Conservation Biology/ Conflict Management California Program Manager Reef Check Foundation www.reefcheck.org Board of Governors, Society for Conservation Biology (Chapters Representative) ? Dear Chapters You have been invited by Fiona Nagle to join a conference call using FreeConference.com. Please review the conference details and information on how to accept or decline this invitation. Subject: SCB's 1st Tuesdays All-Chapters Conference Call Comments/Agenda: CALL #5: Focus: Making Your Voices Heard in the New Washington Welcome to the FIFTH all-chapters conference call. The new adiministartion is in place, and the time is ripe to approach your local policymakers and educate them about biodiversity and SCB issues. Wait too long and their agendas will already be set... Learn how to make your chapter's voice heard, or improve your influence on policy for the next few years. GUEST CALLERS: JOHN FITZGERALD, SCB POLICY DIRECTOR DOMINICK DELLASALA, NA SECTION PRESIDENT-ELECT -------- The all-chapters conference call is held every month on the first Tuesday, 5:00pm Pacific Time (California). It lasts approximately 1 hour. I encourage each of you to have at least one representative of your chapter on the call each month. ***Chapters outside the US: By following the directions in this email (below), you are able to join this call. For Chapters outside North America: If you have difficulty with the international phone cost, please contact me.*** ---When you join the call, please announce your name and chapter. AGENDA: 1) Introductions 2) Update on SCB policy action approvals 3) Approaching Local Policymakers 4) Misc Date: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 Start Time: 05:00 PM Pacific Std Time End Time: 06:25 PM Pacific Std Time Dial-in Number: 1-712-580-1800 (Midwest) Access Code: 487242# ? ? Please Select a Way to RSVP via the Web: Accept/Decline via e-mail: Accept or Decline (you can include a personal message for the conference Organizer in the body of your email) Conference Touch-Tone Quick Reference ? See you there! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.conbio.org/pipermail/chapters/attachments/20090202/07b3b5be/attachment.htm -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Invitation_GreyTop_550x13.gif Type: image/gif Size: 146 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.conbio.org/pipermail/chapters/attachments/20090202/07b3b5be/attachment-0004.gif -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: topbox_bottom.gif Type: image/gif Size: 168 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.conbio.org/pipermail/chapters/attachments/20090202/07b3b5be/attachment-0005.gif -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: spacer.gif Type: image/gif Size: 44 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.conbio.org/pipermail/chapters/attachments/20090202/07b3b5be/attachment-0006.gif -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: FC_Participant_keyref2.gif Type: image/gif Size: 20140 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.conbio.org/pipermail/chapters/attachments/20090202/07b3b5be/attachment-0007.gif From nagl0026 at umn.edu Mon Feb 9 10:34:04 2009 From: nagl0026 at umn.edu (Fiona Nagle) Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 10:34:04 -0800 Subject: [SCB Chapters] CRITICAL Message-ID: Dear Chapters, It's my lifelong ambition to have all current chapter officers signed up on this listserv. It's vital that they all be on here: critical news, information, advice, and the occasional holiday card are posted here. With the advent of the new ABCs, it's come to my attention that not all chapters have been so good about making sure incoming officers are signed up on the listserv. Consequently, some chapters have fallen out of the loop because no current member of their board is receiving these emails. Can you imagine the havoc that's creating for chapters that now have no idea the ABCs exist, despite the numerous announcements and discussions over the last 1-1/2 years? DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU. I strongly recommend you make sure incoming officers are made aware of the listserv and to make listserv subscription a routine part of their indoctrination. This is an important piece of institutional memory that you don't want to overlook. Unfortunately, there's no way for me or Aletris or the EO to know who should be on the listserv unless we're told directly; this means it falls on you to make sure it happens. Previous officers and interested persons are, as always, welcome to stay on the listserv. If you are a previous officer and receiving this email, you may want to confirm with your chapter's current board that they too are getting this note. To self-subscribe, go to http://list.conbio.org/mailman/listinfo/ chapters/. To unsubscribe, use the same link and scroll to the bottom to enter your info. You can also send a subscription request to the moderator, Aletris Neils, at aletris_neils at yahoo.com. Many thanks, everyone, for helping to make sure we all stay on board. Cheers, Fiona > Dr. Fiona Nagle, Conservation Biology/ Conflict Management California Program Manager Reef Check Foundation www.reefcheck.org Board of Governors, Society for Conservation Biology (Chapters Representative) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.conbio.org/pipermail/chapters/attachments/20090209/e8e5efde/attachment.html From nagl0026 at umn.edu Tue Feb 24 22:55:34 2009 From: nagl0026 at umn.edu (Fiona Nagle) Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:55:34 -0800 Subject: [SCB Chapters] The BOG Wants to Hear from YOU: Conference Call Invitation for 3/3/09 5:00PM Message-ID: Dear Chapters, You have been invited by Fiona Nagle to join a conference call using FreeConference.com. Please review the conference details and information on how to accept or decline this invitation. Subject: SCB's 1st Tuesdays All-Chapters Conference Call Comments/Agenda: CALL #6: The BOG Wants to Hear from YOU Welcome to the SIXTH all-chapters conference call. ***March 28-30 is the 1st meeting of 2009 for SCB's Board of Governors. It is also my first meeting as your Representative. Help me tell them what you want them to hear. This call will be dedicated to me listening to you: your ideas, suggestions, complaints, accolades. What do you want the Board (or individual members) to know about or think about? How can they assist you to make your chapter the best it can be? In return, the BOG needs your help too. We have 5 topics on the agenda, and I think you could have *very* beneficial input on them. They are: *Membership -- how to increase numbers, improve benefits, what can people pay (your thoughts would be great on this topic) *Conference Models -- how to improve annual meetings (your thoughts would be great on this topic too) *Publications -- input on SCB's journals & editorial processes (btw, Gary Meffe is stepping down as editor after many years, to be replaced by Erica Fleishman by the end of 2009) *"Conservation" magazine -- have you read SCB's newest journal? *SCB Governance -- how do you think we're doing? -------- The all-chapters conference call is held every month on the first Tuesday, 5:00pm Pacific Time (California). It lasts approximately 1 hour. I encourage each of you to have at least one representative of your chapter on the call each month. ***Chapters outside the US: By following the directions in this email (below), you are able to join this call. For Chapters outside North America: If you have difficulty with the international phone cost, please contact me.*** ---When you join the call, please announce your name and chapter. AGENDA: 1) Introductions 2) Overview of BOG meeting in March 3) Your input 4) Misc Date: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 Start Time: 05:00 PM Pacific Std Time End Time: 06:25 PM Pacific Std Time Dial-in Number: 1-712-580-1800 (Midwest) Access Code: 487242 Please Select a Way to RSVP via the Web: Accept/Decline via e-mail: Accept or Decline (you can include a personal message for the conference Organizer in the body of your email) Conference Touch-Tone Quick Reference See you there! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.conbio.org/pipermail/chapters/attachments/20090224/1e1d283f/attachment.html From lwalko at conbio.org Thu Feb 5 08:04:39 2009 From: lwalko at conbio.org (Laura Walko) Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:04:39 -0000 Subject: [SCB Chapters] Notes for Chapters: Working with politicians Message-ID: <569984C3FC629E4DB22AFA468621699A1CAD4D7511@EXVMBX015-3.exch015.msoutlookonline.net> Notes for Chapters: Working with your politicians Chapters, these notes are intended as a "quick hits" list of things to think about before/during/after approaching your local politician about issues in conservation science. These notes apply to working with everyone from members of your local planning commission to leaders in your national government. These notes are not specific to US governing bodies; however, the notes are based on experiences in the US. Start within your chapter 1) Meet with your local chapter members and develop a list of conservation priorities that you can address via policy. 2) Do your best to rank these priorities. 3) If necessary, develop policy statements about your priorities and submit these statements through the SCB policy approval channels. Once you have your chapter list of priorities... 1) Find out what issue(s) need to be addressed at your municipal, state/provincial, and national level. 2) Do your homework on your representatives. a. Find out who has supported conservation initiatives in the past if you can. You may want to approach these representatives first. 3) Do your homework on legislation. a. Find out what legislation is active at your municipal/provincial/national level. b. Look for areas where your input might add value to the existing legislation. i. Can you work with another local group to support or improve existing language? c. Look for areas where you might be able to influence the writing in new legislation. i. Can you work with another local group to write strong new language? Meeting with your representative 1) Make contact with the staffers first. Staffers are your gatekeepers. They inform and advise the representative; they will also bring you back if they believe you have something of value to offer. They can be your best allies. a. For national representatives, this means contacting the locally-engaged staff, i.e., the staff in the representative's home town. Provincial representatives also usually keep a "local" office in one of the municipalities they represent. You can find most of your municipal staff in the municipal buildings of our city, town, county, parish, etc. b. You will not likely be able to meet with the representative him/herself initially. So, be prepared to meet with staffers and come back later as needed to continue the dialog. i. The one way to get around this is to invite the representative to a local event where he/she is guaranteed positive press coverage, e.g., a habitat restoration event. ii. In this instance, you might get a few minutes of time with the representative in person. BE BRIEF! iii. Again, this is a good opportunity to collaborate with groups that are active in your local area. 2) Opening the door. a. Contact the staffers and say that you are from the local chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology. b. Tell the staffer that: i. you know Representative A is concerned about issue X and ii. that you would like 10 minutes to discuss issue X and iii. offer some solutions to help Representative A successfully address the issue. c. They may simply ask you to send information, in which case, do so! Send a one-pager with a letter saying that you will follow up within (a week, two weeks) on any questions they may have. Then be sure to follow up! d. You may also follow up by stopping by the office, but be prepared to have to come back if they are busy. e. If they offer to set up a meeting, accept! And prepare for the meeting. f. On any contact, try to find out when the representative will be back in the office so that you can time your visits and meetings accordingly. 3) Get your facts straight before you go. a. Remember, SCB is a science-based organization. We pride ourselves on basing all of our arguments on sound, peer-reviewed research. b. Although it sounds counterintuitive, don't use more than one or two statistics up front. Be prepared to provide more if asked, but people have learned to be afraid of numbers - especially in a vacuum, and you won't have time on your first meeting to be thorough. 4) Tie your facts to the bigger picture! What's in it for the constituents (i.e., not just the "critters", land, or water). a. If you can tie your argument to education, economics, or public health, you'll go MUCH further with your argument for conservation. 5) Make your message SIMPLE. Remember the elevator speech - what do you want this person to walk away knowing in 10 seconds or less? a. Avoid scientific jargon. Use common language - think NY Times, not Science Times. b. If you are fortunate enough to secure a full-length meeting with staffers, or the representative, start with your elevator speech. It is your take-home message. c. Leave behind a one-page factsheet on the issue with salient points and your contact information! For example: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/publications/statefactsheets/2007/LA2007_final.pdf (this factsheet clearly ties the environmental issue to economics and public safety up front) 6) Follow up a few days later with more in-depth information. Try to delivery this information in person, if possible. 7) Be Patient! It can take weeks, even months sometimes to get meetings set up. Be dogged in your pursuits and polite with everyone you encounter and you will eventually get to share your information. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ *~~*~~*~~ [cid:image003.jpg at 01C98781.6F8248B0]Membership Coordinator Society for Conservation Biology 1017 O Street NW Washington, DC 20001 +1.202.234.4133 (phone) +1.703.995.4633 (Fax) www.conbio.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.conbio.org/pipermail/chapters/attachments/20090205/8a33c634/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 5941 bytes Desc: image001.gif Url : http://list.conbio.org/pipermail/chapters/attachments/20090205/8a33c634/attachment-0001.gif -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1782 bytes Desc: image003.jpg Url : http://list.conbio.org/pipermail/chapters/attachments/20090205/8a33c634/attachment-0001.jpg From nagl0026 at umn.edu Wed Feb 25 08:56:04 2009 From: nagl0026 at umn.edu (Fiona Nagle) Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:56:04 -0800 Subject: [SCB Chapters] OOPs Re: Notes for Chapters: Working with politicians In-Reply-To: <569984C3FC629E4DB22AFA468621699A1CAD4D7511@EXVMBX015-3.exch015.msoutlookonline.net> References: <569984C3FC629E4DB22AFA468621699A1CAD4D7511@EXVMBX015-3.exch015.msoutlookonline.net> Message-ID: Dear Chapters, If you received the email entitled "Notes for Chapters: Working with politicians" this morning, please ignore and delete it. It is undergoing revision and accidentally posted before completion. The updated version will be sent shortly. ah, the joys of technology.... Apologies for the inconvenience. Fiona > Dr. Fiona Nagle, Conservation Biology/ Conflict Management California Program Manager Reef Check Foundation www.reefcheck.org Board of Governors, Society for Conservation Biology (Chapters Representative) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.conbio.org/pipermail/chapters/attachments/20090225/e2267cf6/attachment.htm