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| Incoming Laudholm Trust president Nik Charov stands with retiring president Diana Joyner, who for the past 4 years has led the Wells nonprofit. |
We are pleased to report that the Senate Subcommittee and the full Appropriations Committee provided $22.3M for NERRS Operation!
Stay tuned for more to come on....
In attendance for the Senate subcommittee were the following members:
Democrats: Mikulski, Pryor, Lautenberg, Brown
Republicans: KBH, Shelby, Alexander, Johnson, Murkowski
NERRA will be sending out thank you emails to all Senate Appropriation Committee members and encourage anyone with Senators on Appropriations Committee to email a two or three sentence thank you note to the Senator's staff thanking them for their work as well as to the Senators for their NERRS program support (especially to those listed above because they were present for the mark).
It is extremely important that members know that folks back in the state are tracking on this. In addition, it is expected that there will be push back on members supporting budgets higher than the President's during the conference of the House and Senate bills.
Your emails help give Congressional members cover for supporting the $22.3M NERRS budget!
Thanks to all of you who have helped with letters of support!
Senate CJS Appropriations Sub Comm
| Mikulski-MD |
| Feinstein-CA |
| Lautenberg-NJ |
| Shelby-AL |
| Brown-OH |
| Baily Hutchinson-TX |
| Murkowski-AK |
| Reed-RI |
| Collins-ME |
| Graham--SC |
Senate Appropriations Comm
Kohl--WI
Murray--WA
Cochran--MS
House Appropr Committee (no CJS subcommittee members per se)
| Bonner-AL |
| Kingston-GA |
| Kaptur-OH |
| Farr-CA |
| Wolfe -VA |
| Schiff -CA (sub, no NERR) |
| Honda -CA (sub noNERR) |
Fellow Reserve Friends,
The last two months have proved to be more challenging than ever. The President released his budget last month and we learned that the NERRS program was cut by $2.7M to $19M for operations (note this amount is actually $3.3M less from what Congress appropriated in FY12 @ $22.3M). The Construction and Acquisition money was completely eliminated.
The most troubling part of this proposed cut is that the President and NOAA have indicated that the funding cuts mean that the program should: “end the NERRS Graduate Research Fellowship Program, which currently supports 1-2 Ph.D. or master's students at every reserve and decrease the federal share of the funding to each of the 28 reserves across the U.S.”
As some of you may know the NERRA Board meeting was held in Washington, DC on February 27th and the majority of our Board Members conducted meetings with members from their congressional delegation. (The Board missed the presence and input of Kay Reinhart, FFN representative!) The NERRA appropriations request is on our website for you to download as well as national program economic information.
We have a template letter we will be posting here in the next couple of days. In the meantime, NERRA wrote up an impact analysis that explains how the program will be impacted IF the President’s budget were enacted by Congress. . .do remember that Congress ultimately passes the budget. The first round of budget hearings began last week and NERRA requested that Congressional members ask questions of NOAA as to why they are proposing cutting the program and funding for the states.
We hope you can join us later this month or in early April for our webinar (more information to follow). If you have questions or comments, as always, please email or call me.
May the force be with us all! -Rebecca
Diana Joyner, president of the Laudholm Trust, the fundraising partner of the Wells Reserve at Laudholm, is stepping down from her position in June.
According to Bruce Read, chair of the Trust board, in an article on the Wells Reserve at Laudholm web site:
"Four years ago, Diana stepped off of our board and into the interim president position at a critical time in the history of the Trust,” notes Read. “The economy had softened and we needed someone with distinct leadership skills at the helm. Diana did such an outstanding job, we asked her to stay aboard for a few more years. Under her leadership, the organization has not only grown, it’s thrived.”
If you had the opportunity to meet Diana, you know she is strong leader and also a friend. As she steps down from her position, she will be missed by not only the Laudholm community but also all of us at NERRA and throughout the NERRS who had the opportunity to meet and work with her.
The board's search committee is now accepting online applications. Interested individuals can learn more about the position and the application process by visiting the Wells Reserve at Laudholm website at www.wellsreserve.org. Diana will assist with the transition.
by Angie Christensen, Board Member, Friends of GTM
The GTM Research Reserve (short-speak for the Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR in Ponte Vedra, Florida) is supported, like many NERRs, by the efforts of a Friends group. Working hand in hand with the staff and volunteers of the Reserve, the Friends organization helps with funding efforts and is dedicated to the stewardship, education and research efforts undertaken by the Reserve. This January, we gathered in a unique way, having decided to dedicate part of one weekend to a detailed discussion of our mission, goals, objectives and tactics for executing against those. In other words, under the leadership of Board president Christine Rich, we embarked on a kind of mini-retreat, aiming for a clear perspective. We took a step back. Of course it's early days yet, but in the short time that's passed, that short step back seems to have re-energized us, underpinned our relationships, helped solidify understanding of roles and responsibilities, and renewed our commitment to our work as Board members.
We began with cocktails at a favorite local restaurant on a Friday evening, an informal, relaxing event that allowed us a chance to know one another better. Because we're a diverse Board, reflective of the large geographic area encompassed by the Reserve, some of us know each other pretty well; some are newcomers and some have both history and perspective. This informal opportunity to know our colleagues better bore fruit later in the session, as some relationships and committees began to take on more definition later in our sessions. A couple of key members of the Reserve's staff were able to join us, including director Dr. Mike Shirley and Volunteer Coordinator Carly Swatek. Oh, and by the way...it was fun!
The real working session was the next day, and included the same group (Board members as well as staff). We began with some things that seem very fundamental, but of which our knowledge was a bit uneven, discussing our mission and deepening our understanding of the roles played by each "leg" of our three-legged stool-type composition, with a view to the roles played by the Friends Board and membership, the staff, including educators, research scientists, and more, and the key role played by the diverse body of volunteers we're so fortunate to have. We delved into the expectations of each of our committees, reminding ourselves of the duties and looking for ways to enhance our effectiveness. And we talked about the interaction models for the committees with each other and with the larger Board, again looking for growth and development opportunities.
It was a day of hard team work, honest conversation, and dedicated collaboration, and it was a chance to step back in unison to consider our way forward together. As a member new to the Board AND the marketing committee, with a special interest in development of social media, it provided me with unique insights and perspective, and helped me prepare for some ambitious plans for the coming year. It challenged me to think about some familiar topics through a new lens. For instance, a comment from one of the Board members, herself a college professor with a doctorate in her field, prompted me to tweet about "citizen science". I included a hash tag "#CitizenScience" and became part of a much larger discussion (many thanks, Dr. Melissa Southwell!), one I hope to see continuing as we continue to grow and mature in our journey together. It was an excellent investment of time and teamwork, positioning us for the smartest possible steps forward for our NERR and Friends board.
Lots of work awaits us in the coming year, and I'd love to keep you posted on how we're doing. Meanwhile, any others out there doing anything similar? A Board retreat? A planning session for your NERR's upcoming calendar year or longer-range 3- or 5-year plans? As always, it's impossible to overstate the opportunities for shared learning, so bring on those comments, folks!
