ENTS, Dr. Gary Beluzo posted a series of questions about the future of ENTS and suggested we are on a cross-roads of sort to determine the future of the organization. I agree, but not in the sense that Gary means. I think the growing number of ENTS members and a broader diversity of ideas is the future of ENTS. I believe that by making this suggested change would serve both to promote the broader goals of a diverse membership and to promote our scientific goals at the same time. Simply organizing the discussions into two broad categories for easier management and accessibility would be a benefit, while members would retain full access and right to participate in all of the discussions. Not choosing this option I believe would be harmful as the number of posts grow, it is becoming more chaotic and harder to find those posts of particular interest to you. This I think will put a damper on participation and membership growth in the long term.
As for Gary's specific questions: 1. What is ENTS? What IS the primary mission, what are the intended goals, and who decides the future path now that the "membership" is over 300? 2. Who is ENTS? Is it the original core group with additional members looking on or is it the sum total of the current membership which includes many non-scientific folks. 3. Who should decide where ENTS goes and what it becomes? Should there be a core group of officers that create policy and "official" members vote on that policy? Should the vote be binding? 4. Is ENTS to become a more formal organization with things like membership dues in addition to a Bulletin, annual rendezvous, and special conferences? Is ENTS a casual gathering and membership? 5. Can and should ENTS become everything to everyone? 1) I believe the primary mission of ENTS is as stated in the mission statement. "The Eastern Native Tree Society (ENTS) is a cyberspace interest group devoted to the celebration of trees and forests of the eastern North America and around the world, through art, poetry, music, mythology, science, medicine, wood crafts, and collecting research data for a variety of purposes. " Our mission is all of these things. To collect research data we must develop better and refine existing measurement techniques. Some members are interested primarily in and focused on this aspect of the mission statement. At times I think there is a backlash among the non-measurement people against the people involved in scientific goals of the organization. 2) Who is ENTS? ENTS is the sum total of the current participating membership. I think it is only reasonable that those members that are actively participating have a greater say than those who do not. I also think that people who have worked for a long time to make the ENTS organization viable and to help it grow should have more of a say than more recent members. Ideas on what ENTS should or should not do are posted to the list for everyone to discuss. Everyone is encouraged to make comments and suggestions and really not major decisions that I can think of have ever been made without this public discussion. In every discussion people disagree about what should be done. Eventually a general consensus is reached among the most active members and a decision is made. I lobbied for a long time, over a year or more, before the decision was finally made to get our own domain name and website. 3) Who should have the final say? In this respect I must point out that ENTS is not a membership organization as defined under the non-profit regulations. Members do not pay dues, nor do they have a vote on policy matters. The officers of the organization have the legal right to make all of the decisions. I am not an officer, I do not have a vote. That said the officers of the organization are extremely responsive to the wants and needs of the average member and are always working to to encourage participation by these members in all aspects of the organization. 5) ENTS can't be everything to everyone. As it is set up ENTS is a scientific organization and not a political organization. Clearly many people have strong political leanings and these are expressed in the discussion list, but are not an overtly political organization. I think everyone want the organization to have influence on how our forests, parks, and trees are managed. This is best accomplished by growing the organization and by producing the scientific results that can impact public policy. Toward that end I think it is important that the organization support these scientific research efforts. 4) The future of ENTS. That is the question of the day. Currently ENTS is a subgroup of the Friends of Mohawk Trail State Forest, and therefore a 501(c) scientific organization under that primary group. There has been some discussion of formally organizing ENTS as a separate group under our own bylaws and our own Non-profit status. That will cost perhaps $2000 to accomplish. I could try to write the bylaws myself and likely get away cheaper (I bought a book) for less money but I have no experience in doing so under current regulations . In these bylaws we could structure ENTS as we saw fit. I would like to see the group run by a Board of Directors that included both permanent members - the current officers - and elected members chosen by the general membership. We could create formal committees on different subjects - a scientific steering committee for example. Meeting could be held at our semi-annual gatherings. Day to day activities would be run by the officers. This would facilitate the chance of getting external funding for research projects and the like, but would create operating cost that we currently do not have. It is likely that membership dues might need to be charged and more money to keep track of would mean more paperwork... It would require more time spent on organizational activities than the organization requires currently. The are pros and cons. This option is a good topic for further discussion. Ed Frank --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
