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President's Message |
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JANUARY - MARCH 2008
I’d like to draw your attention to a re-print of our Strategic Blueprint for the next five years. We’ve discussed most of this with members and some parts were outlined in the last newsletter. Nevertheless, we thought it appropriate to include the whole document here so everyone knows exactly where we are going and how we intend to get there.
In our deliberations, we were particularly impressed with how well our members have rallied around conservation issues in the past, challenges like Hickory Hollow, the Chesapeake Trail etc. And, our strategy, once again, confirms our desire to protect the habitat of the birds in the Northern Neck:- Our interest in birds and the protection and conservation of their habitat are inextricably linked – you can’t have one without the other. Most of you have heard of the initiatives supporting Important Bird Areas—IBA’s. Aimee Weldon from Audubon National has addressed our members and we’ve had several articles in our newsletter. The Lower Rappahannock River IBA has now been officially declared. And—we’ve been asked if we would be prepared to adopt this IBA. It could provide a wonderful focus for our conservation efforts and a great opportunity to strengthen our membership outside the immediate Kilmarnock vicinity.
You might ask what’s involved in adopting an IBA. Simply put, it means championing the cause which may involve bird counts, preservation activities, keeping people informed, getting involved in land use issues, active liaison with other groups etc. We would not go it alone, but partner with other organizations.
You can get a lot more information about this IBA and what might be involved with adopting it at: http://www.audubon.org/bird/iba/virginia/ Sandy Spencer will also tell us a bit more about it at our April members’ meeting.
Now, I’m sure we have many members who have managed significant projects in their past life—people who can appraise a situation, see what needs to be done, marshal resources, develop specific assignments, organize activities and generally get things done! If you fit that bill in any way, we’d love to talk to you about how you might be able to help if we decide we want to adopt this IBA. Call or e-mail peter@hancoxandkennedy.com or Cousinsjp@aol.com .
Thanks for listening.
Peter Saam NNAS STRATEGIC BLUEPRINT Strategic Time FrameThis blueprint will guide those decisions that determine the nature and direction of our chapter from 2007 to 2012. The broad strategy outlined here, will be supported each year by operational plans and priorities contained in our Operational Handbook. Our Fundamental Principles, Values and Beliefs – Who we areWe are a chapter of the National Audubon Society, supporting the vision, mission and strategy of that organization. Within this umbrella, our strategic, tactical and day to day decisions are guided by the following fundamental principles, values and basic beliefs: Birds are a joy to behold. We delight in passing on this joy to all generations, present and future, through active educational experiences. We speak for the birds – they cannot speak for themselves. While our advocacy is non-political, it is proactive and vigorous. Our interest in birds and the protection and conservation of their habitat are inextricably linked – you can’t have one without the other. Birds are sentinels, a visible harbinger of the health of our planet. They accurately reflect what is likely to happen in our own backyard. We believe that our efforts are best focused on our own area of Virginia. We further believe, that these efforts will contribute substantially to sharing and preserving the unique natural treasure that is the Northern Neck Strategic Focus – Where we are goingThe core “business” of this chapter revolves around birds and their habitat. Over the next five years, we will pursue a complementary, two-pronged strategy that: Makes it enjoyable, easy and rewarding for members, potential members and the Northern Neck/Middle Peninsular communities to learn more about birds and their environment Protects and conserves habitat in the “greater” Northern Neck through hands-on participation and vigorous advocacy Tactical Plans – How we will get thereDriven by this strategy, our activities in the next three to five years will focus on: Education
Instructional & informative monthly members’ meetings, particularly focused on our area and seasonally relevant Bird-walks & excursions Training programs such as “Teacher’s on the Bay” “Audubon Adventures”
Developing an educational stream to appeal to younger people and specifically school age children Expanding our bird-walk horizon – more & different Considering wider ranging excursions Experimenting with weekend activities Formally adopting & promoting “Audubon at Home”
Preservation & Conservation
Manage existing easements and easement policy Manage and maintain existing preserves Road clean-up
Public Relations & Communications
Newsletter—Website— Birding Hotline
Membership
Revenue & Income
Finance & Administration
Operational Plans - Yearly Objectives The strategy outlined in this blueprint will provide the board guidelines for our priorities and activities over the next five years. Not all projects can be tackled at once. Project priorities will be established on a yearly basis with specific objectives for each major functional area. Details of these will be documented in the Operational Handbook. The strategy itself should be reviewed from time to time, in light of changes and (then) current circumstances, probably no later than 2010. |
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