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MAJOR DECISIONS AND UPDATES FROM SCB'S BOARD OF GOVERNORS

SCB's Board of Governors made a number of decisions during the 2008 annual meeting. As detailed on page 1 of this newsletter, the editorial structure of our flagship journal, Conservation Biology, will change in January 2010, concurrent with Gary Meffe's retirement as Editor. SCB does not expect any net financial savings as a result of the change. Instead, the goal of the shift from one Editor to an Editor-in-Chief and four Senior Editors is to promote geographic and disciplinary diversity in authorship and content. Conservation magazine will begin examining alternative business plans that may increase the publication's long-term financial sustainability and expand its audience. As noted on page 11, the request for reauthorization of the Freshwater Working Group's charter was approved unanimously. The Board also approved proposed revisions to Chapter bylaws and other guidance documents for Chapters, which are intended to clarify and streamline the organization and operations of Local Chapters.

Over the next year, the Board is likely to initiate a strategic planning process for 2011-2015. The strategic plan for 2006-2010 is available at www.conbio.org/AboutUs/StrategicPlan/2006/. In addition, the Board will consider recommendations from the Governance Committee on board restructuring. Restructuring may increase alignment among committees, voting positions on the board, and the Society's strategic plan. SCB President Georgina Mace appointed Andrew Pullin, President of the Europe Section, chair of an ad hoc Science Committee.

A new membership system will be launched before the end of 2008. This system may allow members to make electronic contributions to carbon offsets. See page 20 for a description of SCB's efforts to take responsibility for the greenhouse gas emissions related to our annual meeting and establishment of a new ad hoc environmental footprint committee.

Paul Beier

SCB Receives a Clean Audit for 2007

The financial audit for 2007 is still being finalized, but we know that it will have a "clean" audit opinion from our auditors, Rubino and McGeehin. The audit process for 2007 went more smoothly than for 2006, which was the first review by our new audit firm. Our goal for the 2008 audit is to provide another clean audit opinion, but to have the financial results finalized before the 2009 annual meeting.

As always, a successful audit would not be possible without a committed effort by our dedicated staff. We're grateful for their professionalism. We will continue to devote significant effort to our accounting and financial reporting as SCB continues to grow.
The Treasurer's Report for 2007 will be included in the November 2008 newsletter.

Maynard Davis

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