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CHAPTERS CORNER

Chapters serve diverse SCB members in many ways. The first Chapters, most of which were established in the early 1990s, primarily focused on graduate and undergraduate students and functioned as clubs and recruiting grounds for conservation biologists. More recently, many Chapters have broadened their scope and activities to address the specific needs and interests of conservation professionals. Here, three Chapters with a high proportion of practitioners describe some of their successes and the challenges they have met.

Washington, D.C.: Not What We Expected

The SCB in D.C. Chapter was formed in 2006 after SCB members attending the 2005 annual meeting in Brasilia realized that the Washington, D.C. area has an unparalleled concentration of conservation resources, institutions, and practitioners, but few opportunities for informal interaction among conservation professionals. Our Chapter now has more than 200 members who are affiliated with academia, government, and nongovernmental organizations in roughly equal proportions. To gauge the interests of such a varied group, in 2008 the Chapter conducted a survey of members backgrounds and interests. The results helped us to gain insight into how we best can serve our members and allowed us to set our goals for the future. Previously, Chapter leaders had assumed we would play a large role in SCB policy activities. However, the survey indicated that most of our members had little interest in policy activities at the Chapter level. This disinterest may seem counterintuitive given our location. However, two-thirds of our members work for a nongovernmental organization or government agency and, because many are professionally involved in policy activities, have little motivation or are legally restricted from pursuing these activities outside the office. We realized that we best serve our many members and SCB by holding regular events such as networking activities, discussion groups, and recreational outings while still working with SCB s Policy Director on selected projects. To learn more about the Washington, D.C. Chapter, please visit www.conbio.org/chapters/DC/index.CFM.

Jennifer Thornhill

Minnesota: Growing Partnerships for Change

The Minnesota Chapter was established in the early 1990s by a group of students in the new Conservation Biology Program at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. After a brief period of activity, the Chapter became dormant until 2001, when a new group of graduate students and professors were inspired to relaunch the Chapter in conjunction with SCB s 2003 annual meeting in Duluth. In our early years, most Chapter members were graduate students. The Chapter now includes a diversity of conservation professionals. Following the example set by chapters of the American Fisheries Society and The Wildlife Society, we have attracted members from agencies such as the Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture; from other nongovernmental organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, Great River Greening, Fresh Energy, and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; from advocacy coalitions such as the Minnesota Environmental Partnership; and from the public. Our approach? We organize meetings and joint conferences around themes that bring all of these partners together. We also provide a means for conservation professionals to interact with legislators and the public, forming a loose network of people who care about biological diversity and come together on occasion to take action. Interest in our Chapter s work has become so strong among the professional community that we now find our Chapter board top-heavy with Ph.D.s. We currently are focusing on re-engaging the student community by including a greater proportion of graduate students on the slate of candidates for our upcoming election. To learn more about the Minnesota Chapter, please visit www.mnscb.org.

Julia Nerbonne

Central California Coast: Defining Identity and Place

The Central California Coast Chapter was initiated in 2007 by local conservation professionals and students at Stanford University, in part as a way to facilitate hosting of the Bay Area Conservation Biology Symposium (a successful meeting that has rotated for 11 years among the Berkeley and Davis Chapters and Stanford University). In an effort to serve the specific needs of our local SCB members, we broadened our vision to provide a forum for exchange of ideas among conservation professionals, students, and advocates from Silicon Valley to Monterey Bay. We continue to develop ways to best implement this vision so that it is relevant for our members -- some 50 individuals from academia, independent consultancies, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and the public. We feel it is critical to recognize the strong relationship between researchers and practitioners that defines our Chapter. Therefore, our board is led by co-presidents, a student and a professional. Our initial activities included field trips, dinner meetings, and participation in the Bay Area Conservation Biology Symposium. In 2009, Stanford University and the Chapter co-hosted the Symposium under the theme Bridging Gaps between Academics and Professionals. Our bimonthly restaurant dinner meetings are also popular, with guest speakers (practitioners and students) providing continuing education for Chapter members. Field trips, however, have become less popular, suggesting that we are still finding our niche and value for local SCB members. As the Chapter evolves during its second year, we are evaluating whether we are meeting our goals and expectations. Are we the Chapter that we want to be, and how do we continue to get there? To learn more about our Chapter, please visit http://consbio.blogspot.com/.

Don Arnold

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