Biodiversity Council Restructures Meetings

To encourage greater public participation, the California Biodiversity Council has changed the frequency and format of it meetings for 1997, opting for fewer, but lengthier meetings outside Sacramento and allowing for more complete follow-up.

The Council decided in December to extend its meetings from four to six hours to foster more discussion among council members and provide more time for public participation.

Instead of holding one meeting a year in the Sacramento area and three meetings in other bioregions, the Council will meet twice in or near the capital city and twice in other places.

"When we go into the field, we want to be more thorough and allow time to follow up. Thus, we will expand our meetings, sharpen the focus, and encourage more dialogue," Council Chair Doug Wheeler said.

Meetings in the spring and fall are planned in the Central Valley (Visalia) and the Eastern Sierra. On the day preceding the meeting, the council will hold events that encourage networking and informally exchanging information. Activities could include a dinner, local group forum, poster session, field trip, or combination of several activities.

The summer and winter meetings will be conducted in the Sacramento area to follow up on information presented at the meetings in other bioregions and will focus on Council business. The winter meeting, traditionally held in December, will be a month earlier this year to avoid the Christmas holiday rush.

Meeting dates are: March 19-20; Visalia; June 19; Roseville; Sept. 18-19, Bishop/Mammoth; and Nov. 20, Sacramento.

The council voted to accept the recommendation of its Executive Committee for the new meeting format with the provision that the arrangements could be changed later, if desired.

Read it again at http://ceres.ca.gov/biodiv/newsletter/v4n3/