The award recognizes outstanding professionalism, active resource protection, and enhancement programs, as well as a strong commitment to the mission of the Society.  The Washington-British Columbia chapter was selected in recognition of its accomplishments in the areas of Aquatic Stewardship, Information Transfer and Outreach, and Member Services.

Congratulations to each and every one of you! The award will be presented to Chapter President Jim Shannon at the AFS Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, during the business meeting (Tues, Sep 14, 3:30-5:30). If you will be in Pittsburgh, be sure to come and join in the celebration.

AFS Fisheries Hook July 2010

Read the AFS Gulf Oil Spill Initiative:

American Fisheries Society Oil Spill Initiative

2010 AGM Summary

Bristol Bay Resolution Support Document for Bristol Bay Resolution 16 Mar 2010

The main revision was to state explicitly that the membership supported sending the final version of the resolution to the Parent Society Resolutions Commitee as that was one of the main concerns expressed by the governing board at our meeting in Nashville. If the resolutions committee would like to solicit input from the Alaska Chapter to inform the next steps, that is their prerogative. Don Jackson, Wayne Hubert, and Bob Hughes are developing an article for Fisheries to further expand on the topics of the resolution including the need for revision of the 1872 mining act and evaluation/permitting of proposed mining actions. The article should be in one of the summer issues if peer review goes well.

Committees serve a vital function in the advancement of AFS’s mission: they provide the technical leadership that allows our programs, such as journals, books, certification, meetings, resource policy, etc., to be the best in the world.

The AFS needs your skills, passion, and perspectives to build a vibrant, inclusive, and multicultural corps of volunteer leaders. You are invited to apply for a volunteer committee appointment.

See the application below to learn the ways in which you can identify your skills and volunteer your time and expertise. Take a moment, review the opportunities for participation, and volunteer to your profession.

2010 committee volunteer form

We look forward to your involvement.

When I sat down to write this address I thought to myself “The WA-BC Chapter is really on a roll!”  This thought reminded me of a study session I had with my 12 year old son the other night regarding inertia. To summarize: A body at rest stays at rest, a body in motion stays in motion. Not long ago the WA-BC Chapter was at rest. And it was hard to move. But with the efforts of some strong folks we got the Chapter ball rolling. Now we are in motion and we are moving downstream. Not to say it is easy because there will be forces in our future that cause our speed or direction to change, but with the experience and knowledge we have gained and the systems in place to keep us aligned with our Chapter mission we shall never come to rest again.

It is with great pleasure that I make the following announcements:

• Congratulations, the WA-BC Chapter received the Chapter of the Year Award from the Western Division of AFS. This is a huge honor as we competed against all the western division Chapters. This award is a great achievement for all the WA-BC Chapter members. In particular I would like to thank the WA-BC ExCom of the past 4 years and anyone who has served on a Chapter committee. With there hard work and dedication we accomplished an amazing feat. You know who you are and I thank you deeply. I am really proud of our Chapter and look forward to taking the Chapter of the Year Award for the entire AFS organization in Pittsburgh. That’s right, we are now in the running for the Parent Society Chapter of the Year Award.
• We had a very successful meeting in Nanaimo, BC on March 1-4. The facility, plenary speakers, presentations/posters, guest speakers, business meeting, socials and banquets were all a huge success. It was the first time we were in BC since 2005. Reconnecting our Canadian and US members was, in my opinion, the most successful part of the meeting. I had the opportunity to meet scores of folks and heard many people exchanging information about fisheries techniques, equipment, and ideas. Check out the AGM website for more details.

Thank you all for contributing to the Chapter success. Remember any help/push you can provide to the Chapter is greatly appreciated and will keep us in motion for years to come.

Sincerely,

Jim Shannon

WA-BC Chapter President

Check it out:

2010 Chapter of the Year

Our application documented the Chapter accomplishments between March 15, 2009 and March 15, 2010. We have accomplished so much in one year! Read it here:

2009-2010 WA-BC COTY Application

The Excom is honored to receive this award and we are proud of all of our members for making us outstanding. In particular we are thankful to all of those people who served on the excom, chaired AGM committees, chaired symposia, presented, or helped at the AGMs.

We are on a serious roll and are gearing up to make 2011 in Seattle a spectacular success. There is still room to help with the 2011 meeting and we encourage you to do so. Go to the 2011 website (Planning 2011 AFS toolbar above) for information about the Seattle Parent Society Meeting.

http://www.wabc-afs.org/agm2010/conference-home/2010-wa-bc-chapter-awards/

Dr. Dick Beamish recieves the Certificate of Achievement for significant contributions in numerous areas of fisheries conservation, Impressive publication record, exemplary teaching, and mentoring of future fisheries scientists from Brian Riddell.

Mike McHenry of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (LEKT) Fisheries Division, recieves the Conservation Organization of the Year Award from WA-BC President Jim Shannon. The (LEKT) Fisheries Division, largely through the efforts of Mike McHenry, has made significant contributions to fish habitat restoration along Washington’s north Olympic Peninsula.