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Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee
Winter Meeting Minutes
December 11, 2007
Holiday Inn, Downtown at the Park
Missoula, MT
Welcome & Introductions: The IGBC Chairman, Chris Smith, opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. Chris’s two-year term as IGBC Chairman ended at the conclusion of the meeting and a new chair and vice chair will be elected. Members attending the meeting included the following:
Tom Tidwell, Bob Vaught, Janet Wise, Mike Stewart, Tony Hamilton, Jay Slack, Dave Brittell, Harv Forsgren, Jim Unsworth, Jeff Kershner, Gene Terland,
IGBC Executive Assistant Ellen Davis and IGBC Advisors Chris Servheen, and Jim Claar, and IGBC I&E Subcommittee Chair Doug Zimmer were also present.
Former Executive Committee Members Jack Troyer and Mitch King were recognized for their outstanding service and participation with the IGBC.
ACTION ITEMS: (Note: Additional discussion & details on action items addressed in topics below).
- Ellen Davis will work with Tony Hamilton to draft a letter from the IGBC executive committee to the Minister of British Columbia for continued support of the grizzly bear augmentation program on the Canadian side of the border. The letter will be circulated to the IGBC executive committee for edits and comments before finalized and signed by the new IGBC Chair.
- Tom Tidwell & Jim Claar will check with the Forestry Science Lab here in Missoula to see if they would be willing to do research on bear spray standards and criteria.
- Jim Claar will chair a task group of agency members and bear management specialists to review the need for IGBC guidelines for bear spray in view of the current EPA regulations currently in place. The task force will present a report of findings and make recommendations to the IGBC executive committee by March 1, 2008. Agency members are to submit names of task force participants to Jim Claar ASAP.
- The IGBC I&E Subcommittee (Doug Zimmer et al) will make sure that IGBC publications do not imply an endorsement for any specific brand of bear spray. This will include review of current materials on hand and any actions necessary to resolve the concerns raised by UDAP (Pepper Power) regarding the current materials
- Ellen Davis & Larry Timchak will work together to identify dates for the next winter IGBC meeting that coincide with dates the Discovery Center is open. A field trip to the Discovery Center would be part of the IGBC meeting. The IGBC executive committee agreed to a 1-day white bark pine workshop in conjunction with the next winter IGBC meeting as well as a site visit to the Discovery Center. The meeting will be held in the Greater Yellowstone Area. Larry will get back to Ellen by the end of January with proposed dates. Ellen will circulate the date options to the executive committee for a decision.
- Ellen Davis will move the approved Access Management Talking Points from the IGBC administrative site to the IGBC web site. There is currently a need to provide accurate information and follow-up on a myth that trails in recovery areas are closed to all access. Not true. We need to dispel that myth.
- Ellen Davis will send a “tickler” message to certain executive committee members to remind them to revisit and follow-up with the invites to the governors of ID, WY, MT & WA and the USDI/USDA Secretaries for the IGBC 25th anniversary celebration in June 2008.
- IGBC Written History Document - The IGBC Executive Committee agreed to fund the “IGBC Written History Document.” The IGBC Federal members agreed to commit $1,200 each to help pay the 10K price tag to the University of Montana for a graduate student to do as part of her program. Ellen will collect the funds through the IGBC budget and will modify the ‘08’ budget to reflect the additional contributions.
- IGBC 25th Anniversary Celebration - Chris Smith & Jay Slack will work on raising funds through NGOs and other entities and give us a status report by the end of January. The IGBC annual I&E dollars could be considered as a proposal, depending on any shortfall. Ellen will wait on amending the ‘08’ IGBC budget until we see what shortfalls we have which could also be added into the 08 budget contributions.
- Chris Smith will circulate the different funding scenarios he submitted to the NFWF. We will wait and see what the foundation recommends. We may look at other foundation options as well. Chris will also contact Mary Mitsos with the NFF and give her an update on how IGBC is proceeding.
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