Message from new chapter President, Matt Johnson

I would first like to thank Tom Fleischner as outgoing President for his insight, leadership and passion that brought our chapter a long way since its origin six years ago. I would also like to thank Paul Beier, our outgoing Conservation Chair. Paul’s energy and knowledge has also inspired us all and he will continue to be involved as Conservation Chair on the National Board of the Society for Conservation Biology. Both Tom and Paul have given the chapter new life through our gathering at Lee’s Ferry and our conference in Prescott. I feel that both of these events have inspired us all as conservation biologists and highlighted the importance of the Colorado Plateau Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology. Through our two gatherings of story telling, discussion of conservation issues, and great music, we have all walked away from these gatherings with a new outlook and energy for conserving the unique biodiversity of the Colorado Plateau.

This also gives me the opportunity to remind you of our next gathering. First, we will be holding a Conservation Biology Symposium, Wednesday, November 9, 2005, in conjunction with the 8th Biennial Conference of Research on the Colorado Plateau (Nov 7-10). This symposium will be chaired by Paul Beier and held at the du Bois Conference Center, Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, Arizona. I’ve attached the list of presentations and speakers (abstracts and schedule) After the symposium we will hold our annual membership meeting at the Beaver Street Brewery on South Beaver Street from 5:00-7:00 pm. This will also be an opportunity to sign up for your yearly membership and bring any new members. We will be serving hors d’ouvres, beer and wine, so please join us.

During the meeting we will welcome our new board members, Kim Crumbo, Conservation Chair, Ethan Aumack, Treasurer and meet our current board, Allison Jones, Vice President, Shawn Newell, Secretary, Dave Matson, Federal Agency Liaison and Gary Nabhan, Native American Liaison. We will be discussing new projects and our biannual meeting in 2007. We look forward to seeing you all there.

Matt