SierraScape February - March 2002
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by Michael F. Bollinger EMG Conservation Committee Chair
We're back! The Eastern Missouri Group (EMG) Conservation Committee (ConsCom), that is.
If you don't recall hearing from us for some time, you're absolutely right. Like a bear snuggled down for its winter nap, the ConsCom has been dormant recently. But with your help, that's about to change.
Like any volunteer-based organization, there are occasional lulls and lapses particularly during transitions, for instance when key "workers" leave to attend to other critical demands on their time and talents and someone new needs to step in. We've just experienced one such period, as the EMG has gone without a Conservation Chair for several months.
The group's bylaws require the Executive Committee to fill this permanent position, and they've recently given me an opportunity to give it a go.
The ConsCom's ranks have thinned, and as the new Chair, my first responsibilities are to rebuild the Committee's membership and then reinvigorate its mission.
That's why I'm appealing to you today.
Certainly, as a Sierra Club member you have a heightened sense of awareness of the broad range of environmental issues facing our communities. The ConsCom is a somewhat unique entity, with its universal scope. The responsibility of EMG's ConsCom is to identify, evaluate and address a broad range of environmental issues while focusing particularly on efforts we can take to affect the local consequences.
Conservation may encompass anything from A to Z-from Airborne mercury emissions (in defense of the air you breathe) to Zoning regulations (to preserve some precious parcel of undeveloped land we cherish).
While other groups within the EMG target specific topics-like Endangered Species or Transportation and Smart Growth-each of these and more can reasonably fall under the rubric of conservation. We will be working in unison with other groups and committees to best affect common interests.
I am confident that if you feel strongly about most any conservation issue and you're willing to step forward, there's a role you can fill within the ConsCom to make the EMG an even more effective organization.
In January a small group of us met to kick off this renewal effort. Among the things we discussed was a newly drafted ConsCom Organization and Operations Plan. (A copy of the current plan is posted on the EMG web site at missouri.sierraclub.org/emg.) It's our initial attempt to better define the role of the ConsCom and hopefully, lay out a means to make it effective.
The Operations Plan includes a statement of our goals and mandate, and lists several specific short and long term objectives. Please check it out and see where you fit in.
Our next meeting will be scheduled soon, but you'll have to contact us to receive notice regarding its time/date and location. Once a revised membership list has been compiled we'll establish a routine frequency and schedule for meetings.
It's time to finish our nap, yawn, rub the sleep out of our eyes, stretch-and get to work! Please join our efforts.
To learn more or volunteer to help, please call the office at (314) 644-0890 or email me, Mike Bollinger, at emgconscom@earthlink.net.