June 28, 2021
RE: Summer update and Bylaws revision
Dear Watershed Community Members,
We hope you have enjoyed the emergence of the summer and all the plants, fish and wildlife that comes with it! Our small group of committed staff have been very busy with restoration projects, partnership meetings, grant management, job postings, and organizing community meetings. This year has posed challenges to offer all the activities we have in past summers. We are so thankful to all of you for your patience and support during this time! Our Board continues to assist staff with capacity and look forward to improving the function and health of the Siuslaw Watershed Council.
As we mentioned to Watershed Community members in an April 27th letter, the Board has identified that our bylaws are in need of an update. Late last year we identified several key issues related to Board capacity and sought to address those; however, we missed a key amendment clause in the bylaws and were unable to formally adopt bylaws amendments after our January meeting. This mistake led to a deeper discussion by the Policy and Bylaws Committee. The result is a more comprehensive review of the bylaws. For transparency, we are providing our bylaws revision as one Clean Bylaws Draft and one Track Changes Bylaws Draft. We are not perfect, but we do believe that we have made clarifying and sensible changes to the bylaws. We have also updated the bylaws in substantive ways like Board composition and addition of goals to align with current SWC strategies.
We ask that you take the time to review the updated bylaws, which have been posted for a review period of 30 days, prior to the July 28th meeting. They have been posted on the SWC website for your consideration (see link below.) If you have major concerns, or even see small typos, please reach out and let us know. The Board will be bringing a motion to adopt the new draft bylaws at the July meeting. We value your participation in this process, and hope that you plan to attend the July meeting. All members are eligible to vote on the bylaws. Please make sure that you have paid your 2021 dues prior to the July 28th meeting, as voting requirements in the current bylaws require payment in order to be considered a current member and for your vote to be counted. If you have questions about your membership status, please call or email Mizu Burruss at coordinator@siuslaw.org or 541-268-3044, Christina Ward at financial@siuslaw.org, or 541-590-5707.
Please help us finalize a lasting change to support a healthy watershed and stronger community here in the Siuslaw! We look forward to seeing you at our July 28th meeting! Please look for the meeting announcement in the coming week.
Respectfully,
Margaret Corvi, Board President Mizu Burruss, Executive Director
