Mission Possible
Mission Statement: To protect, enhance, and restore the South Fork Flambeau River Watershed for its ecologic, recreation, aesthetic, and cultural values for future generations and to increase community support for conservation through education.
1) What is the collective responsibility of the membership to its mission?
- Protect: advocate for responsible development and enforcement of environmental laws and policies
- Enhance: encourage land owners to go beyond minimum requirements
- Restore: engage in efforts to restore river ecology toward its natural state
- Watershed: recognize that the scope of the mission goes beyond the boundaries of the South Fork Flambeau River (SFFR) into the sub-watersheds
- Ecology: participate in activities involving water quality and quantity, aquatic habitat, and shoreline habitat
- Recreation: promote quality riverine recreational opportunities and host social events for membership
- Aesthetics: endorse natural shores initiatives
- Culture: recognize the relationship of the SFFR to the heritage of local communities and recreationists
- Future Generations: do our part in this generation to pass on the wild and natural character of the SFFR watershed
- Community Support: build and maintain bridges to community leaders to foster policies favorable to the river
- Conservation: assist government agencies by putting feet in the water and boots on the ground to gather scientific data and identify, document, and report violations
- Education: promote environmental education and resource stewardship through the group's website, information displays, programming, media, and self-learning
2) What responsibilities do the board and standing committees have in implementing the mission?
- Develop long-term strategic plan
- Develop annual program of work
- Develop budgets for standing committees: events, by-laws, water quality, education, grants, habitat, and public relations
- Develop funding strategies to implement the mission's goals and objectives
- Develop and maintain strong partnerships with federal, state, local, and private organizations
- Maintain and grow membership
- Conduct regular communication with members to encourage exchange of ideas and maintain active interest in mission
- Create opportunities for membership involvement in all activities
- Coordinate environmental education programming
- Develop, implement, and monitor operating procedures
3) How can the board and standing committees advance the mission's goals in 2007?
- Develop 2007 budget for standing committees
- Plan 2008 budget and program of work
- Leverage SFFRWA capital by pursuing grants and donations
- Continue water quality testing in conjunction with Price County (PC) Health Dept.
- Continue citizen monitoring in conjunction with RAW and WDNR
- Review rate of membership retention and develop membership recruitment strategy
- Improve communication and education delivery systems by developing a brochure, display board, and new website
- Pursue $5,000 grant from Wis. Public Service Corp. settlement funds as administered by the River Alliance of Wisconsin
- Partner with other groups and host at least one environmental education program
- Produce at least one newsletter
- Appoint new Treasurer immediately upon resignation date of incumbent Treasurer
- Develop budgeting and accounting procedures as identified in 2006 assessment
- Continue watershed advocacy through letter writing and meeting attendance
- Convene committee, including subject experts, to meet with Plum Creek to address issues such as "wildlife buffers and ecologically-based uses of watershed acres" (PF Herald, 3/15/07)
- Invite partners to at least one member meeting including the PC Zoning Administrator, PC Public Health Nurse, WDNR, Forest Service, River Alliance Northern Representative, new PC Land Conservationist, and new Basin Educator
- Schedule annual meeting and conduct elections
