I have just read the blog concerning the discussion of non-profit status for the group. I have heard (no personal experience) that there are some advantages to going non-profit, but it also creates a few handcuffs, and requires a large increase in time spent meeting, processing paperwork, and creates a need for someone or several someones to dedicate a lot of time just to the upkeep of the machinery of the non-profit. And often times the people that have to fill the bureaucratic positions lose the ability to do whatever their original goal was (field work, education or whatever). I have no reason to believe that becoming a non-profit would be bad, but I think it should be well discussed and not rushed into.
Ray Replied
Good to hear from you. Sorry that the news was so bad. I can't imagine being locked out for 2 months. Recreating your electronic life must be painful.
I have the same impression of non-profit status. John and I are not going to make any changes unless there is a ground swell of support, a new board of directors and a more active tribe to carry the load. Fund-raising advantages are appealing since non-profit status is a prerequisite and individuals my be more willing to contribute if there is a viable tax deduction. I also serve on the board of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, Firelands Chapter. For a while I was the treasurer. Keeping track of money and reporting, possibly being audited are a burden that I, personally, do not intend to undertake. Worse yet is the prospect of having a paid director. No thank you. This is not something that I would wish upon a largely volunteer organization. You are pushing the limits of friendship when you expect and require this kind of skill and commitment.
I remember the visit John and I had of the Baumhart property. Ponding and impoundment projects should be done in consultation with the Lorain County Soil and Water folks. You have a drainage channel there also. The county will want the upstream properties to be properly drained. Do you have a detailed topo map of the property? Would you like a bio survey in the spring? Can I invite other interested FOWL members to join us while we look for salamander eggs? How does the weekend of April 17-18 sound as a target date for exploring your property?
For Prairie work, I know you can get assistance from John Blakeman. I burned with him last spring. He is an expert and is authorized for these somewhat risky management duties. Check him out at Ohio Prairie Association
On a total side note... As I get closer to retirement, I am attempting to put more time and work into my property on Baumhart Road in Henrietta Township. It has a channelized stream, headwaters of Beaver Creek, and some of the old stream meanders remain behind a here and there levee from the channelizing. Some of these do have use by frogs and salamanders, but I need to look at what I should do to protect or enhance the area. Part of the area was damaged by some BAD loggers using BAD techniques including the total destruction of one vernal pool and a skid road going right through another. I am a geologist by training and a generalist by nature. I am attempting to do a prairie restoration on part of the property and looking at constructing a pond/wetland. If there is a time for an evaluation of the existing pools in the spring it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the e-mail and info. I had test holes for the pond dug yesterday and am waiting for the LCSW engineers to give their feedback. I am trying to do this the right way and have had consultation from some experienced people. A while back when we had purchased the second piece of property at that location my wife and I, both science teachers, had thought about having a teaching/learning place as a way to pass some time and stay involved. We have been huge fans of The Wilderness Center down our way and have used it with our students on several occasions as well as enjoyed some good old adult learning of our own through some of their many offerings. We envisioned a smaller version of that. The addition of the pond and creation of a sizeable prairie are for aesthetics, wildlife, preservation, my enjoyment and the possibility of education. I have worked with Randy Carmel (fellow teacher) down here on several prairie restoration projects. The two of us and several other adults are working with groups of Wooster students on restoration in the Wright Marsh area which is part of the Killbuck Marsh complex on Rt 226 just north of Shreve. The Ohio Division of Wildlife has kindly given us permission to work on about 10-15 acres of their land right by the parking area. We have a nice piece of prairie going with hopes to continue expansion over the full available acreage. I got into prairies several years ago after going to Leopold's "Shack" and visiting several existing native prairies, and several restoration projects. I was blown away and have been dabbling in it and learning tons ever since. I have a nice section of what used to be my yard down here that now flowers beautifully, attracts wildlife, and also doesn't need to be mowed! Thanks for the info with Mr. Blakeman and the Ohio Prairie Association, sounds like a great contact. I will definitely be in touch with them. After 15 years of playing, exploring, reading and picking people's brains I am still learning an incredible amount. Plus we are experiencing incredible growth here in Wayne Co and see the same in Holmes Co just to our south and watch as every year another prairie remnant goes under the bulldozer. We have been doing all of this as an educational process but are also trying to build a "safe and protected" seed bank.
Your visit last year was much appreciated. I would welcome the bio survey, and don't mind if a group shows up in the spring. If you think it is worthy I would welcome people showing up for a spring hike. The weekend of 4/17-18 sounds good right now. I will be heading to Arizona to visit my son and his family to assist in the welcoming of grandchild number 5 somewhere around 4/4. If all goes well we should be back before then.
I have a couple of maps of the property, including the ones that come with the Lorain Co Soil Survey bible (electronic version) and a regular quadrangle map, but would love to have a detailed map. I have played a lot with the google earth stuff also. I probably would need something with a 1 foot contour level to show much as the terrain is incredibly flat!
FOWL has been great for me, and I have not even been truly involved yet. I would like to see its membership and volunteer funding build, but worry about it becoming more structure and less function. A large part of FOWL's appeal I think is the field work and enjoyment of the outdoors. A lot of people not only dislike the "office work" but they dread it. The system has many advantages, but a long time ago someone said something about "paid directors" tend to become more like dictators. After a while it almost seems as though the raising of funds becomes more important than the raising of voices, and the enjoyment and education. And it seems that grass roots organizations maintain their passion and purpose longer. I know that funding and tax exemptions sound very appealing, but they come at a cost. And you and I through our jobs understand what processing large volumes of paperwork involves! Not one of my passions or strong points! And speaking of large volumes of paperwork, I think this has gone on long enough! Thanks for your help and I look forward to getting together with you all soon.
denny jordan
(as Kathleen so sweetly puts it), while allowing a certain quick-footedness and strong direction, has stymied the group and held it back in many ways. I know that so many of our members and participants have a lot to offer, and hope some of them will take the opportunity to make FOWL their own, so to speak. One of the current most important resources for this development is the availability of people who can guide discussion in a positive and constructive way. My hope, then, is that an agreed meeting time and place be developed through communication among this group of people, so that I can put this as an announcement in the upcoming, probably very brief, newsletter (which I very much hope to have completed by the beginning of December at the latest). Unless advised otherwise, I think it would be proper to thus include any of FOWL's interested members in this process. I am not now planning on attending any such meeting; I feel it is important to remove myself from the discussion of FOWL's future and the decisions that are thereby reached since I won't be the main force behind it any longer. I would be delighted to consult with people who have questions and ideas if they choose. I hope not to lose all contact with FOWL activities; I especially love the educational aspects of wetlands natural history and would be delighted to provide what resources I have in this area in whatever way my circumstances allow. It would be extremely sad for me to witness the end of FOWL. After 18 years it has become a very important part of what I am. My experience with this effort has been trying, joyous, fulfilling, energizing, character-building, and full of companionship and humble gratitude and acknowledgment of the commitment and spirited intent of others. I do think of FOWL as more of a tribe than a formal organization (though it might be good to alter that) - of like-minded people who can come together to support a common passion without succumbing to the tragedy of amplified differences. One of the most consistent points that I got as feedback from the FOWL picnics is how much so many of the participants enjoyed the company of the others. After the initial responses - many of which expressed ideas about 501(c)3 status for FOWL, there has been little if any activity towards planning its next incarnation. I hope that people will communicate and let me know about any meeting time and place that is decided upon.
