WFA Bylaws, cont.
Article V. Conferences
Section 1. Date
The council shall set general membership conferences approximately every 36 months. A local Chair and a Conference Chair (organizer) selected by the Council will make the final decision on specific dates, details, and length of the conference.
Section 2. Place
The Council shall consider the regional make-up of the membership when choosing the conference location. The location should vary to give members the opportunity to attend at least one meeting each six to nine years. Selection criteria for conference locations will be flexible, and based on proposals presented to the Council by potential conference hosts.
Section 3. Notice to Members
Notice of the time and place of the Wild Felid Association Conference shall be sent to the members not less than 1 year prior to the meeting: the general time and place will be selected at least two years in advance. This shall be the Secretary's responsibility.
Article VI. Bylaws and Resolutions
Section 1. Bylaws
The workings and organization of the Wild Felid Association shall include only those listed in these Bylaws. Copies of the Bylaws shall be available to any member upon written request to the Secretary.
Section 2. Amendments to the Bylaws
Any voting member of the Wild Felid Association may submit in writing amendments to the Bylaws. All amendments must be ratified by the membership before becoming part of the Bylaws, except for interim Bylaws as described below.
All proposed amendments shall be either submitted to the President and published in the forthcoming Newsletter or submitted to the floor of the Wild Felid Association business meeting at the primary conference. Ratification of amendments shall require a two-thirds majority of voting members at the primary conference business meeting. Amendments considered outside of the business meeting shall be ratified by a two-thirds majority of mail ballots published in the next Newsletter and received by the Secretary within 30 business days following their appearance in the Newsletter.
To accommodate timely resolution of important issues that are not specifically addressed in the Bylaws, the Council may, by a two-thirds vote, establish interim Bylaw amendments that will remain in effect until ratified or rejected by mail-in ballot. Such interim amendments must be published in the next Newsletter and be ratified by a two-thirds majority of returned mail ballots. These mail ballots shall be included with the Newsletter following the initial publication to allow for open discussion by members. To be counted, the Secretary must receive ballots within 30 business days following their publication date in the Newsletter.
Section 3. Resolutions
Resolutions may be submitted by any member for ratification by a simple majority of the general membership present during Wild Felid Association business meetings. Proposed resolutions may also be submitted to the President, published in the forthcoming newsletter for discussion/amendments, presented for mail-in voting in the following newsletter (2nd presentation) and passed by a simple majority of mail-in ballots received by the Secretary within 30 business days following publication in the second Newsletter. Approved resolutions will be published in the next Newsletter following their approval.
Article VII. Publications
Section 1. Publications
The Wild Felid Association shall issue conference proceedings, which includes those papers submitted at conferences that are reviewed by peers and accepted by assigned Wild Felid Association editor(s). In addition, at the discretion of the editor(s) and Council, a policy may be adopted to allow inclusion of additional peer-reviewed papers that are submitted to the editor(s) but not presented at conferences. The Wild Felid Association shall also publish a serial Newsletter that reports on Wild Felid Association and affiliate group news, scientific articles, current literature, management issues, and research. English shall be the official language of all Wild Felid Association proceedings and newsletters.
Section 2. Publication Staff
The Editor(s) of the conference proceedings, following guidelines from the Council, shall be responsible for all matters relating to publication of manuscripts submitted at conferences or submitted during their tenure, including updating publication guidelines provided by the Publications Committee, selection of referees and sections editors, and drafting of additional staff as appropriate. The Newsletter Editor shall be responsible for all matters relating to publication of Wild Felid Monitor.
Section 3. Funding
The funding of the Wild Felid Association's publications shall be directed by the Council; normally a Conference fund-raiser may be selected.
Article VIII. Scholarships
Section 1. Criteria
The Wild Felid Research and Management Association shall offer scholarship(s) to worthy university graduate students or other individuals who show need of support for their research on wild felid(s). Initially any scholarship Wild Felid Association offers will be used to provide financial aid to a graduate level university student conducting research on wild felids. Initial value of the scholarship will be set at $1000. The scholarship recipient(s) must be a student member of the Wild Felid Association to receive the award. Availability of the scholarship will depend on available money in the Wild Felid Association account. The recipient will be recognized in the Wild Felid Association's newsletter, the Wild Felid Monitor, and will also be asked to contribute an article on their research to the newsletter. Applicants will be evaluated based on: demonstrated need for financial aid; participation in a research project that aims to improve our understanding of wild felid biology, management and / or conservation; and high undergraduate and graduate GPA. Wild Felid Association Council members, relatives of Wild Felid Association Scholarship Committee members, or substantial contributors to the Wild Felid Association (>$500 during any given year) are not eligible for the scholarship.
Section 2. Scholarship Fund Administration
The Wild Felid Association's Scholarship Committee administers any scholarships and selects recipients, who are subject to approval by a majority of the Wild Felid Association Board of Directors (Council). The Scholarship Committee reserves the right not to award a scholarship or to award more than one scholarship during a calendar year, depending on the committee's opinion of the applicants' qualifications and the availability of funds. All committee decisions are final.
Section 3. Scholarship Committee
The Scholarship Committee will be comprised of 5 Wild Felid Association members (typically Council members) chosen by the president.1
The Wild Felid Research and Management Association Bylaws were passed by the WFA interim Board of Directors (Council) on 14 March 2007.
Sharon Negri
WFA interim secretary
1Amendments to the WFA bylaws (boxed, in orange) were approved by the WFA Council (L Sweanor, S Negri, J Beecham, C Belden, D Dawn, G Koehler, C Papouchis, R Thompson, J Williams) 3 April 2009 via email. Amendments were voted on and passed the WFA membership (mail-in ballots) February 2010. Of 43 ballots returned: 39 for, 1 against, 3 no vote.
Sharon Negri
WFA interim secretary