After the Storms:  An AFS Action Plan Gets Underway

Christopher C. Kohler
President, American Fisheries Society

I wrote in a previous President’s Hook column (Fisheries 30[11]:4) that AFS would take measures to assist colleagues in the Gulf Coast region who suffered substantial personal and professional losses as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  I am pleased to report that at the mid-year AFS Governing Board meeting held 11 March 2006 in Bethesda, Maryland, your elected leadership approved funding to implement a plan of action to provide such relief.  We are navigating through uncharted waters in this regard, so some of the specifics have yet to be worked out, but I am confident the network of dedicated volunteers AFS represents is up to the challenge.  I will describe what our initial responses will be, how these actions might be implemented, and end with a plea for all AFS Units and individual members to consider supporting this unprecedented endeavor.

The Action Plan

1. AFS assigned the Southern Division (SDAFS) with administrative and programmatic responsibilities to implement relief to AFS members in the Gulf Coast region impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
2. Upon approval of the SDAFS leadership, complimentary memberships and online journal subscriptions will be provided temporarily (duration to be determined) to AFS members identified by their respective AFS Chapters as having been impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
3. Upon approval of SDAFS leadership, travel funds to attend AFS Annual Meetings will be provided to AFS members identified by their respective AFS Chapters as having been impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
4. SDAFS will assist with the establishment, maintenance, and staffing of a program to facilitate linkages between AFS members identified by their respective AFS Chapters as having specific professional and/or programmatic needs resulting from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita with AFS members/Units and other organizations who have resources to address these needs.
5. AFS will provide a maximum of $30,000 to SDAFS to address the above actions for the period 15 March - 31 December 2006.
6. The AFS Hurricane Relief Task Force, along with the SDAFS, will report to the AFS Governing Board at the Annual Meeting in Lake Placid in September 2006 on the status of the on-going relief efforts and provide recommendations for future disaster relief programs and actions.

AFS at Your Service

AFS may not be in a position to remedy all problems facing members impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita but, through the actions listed above, AFS can ensure members do not lose their connection to their professional society.  The Governing Board views these steps as part of the professional mission of the Society--services that AFS should provide members in the aftermaths of major disasters.  In that regard, much will be learned over the next couple of years on how best AFS can respond to membership needs following calamities such as was experienced in the Gulf Coast in 2005.  President Elect Jennifer Nielsen has incorporated in her Plan of Work the development of formal plans for any future disaster relief efforts AFS might face.  One component of any such formal plan will surely be how to mobilize AFS Units to administer and implement recommended actions.  In the current effort, the Chapter leaderships in the impacted region will be the first points of contact with members.  Recommendations will then be passed on the Division leadership for approvals.  Clearly, every effort will be made to be sensitive to the members in need and provide them with the utmost privacy.  None of us are immune to disasters, whether they are natural or man-made.

Let’s Get Mobilized

Action item #4 is not limited to the Southern Division and for it to be successful I am calling upon all AFS units and members to consider ways to support the relief effort.  Once a formal mechanism is in place to link needs with possible assistance, financial or material, it is imperative that we move forward as rapidly as possible.  Members might be in a position to donate journals, books, or fisheries equipment (the latter perhaps through their institutions of employment).  There will be shipping costs associated with getting any of these items from point A to point B.  Conversely, with a little imagination, some items could be delivered at minimal cost.  For example, I could envision an individual or institution donating a boat, motor, and trailer and then using several Student Subunits to establish a tag team to get them delivered.  The same could be done for journals and books where a Unit, say a Chapter, serves as a central repository within their geographic bounds.  These are just a couple suggestions to prime the pump, so to speak.  Lastly, the $30,000 AFS has committed is a start.  More money is likely needed, but my hope is that AFS members and Units will contribute to this effort as well.  Unit leaders can best decide how their organizations might most effectively respond.  Individual members can work through their Units (Divisions, Chapters, Student Subunits, Sections) or they can contribute directly to the cause through a financial donation.  No amount is too small.  A few dollars coming from thousands of individual members will become a significant figure.  Donations from corporations and other institutions would also be welcomed.  To simplify making donations, you will find an addressed envelope inside the May issue.  Make your checks payable to “AFS Disaster Relief Fund.”  It is gratifying to witness that AFS is not simply about aquatic resources—it is very much about its members.

Financial contributions to the Disaster Response Program can be sent directly to AFS.

Relief Coordinator:
Danielle Pender
E-mail: danielle.pender@earthlink.net