Minutes
Technical Committee
Meeting
April 22, 1998
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Introductions were made. Additions were made to the agenda to add discussion of communications among the committee members and the potential development of a "charter" for the committee.
COMMUNICATIONS
Charlene Dougherty will look into the development of separate "list-server" for the Technical Committeeàwhile a common word processor presented a problem with attachments; most people can "convert" files. The group recognizes they may need to fax material if committee members cannot convert files.
CHARTER
A discussion of potentially developing a committee charter resulted from the Governance Committee 's inquiries of the previous day. It was generally agreed that a document based upon the format used by the "Outreach Committee" would help to clarify the Committee 's role and aid the Governance Committee in understanding what the Technical Committee intends to do and how the missions will be carried out. Ideas on the charter, drafts, comments, approaches should be sent to Dale Strickland and/or Jay Maher by May 15th.
PEER-REVIEW
The Committee reviewed the General Concerns regarding the draft document presented to the Governance Committee in March. As no written comments were received from the Governance Committee, Committee member comments and conversational comments from others were discussed.
A "Final Draft" will be prepared for the June Governance Committee meeting. Comments with suggested language revisions should be sent to Dale Strickland or Jim Jenniges as soon as possible. The other committee chairs will be contacted to address whether or not their needs are met by the document. A new draft will be distributed May 15th for final review.
Some specific issues to be addressed include:
A flow chart of the peer-review process from requests for peer-review to final determinations
Use of Executive Director as "peer-review manager"
Inclusion of research protocol in process
Revisions and clarification of the role of CA participants (i.e. Committee members)
Committee members should send lists of potential internal and external peer-review panelists to Dale Strickland. Include name, address, email, affiliation, and areas of expertise from general (ornithology, vascular plants) to specific (Least Terns, Purple Loosestrife). Please encourage others to submit names as well. The other committees and Governance Committee members will be notified to send their recommendations.
MONITORING & RESEARCH
The Committee reviewed the earlier work developed by the subcommittee. The need for measurable objectives linked to both the CA document and the specific milestones for the Technical Committee was discussed. Dave Carlson suggested using work such as Missouri River Environmental Assessment Program as a model for articulating goals and objectives. Jan Keough will take the lead with the subcommittee to review/revise/assimilate materials.
The relationship of milestones R1, 2, & 3 to each other and the difficulty in carrying them out without first outlining goals and objectives was discussed. Fish & Wildlife would appreciate recommendations regarding developing the "Baseline" of R1-1 and monitoring for that baseline by May 15th.
The Committee generally agreed that Milestones R1, 2, & 3 were closely linked and that development of a scientifically sound basis for carrying them out would require discussion with the Governance Committee regarding both product and timeline. The Committee will work closely with the Service in coordinating our efforts.
The subcommittee will work to have a draft document available to the committee by the June 19th Technical Committee meeting.
The relationship of the M&R process to peer-review was discussed. The need for review of past, current and future study plans/reports was debated and should be resolved through the peer-review process.
Participating parties to the CA should submit a list by May 8th of current, committed, or funded studies that may be related to the CA efforts. Listings should include General Field of Study, Title of Study, principal investigations, funding organization, and a BRIEF statement of objectives, duration, etc.
For further information, contact the Technical Committee chair
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