by Douglas Miller

Upon review and board approval, final meeting minutes are posted to the Minutes page. Following are highlights of the unapproved minutes from the April, 2022 CAS board and general membership meetings:

Treasurer’s Report

• Eric Seaman notes that CAS funds managed by the Community Foundation of Central Missouri have lost value as the financial markets have declined. He reminds us that we do have the ability to transfer money out of our investment funds into savings in order to shield our investments from possible further losses. The consensus of the board is to leave the funds as they are for now.

2022–2023 Budget

• Bill Mees suggests that the budget for Nature Areas be raised to reflect the increased work and activity that has been undertaken over the last few years.
• Nancy Bedan suggests to incoming board members that CAS might want to consider upgrading the laptop computer, which is becoming fairly ancient. Given that most presenters bring their own laptops, and that we don’t present as many in-person programs as we have in the past, the consensus is that this might not be an urgent matter. But we could budget an amount for an upgraded laptop in case the need suddenly arose.

Committee Reports

Nature Areas

• Bill Mees reports that with his permission, a beekeeper has installed a temporary swarm collection box at CANS.
• Bill mentions that we have received 100 seedlings from the Missouri Department of Conservation. 50 of the seedlings were planted by Jean and David Neely at Wild Haven; the remaining seedlings were planted by Bill and Jan Mees at Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary.
• Bill reports the the 3 small kiosks being built at Wild Haven by Eagle Scouts will require $200 of materials. He notes this is one of the first such projects where CAS has paid the cost of materials.
• Bill reports that two public school fifth-grade teachers have requested that benches be installed in one of the existing grassy clearings so that outdoor classes may be held at CANS. The project would involve 8–10 benches at a cost of $50–$75 each.

Bill Mees moves that CAS pay for 8–10 benches at Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary. John Besser seconds the motion. The motion carries.

• John Besser reports on an upcoming field trip on May 5th for 90 Centralia 6th-graders at Wild Haven Nature Sanctuary. Titled “Day on the Stream,” the program will feature 3 main activities: water monitoring and invertebrate study; birding with Lottie Bushman; and possibly a native plant-related component. Volunteer guides will be needed to lead the students between activity stations. (Dee Dokken volunteers.) A portable toilet will also be needed, at a cost of $150 for a basic unit, or an additional $140 for a unit including a sink.

Field Trips

• Jim Gast reports we have been invited to bird the prairie area on the A. L. Gustin Golf Course. A date will be scheduled sometime in May or June when flowers are in bloom.

Programs

• Nancy Bedan has reserved the Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary shelter for the May 22 CAS picnic. The event will begin at 4pm with 90-minute bird and prairie walks. The picnic and a short membership meeting begin at 6pm.
• Jim Gast mentions that he and Eric Seaman will recap the year’s events to the membership at the May picnic. If anyone has any highlights of the year, they can share them with Jim and Eric.

Education

• Lottie Bushmann reports 23 people attended the recent First Friday field trip.
• Lottie also mentions that leaders have been set for the upcoming North Amercian Migratory Bird Count. At the next meeting we might discuss whether capturing the results through Ebird is equivalent to what we had done in the past.

New Business

Bradford Farm

• Jim Gast reports that birding or fishing at Bradford Farm has been halted, after a number of incidents of thefts, vandalism and property damage. The site manager is agreeable to allowing organized field trips. Bradford Farm is drawing up a set of usage guildelines to allow individual birders to return in the future.

Eagle Bluffs

• Jim Gast reports that CAS members have contacted the board with concerns about the removal of trees at Eagle Bluffs pool 2 — and possibly pools 14 and 15. Jim will relay these concerns to the site manager and invite him to write an article for the Chat, outlining recent changes and the reasons behind them. Anyone who has additional concerns may contact the Eagle Bluffs site director directly

2022 CoMoGives fundraiser

• Jim Gast asks if we would like to participate in the next CoMoGives fundraiser, taking place in December. The deadline for participation is June 3.

Nancy Bedan moves that CAS participate in the 2022 CoMoGives fundraiser. Bill Mees seconds the motion. The motion carries.

Time called to order: 7:03pm. A quorum was present.

Elections for CAS Board of Directors

Jim Gast thanked Lori Turner, Laura Hillman and Shelby Thomas for serving on the nominating committee.

Jim Gast presented the following slate of candidates for positions on the CAS Board of Directors: Lori Turner, President; Judy Lincoln, Vice President; Louise Flenner, Secretary; Eric Seaman, Treasurer and Kevin Wehner, Director. Per the requirement of the By-laws, Jim asked if there were any nominations from the floor. Hearing none, he announced that since the positions were uncontested and that a motion to approve the slate of candidates would be entertained.

Bill Mees moved that the membership approve the slate of candidates for the CAS board. Lottie Bushmann seconded the motion. The motion carried with no dissensions.