The Bylaws of The Ecological Society of America Vegetation Classification Panel
February 2003
BYLAW 1. NAME.
The name of this organization shall be the Ecological Society of America Vegetation Classification Panel, hereafter "Panel."
BYLAW 2. NATURE AND OBJECTIVES.
2.1. Nature. The Panel is a body of professional ecologists organized within the Ecological Society of America, hereafter "ESA."
2.2. Objectives. The objectives of the Panel are to (1) facilitate and support the development, implementation, and use of a standardized vegetation classification for the United States; (2) guide professional ecologists in defining and adopting standards for vegetation sampling and analysis in support of the classification; (3) collaborate with partner organizations to maintain scientific credibility of the classification through oversight of a peer review system; and (4) promote and facilitate international collaboration in development of vegetation classifications and associated standards.
BYLAW 3. MEMBERS AND OFFICERS.
3.1. Members.
3.1.1. The Panel shall consist of two types of Members, Executive Members and Regular Members. Hereafter "Member" when used alone shall refer to both types of Members collectively.
3.1.2. Regular Members and Executive Members shall be considered equivalent in professional status, importance to the Panel, and potential extent of contributions to the Panels business.
3.1.3. Members shall be limited to those persons who have had sufficient training, experience, and career positions in vegetation science to be considered by professional ecologists as peers.
3.1.4. Members shall be invited to serve because of expertise and expectation of future contributions to the objectives of the Panel, rather than because of institutional affiliation.
3.1.5. Not all Members need be formally affiliated with ESA.
3.2 Executive Members. Executive members shall number five, shall be elected by the Panel membership to staggered three-year terms, and shall be eligible to serve up to three consecutive full terms. Nominations based on criteria of experience or perspective in vegetation classification shall be solicited from the Panel. The Executive Members shall constitute an Executive Committee.
3.3. Regular Members.
3.3.1 Regular members shall number between 8 and 15 and shall be appointed by the ESA President to three-year terms renewable up to three terms.
3.3.2. Nominations based on criteria of experience or perspective in vegetation classification shall be solicited from the full Panel and the Vegetation Section annually.
3.3.3. Appointments shall be effective on August 1 of the year of appointment, or on the date of the start of the annual meeting of ESA if that should occur earlier.
3.4 Officers. The Chair of the Panel shall be appointed by the President of the Society for a renewable three year term. Executive members are selected from the Panel membership for three year terms.The Chairs term of office may be terminated by the President of the Society. Other officers may be appointed, as needed, by a majority vote of the Executive Committee and shall be considered to be ad-hoc appointments.
3.5. Termination of Membership. Membership may be terminated before a full term is completed due to: (a) incapacitation; (b) voluntary resignation; (c) resignation requested of a Regular Member by a majority vote of the Executive Committee (when such a resignation is requested and sent to the Member by any usual means of written communication, the resignation shall become effective 30 days from the date notification was sent); or (d) resignation requested of an Executive Member by the ESA President (when such a resignation is requested and sent to the Executive Member by any usual means of written communication, the resignation shall become effective 30 days from the date notification was sent).
BYLAW 4. MEETINGS.
4.1. Panel meetings. The Panel shall meet at least once a year in conjunction with the annual meeting of ESA, or at a location and date determined by consent of a majority of Members. A quorum shall consist of one Member more than 50% of all Members. The agenda of the meeting shall be prepared by the Executive Committee, but may be amended by a majority vote of Members. Members shall be notified of Panel meetings by any usual means of communication no fewer than 30 days prior to a meeting date.
4.2 Executive Committee meetings. The Executive Committee may meet separately as often as the Executive Members agree to by majority vote, or as requested by the Chair. Executive Committee decisions shall be by majority vote of the full Executive Committee. Executive Members shall be notified of Executive Committee meetings by any usual means of communication no fewer than 15 days prior to a meeting date.
BYLAW 5. COMMITTEES.
5.1. Standing Committees. The Panel may, from time to time and by majority vote, choose to create standing committees with chairs, vice chairs, long-term objectives, procedures, and regulations, at any Panel meeting.
5.2. Ad-hoc Committees. The Executive Committee may, from time to time and by majority vote choose to organize some Members into temporary committees advisory to the Panel with chairs, vice-chairs, and short-term objectives.
BYLAW 6. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
6.1. The Panel. The Panel has responsibility for advancing the objectives of the Panel identified in BYLAW 2 and establishing ESA standards for vegetation classification including, but not limited to, field sampling, data archiving, data analysis, type description, peer review, and publication. Furthermore, the Panel shall collaborate with partner organizations to maintain scientific credibility of the classification through oversight of a peer review system for proposed changes in the U.S. Vegetation Classification.
6.2 The Members. Members shall endeavor to attend annual meetings of the Panel during their tenure and contribute substantially to the work of the Panel.
6.3. The Executive Committee.
6.3.1. The Executive Committee shall manage the work of the Panel and shall have responsibility for implementing the objectives, activities and decisions of the full Panel.
6.3.2. Executive Committee Members shall participate actively in the work of the Panel and its regular and special activities. Executive Committee Members are expected to share equally in management tasks and may do so by dividing responsibilities, such as fund management and fund raising, coordination with and outreach to outside groups, and leading specific activities.
6.4. The Chair.
6.3.1. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Committee and the Panel. In the event that the Chair is unable to be present, those members of the Executive Committee who are present shall elect an interim Chair.
6.4.2. The Chair shall serve, or appoint other Executive Members to serve, as liaison between the Panel and the ESA and any other organizations that may have interests or objectives that intersect those of the Panel.
6.4.3. The Chair shall facilitate all activities of the Executive Committee and the Panel.
6.4.4. The Chair shall lead the Panel in long-range planning, and shall in general provide executive leadership.
6.4.5. The Chair shall be chief executive officer, empowered by the Panel and ESA to sign agreements on behalf of the Panel as approved by the Executive Committee and the Executive Director of ESA.
BYLAW 7. CONTRACTS, GRANTS AND FINANCES.
7.1. Contracts and Grants. The Panel may enter into contracts and receive grants subject to approval of the Executive Director of ESA.
7.2. Deposits. Funds coming for Panel activities from contracts and grants shall be deposited in the ESA treasury and managed by ESA.
7.3. Expenditures. Necessary expenses of the Panel shall be paid from the treasury of ESA, but in no year shall the total expenses of the Panel exceed the sum of the amount allotted for this purpose in the annual budget of ESA, plus the amount available from contracts and grants obtained on behalf of the Panel. The Chair shall authorize expenditures of funds on behalf of the Panel following procedures established by the Executive Director of ESA. No officer or member of the Panel shall have authority to incur expenses in the name of ESA, except as specified above.
BYLAW 8. REPORTS AND RECORDS.
8.1. Reports. The Executive Committee shall provide an annual written report of activities and plans to Panel Members and the ESA Governing Council on or about 1 July.
8.2. Records. The Executive Committee shall maintain minutes of Executive Committee and Panel meetings and records of actions without meetings. Such minutes and records shall be sent to Panel Members in a timely manner, using any usual means of written communication.
BYLAW 9. AMENDMENT OF THE BYLAWS.
These Bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the Panel at any meeting, providing that details of the intended amendments have been sent by any usual means of written communication to Members at least 30 days prior to the date of the meeting. Amendments to these Bylaws are subject to ratification by the Governing Board of ESA.
[From http://www.esa.org/vegweb/feb20meeting.htm, attachment 3]