Executive Committee

The Executive Committee of the Western Regional Panel (WRP) on ANS is a team of nine rotating WRP members that are elected at the Annual Meeting. Elected Executive Committee members serve a two-year term and are responsible for guiding the business of the WRP year-round. They hold a monthly meeting to determine WRP actions items and to keep informed the activites of standing committees and workgroups.

Executive Committee Members

Blaine Parker, Columbia River Intertribal Fisheries Commission, Term 2023-2025
Stephen Phillips, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, Term 2023-2025
Barak Shemai, US Fish and Wildlife Service Region 2, Term 2023-2025
Vanessa Salazar, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Term 2023-2025
Josh Leonard, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Term 2023-2025
Tom Woolf (Chair), Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Term 2024-2026
Robert Walters (Vice-Chair), Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Term 2024-2026
John Wullschleger, National Park Service, Term 2024-2026
Dennis Zabaglo, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Term 2024-2026

Election and Duties

Election of Executive Committee

The Executive Committee will have nine members. The Panel should seek to elect an Executive Committee that is representative of the breadth of interests on the Panel. At each Panel Meeting in an odd numbered year, the Panel shall elect five members and at each Panel Meeting in an even numbered year, the Panel shall elect four members to serve as the Panel’s Executive Committee. All Voting Members shall be eligible for nomination to the Executive Committee. The Panel shall elect a new Executive Committee member whenever a sitting member resigns, is removed, or ends his or her term of service as a Panel member for any of the reasons described in “Member Term of Service.” The Panel may remove an Executive Committee member by two-thirds majority vote of the Panel, provided that such action has been noticed in the agenda provided to each member at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which the vote takes place. The term for an Executive Committee member is two years with no limit to the number of terms that an Executive Committee member may serve.

Duties of Executive Committee Members

It is the duty of the Executive Committee to ensure, to the extent possible, that the purposes and procedures of the Panel, as defined in statute and in these bylaws, are carried out. Executive Committee members may not represent individual or member entity positions as those of the Panel without prior Panel approval. The following are generalized duties of Executive Committee members:

Executive Committee Duties

  1. Elect the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Panel.
  2. Participation in monthly conference calls.
  3. Approve the Panel annual budget.
  4. Oversee the Panel budget and determine proper use of funds in alignment with Panel objectives.
  5. Guide the planning efforts for the Panel Annual Meeting, including final approval of the meeting agenda and travel budget for speakers and participants.
  6. Formulate and communicate the general policy and procedures of the Panel.
  7. Serve as a liaison to at least one Panel committee and/or ANS Task Force committee, as needed.
  8. Provide feedback on the Panel Annual Report and Work Plan to the ANS Task Force each year.
  9. Provide leadership to members and partner organizations in bringing new issues to the Executive Committee and helping to further the mission and objectives of the Panel with their parent organizations and partners.
  10. Approve the use of the Panel logo on member and partner publications.

When representing the Panel at non-Panel meetings or other activities, Executive Committee members or the Panel Coordinator shall provide regular reports to the Executive Committee at the subsequent Panel Executive Committee monthly meeting. A summary will be recorded in the Executive Committee meeting minutes and be made available to the entire membership.

Chair and Vice-Chair

The Executive Committee shall elect a Chair and Vice-Chair by simple majority vote at the first Executive Committee meeting following the Annual Panel meeting at which the Executive Committee was elected, or shall elect a new Chair or Vice-Chair when a sitting Chair or Vice-Chair resigns or is removed. A Chair or Vice-Chair shall serve until (1) the next election of a Chair or Vice-Chair, (2) he or she resigns, or (3) he or she is removed. A Chair or Vice-Chair may be removed by two-thirds vote of the entire Executive Committee. There is no limit to the number of terms that a Chair or Vice-Chair may serve.

Duties of the Chair

  1. Chair Panel meetings and Executive Committee meetings
  2. Set dates and approve the agenda for Executive Committee meetings
  3. Provide oversight and direction to the Panel Coordinator
  4. Draft the annual business meeting agenda, subject to the direction and approval of the Executive Committee
  5. Represent the Panel at ANS Task Force Meetings and other functions
  6. Facilitate the progress of committees and workgroups

Duties of the Vice-Chair

  1. Perform the duties of the Chair in absence of the Chair
  2. Solicitation of member reports and preparation of the final member report document for the Annual Meeting