Bylaws of the
Louisiana Ornithological Society's
LOUISIANA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
I. Name and Affiliation
A. Name. The
official name of this organization shall be the "Louisiana Ornithological
Society's Louisiana Bird Records Committee," which may be shortened to the
"Louisiana Bird Records Committee" and is hereafter referred to as
the "LBRC."
B. Affiliation. This is a committee of the Louisiana
Ornithological Society.
II. Purpose
A. To the extent
possible, determine the validity of records of rare birds (see section VI. for
definition of records treated) from within the boundaries of the state of
Louisiana and adjacent ocean.
"Adjacent ocean" is herein defined as all ocean waters nearer
to Louisiana land than to land of any other state, and within 200 nautical
miles of the Louisiana coastline. These
waters begin at the mouth of the Sabine River on the west, and the mouth of the
East Pearl River on the east.
B. Maintain
permanently the original bird records and all committee votes and comments for
future use by interested parties.
C. Publish at least
minimal data on all records receiving a decision.
D. Provide a means by
which sight records of rarities can gain acceptance as valuable scientific
data.
E. Contribute to
knowledge of the birds of Louisiana.
F. Establish high
standards of observation and reporting that will set a positive example for,
and encourage other field observers.
G. Keep the official
Louisiana State Bird List.
III. Membership
A. Number and Definitions. The LBRC shall consist of nine people
collectively known as Members, as follows: 1) seven Voting Members each with
one vote, including one elected as the Chair, and one elected as the Secretary,
and 2) two non-voting Alternate Members, one elected as "First
Alternate" and one elected as "Second Alternate".
B. Qualifications. Anyone is eligible to become a Member if, in the
estimation of the existing Members, that person has demonstrated the ability to
logically and objectively analyze records of rarities, is an active field
observer with a competent knowledge of identification of birds, has
conscientiously submitted reports to the LBRC of Review List species, and is a
member in good standing of the Louisiana Ornithological Society.
C. Members.
(1) Election and Term
of Office.
(a) Six Voting Members (one of whom is also
the Chair, and not including the Secretary; Chair and Secretary considered
Officers, see D. (2)) shall be elected on a staggered basis, each for a term of
three years, so that two will be elected each year. Election shall be by vote
at the Annual Fall Meeting of the LBRC (nominations are submitted to the
Secretary prior to the meeting; proxies shall not be used in this election).
The two candidates receiving the largest number of votes shall be elected. If
necessary, ties shall be decided by an additional ballot(s) listing only those
persons tied. Voting Members take office at the close of the Annual Fall
Meeting at which they were elected and serve until the close of the third
Annual Fall Meeting following their election. At the discretion of the other
Members, the Members-Elect may be seated (but may not vote) during the
remainder of the Annual Fall Meeting at which they were elected.
(b)
The Secretary is the seventh Voting Member and will be elected for a term of
one year (see D. (1)).
(c)
Two non-voting Alternate Members.
Alternate Members shall be elected as First Alternate Member and Second
Alternate Member. Each Alternate shall
be elected for a two-year term. Non-voting Members take office at the close of
the Annual Fall Meeting at which they were elected and serve until the close of
the second Annual Fall Meeting following their election. First Alternate Member
has seniority and assumes a Voting member role before Second Alternate Member.
At the discretion of the other Members, the First and Second Alternates-Elect
may be seated (but can not enter discussions unless invited) during the
remainder of the Annual Fall Meeting at which they were elected.
(2) Nominations of Members.
Nomination for
Membership shall be made only by existing Members and only to the Secretary
prior to the Annual Fall Meeting. It is the responsibility of the nominating
Member to confirm the qualifications of and to obtain approval of willingness
to serve from the nominees he/she submits. Each Member may make only one
nomination per each vacancy, and may not nominate himself/herself. If the total
number of nominees is not sufficient to fill the vacant seats, it is the
responsibility of the Secretary to nominate the number of persons required. The
Secretary will include the list of nominees in the agenda for the Annual Fall
Meeting.
(3) Member Duties:
(a)
Voting Members: (1) Receive and evaluate records circulated by the Secretary.
(2) Vote on all records received (see Section VI. F.), using a standard
Validation Form format. (3) Submit
report forms of all personally observed Review List species within 60 days
after the observation. (4) Promote the LBRC and encourage other observers to
submit records of Review List species.
(5) Make every effort to attend all scheduled meetings of the LBRC.
(b)
Non-voting (Alternate) Member Duties: (1) Assume responsibilities of a Voting
Member at an Annual Meeting if the Voting Member is unable to attend. (2)
Assume the position of a Voting Member, if a Voting Member is not capable of
completing his/her term. (3) In the event that a First Alternate Member is
unable to first fulfill these duties, the Second Alternate Member assumes the
position of the First Alternate Member. (4) Submit report forms of all
personally observed Review List species within 60 days after the observation.
(5) Promote the LBRC and encourage other observers to submit records of Review
List species. (6) Make every effort to
attend all scheduled meetings of the LBRC. (7) At the Secretary's request,
provide assistance in carrying out the duties of that office.
D. Officers. The Secretary and the Chair have different
election and nomination policies, term, and additional duties than other
Members, so these two positions are defined as Officers.
(1) Secretary.
(a)
Election and Term of Office. The Secretary shall be elected for a term of one
year. Election shall be by vote of four or more Voting Members (a quorum being
formed by the presence of the Secretary, but who may not vote) present in
person, not by proxy or ballot, at the Annual Fall Meeting. The candidate
receiving the largest number of votes shall be elected. If necessary, a tie
shall be decided by an additional ballot(s) listing only those persons tied.
The Chair or, in the Chair's absence, a Voting Member shall conduct this
election. The Secretary takes office at the close of the Annual Fall Meeting at
which the election was held and serves until the close of the next Annual Fall
Meeting. The Secretary may serve an unlimited number of terms.
(b)
Nominations for Secretary. Nominees for
Secretary must meet qualifications outlined in III. B. Nominations for
Secretary shall be made only by Voting Members (not including the Secretary)
prior to the Annual Fall Meeting.
Nominations will be received by letter in advance of the Annual Fall
Meeting so that the nominee's name may be included on the Meeting agenda. It is the responsibility of the nominating
Member to obtain approval of willingness to serve from the nominee he/she
submits. Each Member may make only one nomination, and may not nominate
himself/herself.
(c)
Duties of Secretary. (1) Receive and enter into LBRC Record Roster, duplicate,
circulate, re-circulate and maintain files of all bird records and supporting
data submitted to the LBRC. Whenever possible, the records should be the
originals, because copies fade with age. (2) Vote on bird records (see Section
VI. F.) and in all elections except those for Secretary. (3) Procure additional
data on records when deemed desirable and possible. (4) Furnish Members with a
list of post-third-circulation records to be discussed (Discussion Round). (5)
Tabulate results of all votes of the LBRC. (6) Keep the minutes of LBRC
meetings. (7) Keep current the Review List, furnish it to anyone upon request,
update and publish as necessary in the LOS News, and with each official Report
of the LBRC. (8) Furnish Members with such equipment as needed, including
Validation Forms. (9) Furnish Members
with the list of nominees for upcoming elections, and include in meeting's
agenda and provide the Agenda to Members prior to the Annual Fall Meeting. (10)
Furnish anyone, upon request (and receipt of duplication costs), copies of all
evidence, including LBRC comments, concerning any accepted or rejected bird
record. (11) Furnish free Report Forms to anyone upon request. (12) Keep
current a master copy of these Bylaws.
(2) Chair.
(a)
Election and Term of Office. Nominees for Chair must be drawn from current and or
incoming Voting Members, but cannot include the Secretary. The Chair shall be
elected for a term of one year. Election shall be by vote of a quorum present
in person, not by proxy or ballot, at the Annual Fall Meeting. The candidate
receiving the largest number of votes shall be elected. If necessary, ties
shall be decided by an additional ballot(s) listing only those persons tied.
The Secretary, or in the Secretary's absence, a Voting Member other than the
Chair, shall conduct this election. All
Voting Members, including the current Chair and all candidates for Chair, may
vote. The Chair takes office at the close of the Annual Fall Meeting at which
the Chair was elected and serves until the close of the next Annual Fall
Meeting or until a successor is elected. The Chair may serve an unlimited
number of terms.
(b)
Duties. (1) Call and preside at LBRC meetings. (2) With the approval of the
Members, appoint Chairs of subcommittees. (3) Assure that the current Bylaws
are properly applied. (4) At the Secretary's request, provide assistance in
carrying out the duties of that office. (5) If the Secretary shall be
incapacitated, or otherwise become unable to serve, the Chair shall act as
Secretary in all respects.
E. Removals. The LBRC
may remove, for cause, any member who proves to be delinquent or incompetent in
their duties, who consistently fails to submit his/her own records of Review
List species, or who otherwise performs contrary to the spirit of the LBRC.
Removal of a Member requires a majority vote of all other Voting Members. A vote for removal must take place at a
meeting of the LBRC; absent Voting Members may vote by written ballot submitted
to the Secretary or to an attending member.
F. Vacancies and Special Elections. If the LBRC loses a Member during mid-term
(through death, resignation, removal, etc.), then the First Alternate will fill
the vacancy. In the case that the First
Alternate or another Voting Member is lost, the Second Alternate will fill the
vacancy. The Secretary shall conduct an
election, termed a Special Election, if Alternate Members are unable to fill
the vacancies. This Special Election will be held as soon as possible for the
purpose of filling a Voting Member vacancy. A Special Election may be conducted
at a meeting or by individual contact (mail, telephone, etc.), whichever is
most expedient in the opinion of the Secretary. For a vacancy involving the
Secretary, the Chair will assume those duties (see D.(2)(b)). For a vacancy
involving the Chair, a Chair will be elected by Special Election by majority
vote of other Voting Members. The person elected shall serve the remainder of
the term of the person being replaced. Vacancies of Alternate Members will be
filled at the next Annual Meeting.
G. Compensation. Neither the Secretary nor any member may receive
compensation for their services. The Secretary, or Members assisting with
secretarial duties, may be reimbursed by the Secretary-Treasurer of the
Louisiana Ornithological Society for incidental expenses reasonably incurred
through business of the LBRC. The Secretary or other Members must receive
advance approval for expenditures from the Secretary-Treasurer of the Louisiana
Ornithological Society.
IV. Meetings
A. LBRC Annual Fall Meeting. The LBRC will hold an Annual Fall Meeting each
year in September on the first Saturday following the Labor Day weekend. In the
event of an emergency, another date, unanimously approved by all current
Members, and officially set by the Chair in consultation with the Members, will
be chosen for the purpose of elections and for transacting such other annual
business. The Secretary must give advance notice of the Annual Fall Meeting or
a change in date or venue to all Members, along with an agenda and list of
nominees for Member elections.
B. Special Meetings. Special Meetings of the LBRC may be called by
the Chair, the Secretary, or by agreement of four or more Voting Members. The Chair or Secretary must notify and
provide an agenda to each Member prior to a Special meeting.
C. Quorum. Four Voting Members in good standing, present in
person, not by proxy, shall constitute a quorum for any Special
(non-record-review) LBRC meeting.
Alternate Members may not serve to form a quorum at a Special Meeting.
V. Bylaws
A. Formation. All Bylaws and other procedures of the LBRC are
to be as determined by and only by the LBRC, except that they may not be
inconsistent with the Bylaws of the Louisiana Ornithological Society or with
rules adopted by the LOS Executive Committee.
B. Review. The Bylaws shall be reviewed regularly, at least
once every five years.
C. Changes. These Bylaws may be changed or amended by a
majority vote of a quorum at any LBRC meeting.
VI. Bird Records
A. Definitions. For the purposes of the LBRC and these Bylaws, a
"record" is considered to be written documentation or a specimen
submitted as a report (see VI. C) to the LBRC as proof of the identity of a
sighted, heard, collected, banded, tape-recorded, or photographed bird or
birds. The "Review List" is that most recent list of species for
which records will be accepted for review by the LBRC. A "round" is
considered one or more individual records united by the Secretary for the
purpose of circulation. A "circulation" is defined as the progression
of a round as it is delivered to each Member for review. The "round cover
sheet" contains a list of all records in the round, their identification
number(s), reporting observers, additional enclosures (e.g., photographs), and specific instructions to Members. For
rounds sent through the mail, a "routing slip" lists the names and
addresses of the Secretary and all other Voting Members, listed in the order in
which the round will circulate.
B. Records Treated.
(1) Only records from
the State of Louisiana and adjacent ocean (as defined in Section II. A will be
treated.
(2) The species
included on the Review List will be as determined on a regular basis by the
LBRC. In general, the Review List will consist of species that have been
recorded within Louisiana and adjacent ocean an average of four or fewer times
per year averaged over the ten year period immediately preceding revision of
the Review List. By majority vote of a quorum of Voting Members at a meeting,
the LBRC may, as it sees fit, add species to or delete species from the Review
List. Reports or records of species for which there are no accepted records for
Louisiana shall also be considered. See also Addition and Removal of Introduced
Species (VI. B. (9)).
(3) The criteria for
inclusion on the Review List, and the species included on that list, will be
reviewed at least once every five years.
(4) The Secretary will
ensure that the Review List is duplicated, made available to those who request
it, and publish it with all official Reports of the LBRC.
(5) Records based on
specimens, tape recordings, or bandings will be accepted and treated in the
same manner as other records.
(6) Any record,
whether previously published or not, old or new, may be submitted by a Member
or other person, whether or not an observer. Exceptions would include any
record that has received a previous LBRC
decision (see VI. D).
(7) Records concerning
species that are only locally or seasonally rare in Louisiana may be reviewed
at the LBRC's discretion.
(8) Subspecies will not
be treated unless listed as such on the Review List or relevant to the official
State List.
(9) Addition or
removal of Introduced Species to the State List. Introduced species may be
added to or removed from the Review List at the discretion of the LBRC based on
periodic assessments of the species’ status outside and inside the State. In
general, if a colonization event (originating either from outside or from
within Louisiana) is in progress, then a species will be added to the Review
List in order to encourage documentation of the spread and establishment of the
species in Louisiana. A species will not automatically be added to the Review
List if represented only by a single and or localized group of individuals.
(a) Addition to the State List. The LBRC will review records of breeding
populations of introduced species not on the State List but only if evidence is
submitted that attempts to prove the correct identification of the species and
the viability of the population. To be judged viable, a population must (1) be
documented breeding in the state for a minimum of ten (10) consecutive years,
(2) have numbers of individuals increasing or stabilized after an initial
period of increase, and (3) be judged to have occupied geographically
contiguous suitable habitat to such a degree as to sustain the population and
be thought unlikely to significantly diminish. A population maintained
primarily by recurrent releases, either intentional or accidental, or requiring
intense management for survival, shall not be considered viable.
(b) Removal from the State List. A
species accepted to the State List as an Introduced Species shall be removed if
the LBRC determines that the introduced population is decreasing and no longer
viable. For these purposes, the criteria for the size of a viable population
shall be less stringent than those used for Addition. The LBRC recognizes that
populations, whether natural or Introduced, may undergo and survive
"bottlenecks," at which time a population is briefly small enough that
risk of extirpation is substantial. If, however, the LBRC believes that there
is sufficient evidence to suggest that a viable population no longer exists and
that the continued presence of the species is due primarily to ongoing releases
or escapes of captive individuals, then the species will be removed from the
State List. If an introduced species is not widespread, but has a restricted
state distribution, individuals are "countable" only from within the
area with the established population.
C. Submission. Hard copy reports should be, but need not be,
submitted on the LBRC's Official Report Form. The Official Report Form is
created to outline the type of information required for proper documentation of
a record. The format of the official Report Form shall be reviewed at regular
intervals of at least once every five years and revised when necessary. The
Secretary should ensure that LBRC Official Report Forms are readily available
at no charge to all that request them. This form will also be available in
electronic or printable formats at the LOS website on the Internet. Observers printing their own copies for
later submission are recommended to use high rag content paper for archival
purposes. When using direct Internet
submission of reports, the same official report format will be adopted. In the
case of an electronic submission, the Secretary will print out a hard copy of
the report for the archives.
D. Resubmission. A record that has received a final LBRC
decision, whether accepted or rejected, and even though published in an
official Report of the LBRC, may be resubmitted by the Secretary, a Member, an
observer, or any other person, if and only if there becomes available new and
substantial documentary or circumstantial evidence that might reverse the
decision. The Secretary will ascertain whether recirculation is justified based
on evidence submitted. For a record rejected because of questionable origin,
such evidence might include the recognition of a natural pattern of occurrence.
A record deemed appropriate for resubmission will circulate in the manner of
any other record, however it will retain its original number, include all
previous votes and comments of the LBRC, include previous publication data, an
explanation about why it is being resubmitted, and all new evidence marked as
such.
E. Circulation Procedures.
(1) Initial Receipt by
Secretary. Upon receipt of a record, the Secretary should do the following:
(a) Affix to it a unique LBRC number, consisting of
the year of record (not the year of
receipt) followed by a hyphen and the next available unused number, starting
with "01," for each year. If a record is represented by descriptions
from more than one person, each description should receive the same LBRC number
followed by a capital letter in sequence beginning with "A."
(b)
Enter record into record roster.
(c)
Include the record in a round for circulation.
(2) To circulate by
mail:
(a)
Make duplicates of, and keep in a secure place, all record documentation and
completed Validation Forms.
(b)
Check the description for completeness and clarity and, if deemed desirable,
request additional information from the reporter or other observers. Details
thus acquired must be clearly marked as such and kept separate from the original
submission; the original submission should not be returned to the reporter
except in copy form.
(c)
Organize a number of records into a round, include a cover sheet
showing what records
are contained in the round, and affix a routing slip to the round packet, which
shows the order in which Voting Members receive the round.
(3) To circulate by Email.
(a)
Check the description for completeness and clarity and, if deemed desirable,
request additional information from the reporter or other observers. Details
thus acquired must be clearly marked as such and kept separate from the
original submission; the original submission should not be returned to the
reporter except in copy form.
(b)
Scan originals and retain these in a secure place.
(c)
Assemble records into a round and post on website. Send an email cover sheet to Voting Members, which includes a
link to the round to initiate the round's circulation.
(4) Receipt by Voting Member of Rounds Sent
by Mail. A Voting Member should do the
following:
(a) Initial and date routing slip.
(b)
Verify contents of round against Routing Slip.
(c)
Email the Secretary to acknowledge that the round has been
received and indicate
any discrepancies between the Routing Slip and the contents.
(d)
Judge each record's validity, vote, and make comments when appropriate.
(e)
Send the round to the next Voting Member within one month of its
receipt.
(f)
Send the completed Validation Form(s) to the Secretary.
(g)
The last Voting Member to vote should return the round to the Secretary.
(h)
Lengthy absences from a Member's mailing address should be reported to the
Secretary. The circulation may be rerouted to accommodate such absences.
(5) Receipt by Voting
Member of Rounds Sent by Email. The
Voting Member should do the following:
(a) Open all files and make sure that they can view
all record material
on the website. Notify the Secretary that all files can be
accessed or whether there are any problems attempting to access any files.
(b)
Judge each record's validity, vote, and make comments when
appropriate.
(c)
Email the completed e-Validation Form(s) to the Secretary.
(d)
Lengthy absences from a Voting Member's email address or computer problems
should be reported to the Secretary.
(6) Recirculation.
(a)
A record shall be recirculated automatically, together with the votes and
comments of every Voting Member from previous circulations, until it has
received a decision vote or until three circulations (two recirculations) have
been completed, whichever comes first.
(b) If, after the third circulation, the
record still has not received a decision vote (see Section VI. F. (10c)), the
Secretary will keep it until it can be discussed at an Annual Meeting of the
LBRC.
(c)
Prior to each Annual Meeting, the Secretary should inform Members of any
“fourth circulation” records scheduled for discussion.
(d)
For “fourth circulation” records (see Section VI. F. (10c), the final decision
must be made at the first meeting in which the record is discussed.
(e) All
decisions are final.
(7) Records supported
by specimens or photographs.
(a) Specimen records. At an Annual Meeting, specimens
will be
evaluated and voted on
independently by each Voting Member. This constitutes the record's first
circulation; votes will be tabulated and, if the vote is unanimous, then the
identification of the specimen can be discussed among the Members. Members may
also request that pertinent specimen identification criteria be discussed prior
to the vote. If a unanimous vote is not reached, then an expert opinion should
be obtained and this information circulated as a written report of the record.
The circulation would represent the record's first circulation.
(b)
Records supported by photographic or audio documentation. Unambiguous
photographic records (as judged by the Secretary) can be reviewed at an Annual
Meeting. Voting Members will independently review the report(s) and
photograph(s) at an Annual Meeting, and will record their votes on a tabulation
sheet provided by the Secretary. This is a secret vote and the Secretary will
later tally votes. The record will be accepted only when it receives a
unanimous accept vote. If the vote is not unanimous, the record will be
circulated by normal procedures beginning with its first circulation.
F. Voting.
(1) Validation Forms.
The vote of each Voting Member, together with the Voting Member's comments, if
any, must be submitted using official Validation Form format. The official
Validation Form must include:
(a) Round number and Record number.
(b) Common name of the species.
(c) Name of the Voting Member.
(d) Date of the Voting Member's review.
(e) Number of the circulation.
(f) Member's decision (see voting categories
F.(2)).
(g)
Comments (Required for any reject and all but first circulation accept votes).
(h) Voting Members may combine records and submit to
the Secretary
"First
circulation accept without comment votes" (see Section VI. F. (5)) and
e-circulations on one page/Validation Form, providing that all of the above
information is included.
(2) Voting categories.
(a)
Identification. Each Voting Member must determine whether the record is
correctly identified. For each record, species identification must be evaluated
first. If identification is accepted,
then the record can then be evaluated with regard to natural origin.
(b)
Origin. (1) Natural origin. For the
purpose of the LBRC and these Bylaws, "natural origin" will be
defined as: a bird is considered to be of natural origin if, and only if, the
probability of its arrival as a result of man's assistance (either active or
passive) is negligible. Because
determination of human assistance for any particular individual or record may
not be possible, a designation, "Origin-Hypothetical" can be assigned
to those records that are problematical. (2) Origin Hypothetical is defined as:
A) a species with known range and natural history such that it would not be a good candidate for vagrancy; B)
a species that is kept in captivity (even though no escapees have been reported
and the species might be a good candidate for vagrancy based on range or
natural history); or C) there is at least circumstantial evidence suggesting
that an occurrence may not be of natural origin, even though the species is a
potential candidate for vagrancy.
Records designated "Origin-Hypothetical" will be so indicated
by an appropriate symbol on the State List
(for a first or single state record) or in a LBRC Report. The "Origin-Hypothetical" symbol
will be removed from the species name on the State List in the event of a
subsequent record where origin is not questioned. (3) Origin Questionable.
Records will be rejected on origin, if the origin is known or highly suspected
to be man-assisted.
Accept votes:
a) Accept Identification and Origin
b) Accept Identification,
Origin-Hypothetical
Reject votes:
c) Reject Identification
d) Reject Origin (accept identification;
natural origin questionable)
(3) Abstentions:
Members may not abstain from voting.
(4) Secretary Vote.
The Secretary must vote on each record. On the first circulation the Secretary
must vote prior to sending the round to Voting Members or prior to collating
any returned validations (thus voting without seeing other Voting Members'
comments).
(5) Comments. On the
first circulation an "accept" vote does not require comment; a
"reject" or "origin hypothetical" vote must be supported by
appropriate comments. See also Section
VI. F. (10) (a) regarding tabulation of "accept without comment
votes." On second and third circulations, all votes must be supported by
comments. Any "Accept
Identification-Origin Hypothetical" vote must be accompanied by comments
supporting that opinion.
(6) Consultations.
(a)
Among Voting Members. Once a record has begun its first circulation, a Voting
Member may not discuss a record with another Voting Member prior to both having
voted. On any subsequent circulation, pre-vote discussions with other Voting
Members are acceptable. On any
circulation, a Voting Member may, prior to voting, consult with Non-Voting
Members or with anyone outside the LBRC.
(b)
Outside experts. Any Voting Member may
solicit written comments from Non-member "experts.” The Voting Member or outside expert should
forward any written expert comments to the Secretary so that these may be
incorporated in subsequent (when necessary) circulations.
(7) Voting Criteria.
The criteria used by a Voting Member for acceptance or rejection of a record
are an individual matter and should not be dictated by these Bylaws. In addition to straightforward assessment of
the circumstances of an observation and the accuracy, extent, and credibility
of descriptions, evaluation criteria might also include whether similar species
are convincingly eliminated, and consideration of observer expertise and
reputation.
(8) Change in Voting
Membership. Rounds in circulation when there is a change in Voting membership
shall automatically be rerouted to and completed by the new Voting Member(s),
unless Validation Forms for these records have already been submitted to, or received by, the
Secretary.
(9) Tabulation. The
Secretary tabulates the votes for each round upon its completion.
(10) Decision Vote Criteria.
(a)
First Circulation. Following a record's first circulation, a record is
considered accepted if it receives seven "Accept Identification and
Origin" votes (=7-0). A record is considered rejected if it receives seven
reject (identification or origin) votes. The record is also considered rejected
if it receives six reject votes and one "accept without comment
vote." Although no supporting
comments are associated with an "accept without comment" vote,
records receiving two or more "accept without comment" votes will be
recirculated. If the record does not receive a unanimous reject vote or
receives any "Accept Identification, Origin-Hypothetical" votes, it
will be re-circulated.
(b) Second and
Third Circulations. Following second or third circulations, a record is
considered accepted if it receives no more than one "Reject" vote
(=6-1) or no more than one "Accept Identification,
Origin-Hypothetical" vote. A
record is considered "rejected" if it receives any combination of
four or more Reject votes (=3-4, 2-5, 1-6, or 0-7). A record is accepted and
designated "Origin Hypothetical" if it receives more than one
"Accept Identification, Origin Hypothetical" votes and no more than
one reject vote.
(c)
Fourth Circulation or Discussion Vote. If after three circulations a record
does not receive a decision vote as outlined in (a) or (b) above (e.g., 5-2 or 4-3) then it will be decided at an
Annual Meeting. The record will be discussed and following the discussion, a vote
will be taken. The record is considered accepted if it receives no more than
one reject vote. It is considered
accepted, and will be designated origin hypothetical, if it receives two or
more "accept identification, origin hypothetical" votes. The record
is rejected if it receives votes in any other combination.
G. Publication.
(1) The decisions of
the LBRC shall be published regularly under the authorship of the Secretary
(and others if desired), in the form of an official Report of the LBRC, in an
official publication of the Louisiana Ornithological Society. A section of this
Report shall be devoted to bringing the Louisiana State Bird List up to date.
(2) The published data
for accepted records should include the species name, LBRC number, date(s) of
observation, full locality, reporting observers, and initial discoverers or
identifiers (if known). Other data may be added at the discretion of the
Secretary and Members.
(3) Rejected records
should also be published with the above data, except that observers' names
should not be included. For the purposes of publication, the term
"unaccepted" should be used instead of "rejected."
(4) "Pending
records" should not be published.
COMPILED BY THE LBRC,
Adopted 19 October 1979:
James
R. Stewart, Chairman
Robert
D. Purrington
Harland
D. Guillory
J. V. Remsen, Jr.
Horace
H. Jeter
Buford
M. Myers, III
David
B. Crider, Secretary
BYLAWS REVISED BY THE
LBRC, 23 SEPTEMBER 1989:
David
P. Muth, Chair
Steven
W. Cardiff
Alfred
E. Smalley
Donna
L. Dittmann, Secretary
Revisions proposed, adopted
31 March 1990:
B.
Mac Myers III, Chair
Steven
W. Cardiff
Donna
L. Dittmann, Secretary
David
P. Muth
Alfred
E. Smally
Bylaws updated with
adopted amendments, 6 June 1991:
B.
Mac Myers III, Chair
Steven
W. Cardiff
David
P. Muth
Alfred
E. Smalley
Donna
L. Dittmann, Secretary
Bylaws updated with
adopted amendments, 29 April 1995:
David
P. Muth, Chair
Steven
W. Cardiff
Ronald
J. Stein
Joseph
P. Kleiman
Paul
E. Conover
Donna
L. Dittmann, Secretary
Bylaws updated with
adopted amendments, 6 September 1997:
David
P. Muth, Chair
Charlie
E. Lyon
Paul
Conover
Ronald
J. Stein
Joseph
P. Kleiman
Steven
W. Cardiff
Donna
L. Dittmann, Secretary
Bylaws reviewed and
updated, adopted 25 September 1999:
Steven
W. Cardiff, Chair
Paul
M. Dickson
Phillip
Wallace
Peter
H. Yaukey
Joseph
P. Kleiman
William
R. Fontenot
Donna
L. Dittmann, Secretary
Bylaws reviewed and
proposed amendments revised, adopted 27 October 2001:
Steven
W. Cardiff, Chair
Paul
M. Dickson (proxy)
Phillip
Wallace
Peter
H. Yaukey (proxy)
B.
Mac Myers III
William
R. Fontenot
Donna
L. Dittmann, Secretary
Bylaws reviewed,
proposed amendments revised and compiled by email, adopted 14 October 2002:
Steven
W. Cardiff, Chair
Paul
M. Dickson
Phillip
Wallace
Peter
H. Yaukey
B.
Mac Myers III
William
R. Fontenot
Donna
L. Dittmann, Secretary
Bylaws reviewed,
proposed amendments revised and compiled by email, adopted, 30 September 2003:
Steven
W. Cardiff, Chair
Paul
M. Dickson
Phillip
Wallace
Peter
H. Yaukey
B.
Mac Myers III
William
R. Fontenot
Donna
L. Dittmann, Secretary
Bylaws reviewed and
updated, revised prior to publication at the LOS website, adopted 23 April
2005:
Steven
W. Cardiff, Chair
Paul
E. Conover
Donna
L. Dittmann, Secretary
William
R. Fontenot
James
L. Ingold
B.
Mac Myers III
Dave
Patton, Second Alternate
Curt
C. Sorrells, First Alternate
Phillip
A. Wallace