Great Plains Tree Pest Council

Constitution, amendments and some history

The Great Plains Tree Pest Workshop was formed from and established to replace the Pest Management Task Force of the Great Plains Agriculture Council, Forestry Committee, which was disbanded in 1990.

At least two versions of a proposed Constitution of the Great Plains Tree Pest Workshop were drafted in 1992 by the following people:

Judy Pasek               USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Forest Pest Management, Rapid City Service Center

Mary Ellen Dix          USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Lincoln, Nebraska

Rich Dorset               South Dakota Department of Agriculture, Resource Conservation and Forestry

Mark Harrell              Nebraska Forest Service and Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and Wildlife, University of Nebraska

Bob Lavigne             Department of Plant, Soil, and Insect Science, University of Wyoming

These versions were presented, and one draft was proposed and then ratified at the first meeting of this new group, held in Lincoln, Nebraska, April 20-21, 1993.

At the first meeting, Bill Jacobi (Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO) was elected

Chairperson, Carol Bell (USDA Forest Service, Northern Region, Missoula, MT) was elected Secretary-Treasurer and Judy Pasek was elected past Chairperson ---together they comprised the first Executive Board.

As far as is known, one amendment to the Constitution has been proposed. A name change was approved at the 1998 meeting held March 18-19, 1998, in Rapid City, South Dakota. Thereafter, our group became known as the "Great Plains Tree Pest Council".

An item of new business at the 1998 meeting was presented that has as yet to be enacted. That was to compile a complete set of annual meeting minutes and pass this along between successive Chairpersons. Having such a compilation available to all would improve continuity and help perpetuate an organizational identity.

Submitted at the April 14-15, 2004, GPTPC meeting by Bill Schaupp, Chairperson.