Most of you received the announcement for the Fall Field Tour of the Mono/Mammoth Lakes Area in the mail sometime last October. When you removed the staple and opened it, you found that we included a one page membership survey that, when answered, was intended to help give future direction to the Board of Directors for the Council.

Our organization is growing at a very healthy rate. We now have over 650 members from 26 states. Our Board of Directors and Newsletter Editor are volunteers. We have a mailbox but no office. The Officers and Board Members collectively and individually provide information to a wide range of queries from inside and outside of our membership. Dues for a two-year membership are the same as when the Council was formed 10 years ago; twenty-five dollars. Still a deal. The Board however is concerned that, as we grow, we grow in the right direction and keep our resources and activities in sync with the needs and desires of the membership.

The questions we were seeking your guidance on were: Where do we go from here? Do we want to continue with our current informal organization? Do we want to move toward a more streamlined professional direction? Is there another approach? How should we function? Do we want to be more proactive?

We appreciate those who took the time to respond. The good news is that response reflected the wonderful diversity represented by our membership. The reciprocal news is that since the responses reflect that diversity, they gave no clear direction to the Board about which way the Council should head.

We convened a general meeting, following our quarterly board meeting at Mammoth Mountain, the day before the Field Tour to gain further membership opinion about where the Council should head. In a meeting that lasted all afternoon, we heard a wide variety of viewpoints. Trouble is, after these two efforts, only the opinions of about 10 percent of our membership were heard.

It is clear that, as an organization, we are at a crossroads. We need to hear from as many of you can pick up the phone and talk to us. Each board member is listed along with a phone number where they can be reached. Please let us know which road you would like us to travel. In our next newsletter, I will let you know what we are hearing and which direction we plan to head.

We would be remiss if we did not also acknowledge the unselfish contributions of time and energy by outgoing Board Members-at-Large; Mike Furniss, George Ice and Ken Roby. Mike, of course, is continuing to serve the organization in his capacity as newsletter editor. I am equally confident that we have not seen the last of George or Ken. Like all who have served us previously, they continue to be invaluable resources to the Council.

Speaking of the newsletter, you'll notice that it has acquired its own name: the "Networker." This is what the newsletter does for us-it connects members and facilitates the sharing of information, helping to maintain our network of watershed management workers. Hope you like the change.

Any aspiring writers out there that would like to take a turn at being guest editor, writing a column about what's happening in your watershed, sharing a success or failure story or some other unique management results that might stimulate critical thinking? Mike relies on all of us to provide material for the Networker, and if it does not seem to hit your mailbox as frequently as you'd expect, that's because Mike simply assembles what's been submitted and waits for that critical mass of contributions to accumulate. Think of something you can contribute and do it. Take the plunge and share with us.

With the exception of Richard Harris, our president-elect, the terms of the Council Officers and Board expire at the end of 1996. Several of those currently holding office intend to run for reelection but there will be some vacancies so I would encourage all of you to think about taking a turn with Council leadership. If you want to know more about what's involved in serving on the Board of Directors, give a call to any of the current or past board members for an overview.

Finally, under the able leadership of Chris Knopp, the planning for our Autumn 1996 conference is well underway. I sat in on the initial planning session and am excited about the theme and discussion and interaction it will stimulate.