New National Executive Declared for 2004-05

Forest and Bird, Issue 313, 1 August 2004, Page 44

New National Executive Declared for 2004-05

here are four new members on the national executive for Forest and Bird declared at the June council meeting in Wellington. There was no election as one member from last year stood down and there were three existing vacancies. The retiring councillor was Helen Campbell of NelsonTasman Forest and Bird. The new executive councillors are: Jocelyn Bieleski, now a member of Nelson-Tasman Forest and Bird, was a founder-member of Upper Coromandel Forest and Bird serving on the committee and including terms as treasurer and chair. She continues a longterm interest in resource management protection which has included mining issues. Her ‘main concerns’ are ‘focussed on retaining what is left of our natural heritage and biodiversity’. Mark Fort is a self-employed horticulturalist in Te Teko, Bay of Plenty, and previously served on the national exective in 1996. He has organised a coalition which successfully opposed the building of an hydro dam on the Rangitikei River, and is concerned with possible future developments following the abandonment of Project Aqua on the Waitaki. His priorities include more field staff to help

branches oppose the increasing urbanisation of the countryside, the protection of high-country landscapes, a membership campaign for Forest and Bird, and support for the Kiwi Conservation Club. Dr Herb Madgwick of Rotorua is a retired forest scientist. He was secretary of Rotorua Forest and Bird from 1995-98, resigning so he could spend more time as a member of the Bay of Plenty Conservation Board, 1996-2002. He rejoined the branch committee after this and is now again Rotorua branch secretary. His current interests include his areas of technical expertise; the environmental impacts of plantation forests, carbon sequestration, geothermal and marine issues. Dr Barry Wards has a doctorate in microbiology and has been a research scientist with MAF and AgResearch for the past 19 years. He was brought up on a highcountry station in the South Island. He has been active with Upper Hutt Forest and Bird since 1992, and chairperson for the past 10 years. He has coordinated the branch’s Resource Management Act work and managed the branch’s numerous projects, receiving an ‘Old Blue’ award from the Society in 2002.