2015 NASORLO Annual Conference Materials and Information.

Here is a summary of the Annual Meeting

The Constitution was changed to allow flexibility for Regional Board member elections. The basic change allows an “ at large “ election of a Board Member to fulfill a term on the Board in that Region, in the event there are no Regional SLO’s or ASLO’s available or interested in serving. Using this provision, Danette Poole of Virginia was elected to serve out the one year unexpired term in the NE Region. The position will be open for a NE member to be nominated and elected at the 2016 Annual Meeting in Detroit. This action and the subsequent election filled all the terms for the NASORLO Board and Executive Committee. Go to www.nasorlo.org and find all elected members under the Membership Section.

New Leadership. Susan Moerschel DE, was elected NASORLO President for a 2 year term, Lauren Imgrund PA, was elected VP and John Beneke AR, elected Sec/Treasurer, with Tim Hogsett filling the Past President position on the NASORLO Executive Committee.

Resolutions.. The LWCF reauthorization resolution from 2014 was updated and passed, see below. In addition a resolution supporting the Atlas project ( the GIS LWCF project location system ) was passed, also below.

NASORLO Awards for 2016 were as follows. President’s Award – Lewis Ledford, Exec. Dir. of NASPD – for his long term support for LWCF and NASORLO. Service to the NASORLO Award – Domenic Bravo WY – for his ongoing commitment to an equitable reauthorization of LWCF. Service to the Profession Award – NGA Natural Resources Committee for their advocacy for the reauthorization of LWCF and NRPA for their 50 year advocacy for Parks and Recreation and their strong support for NASORLO’s goals. NASORLO Certificates of Recognition were given to SC Parks Phil Gaines and his staff for working with NASORLO to integrate our activities into the joint meeting of our organization and NASPD and to City Parks Alliance for their efforts to support reauthorization of LWCF.

LWCF Reauthorization Update and proposed actions. The Senate has been offered an amendment to the Energy Bill that would result in a reauthorization of LWCF with 40% set aside for a state “ suite “ of programs that someone determined were state focused. The Forest Legacy, Section 6 Endangered Species funding and the Battlefield acquisition programs were included in the “ suite “. We have been working with the House NR Committee Chair and his staff to draft a better alternative. Although the LWCF expires at the end of Sept., the House version and any action are likely to be delayed. We heard the House version should be out and public by the middle of October and that it will be more acceptable to the states. It will include some provisions for an urban program, although the details on that are murky at this time. In addition, the “ suite “ components of the Senate version are likely to be removed from the State Assistance Program and funded elsewhere. As more info is available I will send it out and post it on our website. See key summary of the Senate action below…

LWCF situation: After a 50-year run the LWCF Act is due to expire on September 30, although Congress could still appropriate money for it in annual spending bills, such as the fiscal 2016 Interior approps bills, if it did expire.To reauthorize the law the Senate Energy Committee approved legislation (S 2012) July 30 that would reauthorize LWCF permanently. The bill, from chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and ranking Democrat Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), would also establish a $150 million per year Park Service maintenance account. In the legislation Murkowski and Cantwell would specify minimum annual allocations within LWCF, such as at least 40 percent per year for federal land acquisition and at least 1.5 percent per year (or more than $10 million) for access to federal land for recreational purposes. Finally, the bill would require expenditure of at least 40 percent of annual LWCF appropriations for a combination of state LWCF grants, Forest Legacy grants, endangered species grants and an American Battlefield Protection Program.

Key topics discussed in the training and breakout sessions ( with the NPS and others…. PP found below ) were trends and successes in online grant applications and management, issues related to options for resolving 6 f conversions, ways states have found to incorporate more public and stakeholder input and involvement into SCORP planning and the use of technology to improve grants, planning and other administrative functions.

Here are the materials available at our annual conference…

Agenda and Handouts..

NASORLO-2015-Annual-Meeting-Program 9-4-15 Final

NASORLO 2015 Business Meeting Agenda (2)

2014 NASORLO Annual Business Meeting Draft Minutes Approved

FY 2014 Budget Summary- Letterhead Summary for Membership

Sept. 1, 2015 NASORLO Fiscal Summary Current Budget Status

Exec. Dir. Report 2015 Pg 1. Year review since last meeting in Washington

Exec. Dir. Report 2015 Pg 2

Action Items

Atlas Resolution.final draft.SM 9.22.15 passed

2015 NASORLO LWCF Resolution-Amended for 2016 Final, passed.