[MPWG] PCA NGO Committee Update

[Olivia Kwong]

>From Kathryn Kennedy, Chair of the PCA NGO Committee:

As Chair of the PCA Non-governmental Organization (NGO) Committee I wanted 
to provide an update to cooperators. The NGO community is growing and 
becoming increasingly organized. Read on to see what we've done, what 
we're doing and what we hope to do in the future.

Many of you will recall that a survey was sent out to PCA's NGO 
Cooperators last fall. The survey purpose was to gather information on the 
NGO community, our perceptions of native plant materials use, 
accessibility and development, and help prioritize future activities and 
ideas.

In November, almost thirty organizations and federal agencies came 
together at the PCA Cooperators' Conference. Representatives from the 
non-profit sector, industry and government met for three days in St. 
Louis. We met to reunite PCA non-governmental cooperators to learn about 
federal native plant materials development programs, discuss how to 
provide more support for native plant materials development, strengthen 
partnerships and collaborative work among PCA cooperators, and discuss the 
future of this group. Breakout groups discussed native plant materials 
development, how far we have come in plant conservation, the most critical 
challenges in conservation, and how to address them.

At the conference, the results from the fall survey were presented. For 
those of you who were unable to attend the meeting, we've included the 
survey results. Results will also be posted on the PCA list serve (sign up 
at http://www.nps.gov/plants/maillist.htm). We are interested in your 
comments. Feel free to call me at 314-577-9450.

In the next few months, you will be receiving additional communications 
related to the recent PCA Cooperators' Conference. First, the summary of 
discussions related to Native Plant Materials Development, and second, the 
summary of the discussions related to the NGO Committee. Additionally, a 
steering committee has been formed to help construct a strategic plan to 
guide the NGO group into the future.

Participants in the survey or meeting at year-end will remember Megan 
Haidet. Megan is now a new staff person in Washington D.C., working to 
facilitate work PCA wide! So if you have questions about the survey and I 
am not available you can call Megan (703-358-2120), and as always Olivia 
Kwong (202-452-0392), who also coordinates listserves, queries, web pages, 
etc.

Sincerely,

Kathryn L. Kennedy
Executive Director