News

Happy New Year,

This is to update you on a few changes in the Saskatchewan Chapter of the Wildlife Society (SCTWS), and to remind you to renew your membership for the 2020 membership year.

Our new Executive is getting ready to roll out some great events this year. We have made a few changes this year to follow by-laws better and provide more fun events to you, our valued members. In December 2019, we held Chapter elections and members passed a resolution to increase membership fees from $5 to $20 per year. In April 2019, members also passed a resolution to amend the start and end dates of our membership year: new memberships come due January 1 and expire December 31 of each year. The Chapter Executive is likewise elected for a corresponding term. 

We look forward to introducing our new Executive via the Facebook page over the coming months!

Our Chapter membership has consisted of between 50 to 100 members for the last several years. The $5 membership fee simply did not generate enough operating revenue to cover the basic expenses needed for the Chapter to remain viable. Feedback from a sample of members tells us the new rate is not a barrier to participation in the Chapter. But it will ensure we can continue to bring wildlife professionals and students fun and exciting events while providing professional development opportunities in the province. For example, we are working to organizing an outdoor winter survival course this March with a private instructor (details coming soon). We hope the course will be a great professional development opportunity for members. More fun events like last year’s Conservation Expo and Bats Then Beer can be hosted as well. Without this increase in the membership fee, we are limited to opportunities we can provide to our members.

Please renew your membership now for the 2020 calendar year (January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020). Your dues let our volunteer Executive keep the Chapter operating. You may e-transfer to our Chapter email (sasktws@gmail.com), go online (www.sktws.com) and pay through our PayPal account, or come to an event and buy a membership. 

Our next event we will be attending is the 8th annual Gone Wild for Wildlife Fundraiser on February 1, 2020 in Saskatoon (www.wrsos.org/gone-wild-for-wildlife/). This event is a fundraiser for the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Saskatchewan (WRSOS), and SCTWS will have a booth with fun games for all ages to play. The WRSOS is a volunteer-driven, non-profit organization that provides an emergency wildlife hotline for injured wildlife and provides rehabilitation for rescued wildlife.

We want to thank all members for their past and future support of the SCTWS, and wish everyone a safe and happy new year.

Yours Truly,

Michelle Chupik

President of SCTWS