You deserve a great round of applause, and you got it! Three dozen butterfly lovers, scientists and photographers, gathered in Corvallis, Oregon for the annual Northwest Lepidopterists Workshop broke into cheers and put their hands together for you, the members of the Washington Butterfly Association, when I announced to them that we had just completed the long paper trail to become formally recognized as an independent non-profit. The feds had sent word two weeks previous that we of WBA are now an independent 501(c)(3)! I want to thank you all for your support of this bold move, and, in so doing, for deepening our link to a vibrant community of scientific lepidopterists of the Pacific North- west. We also hereby retain significant financial assets for the work we can do at home to develop awareness of our area butterfly fauna, protect their habitats and assist educators and naturalists who want to help us get out our message.

I would add that we are especially indebted to Al Wagar and Richard Youel of the WBA leadership for their perseverance in managing the myriad of rather unrewarding particulars involved in working all this through, and Carol Nygren, for her legal counsel.

Many of you took part in visioning conversations that Brenda McCracken, myself and other Board members initiated during the past summer to better determine what additional experiences you would like us to offer as an organization. Moreover, WBA is now blessed with funds through some recent bequests that need to be put to use. Through a review of your feedback and consultation with one another, we became determined that we shall help more youth get involved

in the casual or scientific study of butterflies. We might accomplish this by joining with summer programs, scouting groups, school or other community organizations. We are also interested in recruiting more adult members who will volunteer their time to learn about butterflies and pass on what they have learned to the next generations.

Here are just a few of the learning and volunteer opportunities I see coming up already for the 2016 season:

• Join David James in a statewide Monarch rearing/tagging/release study, nurturing some larvae through the summer until ready for their late summer migration. Though headquartered in Yakima, this is a statewide program.
• Teach classes on your local butterfly fauna. If you have expertise to identify species that frequent your area, please work with us to find a venue and develop materials in which you can share what you know. Your students might be of any age from preschool to retired, wherever you find the interest. I have begun this work in Spokane, and find it very rewarding. You may be paid for your work in many venues, such as Parks and Rec programs for children, or for adult enrichment classes.
• Participate in a butterfly species survey. I can show you how to apply for permission to survey butterfly species in protected areas like wildlife refuges. The data thus gathered has been of value to scientists who are updating local distribution maps on our fauna.
• Assist with David James’ ongoing study of the migration of the Coronis Fritillary. Aside from helping you gain a sharp command of how to identify Washington’s greater fritillaries -who can’t use more skill at that?- you will spend time in some lovely valley and mountain habitats in an ongoing regionally based study whose early results have already been published in journals of the Lepidopterists’ Society.
• Restore or maintain some butterfly habitat in western, central or eastern Washington. Assist with removal of noxious weeds, sow or plant host and nectar plants for butterflies of that region. Efforts are already underway in the Yakima and Spokane areas for such work to be done. We can supply you with the contact information you need.

WBA is also interested in partnering with other organizations dedicated to education, wildlife and conservation. Do you know of a school that would consider a summer STEM program related to the study of butterflies? Or a scout group interested in offering butterfly field trips and learning experiences that would lead to a relevant merit badge? We want to help write the science we know and the wonder we have shared on our own field trips into the curricula of any institution that will welcome us.

Finally, a note on some specific volunteer needs that the Board will be looking to meet. Our conference coordinator of many years, Joyce Bergen, is stepping down after 2016 but wants to help train an enthusiastic person to work with her on setting up our camp for the 2016 conference before leaving her post. Second, we will likely be recruiting a membership coordinator for our unsung hero, Marty Hansen, who has asked to retire from her position when we find another willing party. Third, you might consider offering your time to our statewide Board of Directors as we form our slate for vote next summer. More opportunities will be outlined on our website soon.

In closing, do please take advantage of our late frost this autumn to see if you might see still another butterfly at one of your favorite sites. Just today, October 21st, I saw what had appeared to be a golden aspen leaf slowly sailing on a slow current, when it began to flap wings of yellow-orange, an Orange Sulphur flexing her wings in the sun and coasting like a miniature Monarch! Yours, as ever, from Fort Spokane.

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