IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group Bulletin
©IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group

Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 1 - 74 (April 2008)

Becoming a Member of the OSG
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Many people have been wondering how membership of the OSG is decided, so the Membership Team have produced this short note.

As with all Specialist Groups of the World Conservation Union (IUCN),  group members are appointed by, and at the discretion of, the Chairman of the OSG. 

The Chairman has set up a small Membership Team to handle applications and proposals for membership and to conduct the initial assessment.  This team consists of Lesley Wright, Arno Gutleb, Grace Yoxon and Nicole Duplaix.  We then recommend new appointees to the Chairman.  If he approves them, Lesley Wright, the Membership Secretary, issues the formal invitation to join the group, acting on the Chairman’s behalf.

There are three levels of membership: full members, affiliate members and student members. Affiliate membership is an intermediate category, usually reserved for new applicants who may eventually become full members, depending on their level of experience with otters.

Any member of the OSG can propose others for membership.  What we are looking for is people who demonstrate a long-term commitment to otter conservation, in the broadest sense – this means that we have a very wide range of members: researchers, environmentalists, ecologists, toxicologists, zoo staff, rehabilitators, vets, educators and many others.  This produces an active forum with a wide range of views, but everyone should have as their primary focus the continued survival of otters.

When someone is proposed as a new member, or applies for membership, we need a resume of their otter-related work and interests, and of course a working email address. Please email this to Lesley (lc.wright@yahoo.co.uk). If and when they are accepted as members, we will also need a short description of their interests to add to the Members-Only area of the website, so other members can find out what they do. 

This is a good time to remind all current members that we would also like a short resume (about 100 words) summarising experience and interests from everyone, as this helps new members get oriented, and should be of interest to everyone.

The OSG Membership Team

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