Subject: Re: NANFA-L-- America's national fish AC Contest
dlmcneely at lunet.edu
Date: Fri Sep 10 2004 - 13:52:11 CDT
I think this is a great approach. The BOD could determine what the list of species to be voted on is. Maybe we could do the voting by the "Instant Run-off" approach. That works like this: Each voter RANKS his or her choices 1 through however many choices there are. Each ranking is assigned points so that (for example) if there were 3 choices, a #1 ranking for one of the choices by a voter would get that choice 3 points, a #2 ranking would get it 2 points, a #3 ranking would get it 1 point. The choice with the fewest points would be dropped from further consideration, and all ballots reassessed with only the remaining choices considered. Then the rankings are reassessed with the original ballots. On a ballot where the now dropped choice was #2 for example, that ballot's original #1 remains that ballot's #1, but its former #3 now becomes #2. Points are reassigned. The choice with the fewest points is dropped, and the choice remaining is the winner. With more choices, the pro
Anyway, however we go about choosing the National Fish, if we choose one, develop a resolution to support it, and get it to the politicos, my betting is that we will get a national fish, and it will be the one we choose. The important thing is, get it done. If it is not the one I would have chosen, so be it. But we can use this to bring attention to conservation of fishes, something that I think we all support, and that is a part of our mission statement. And yes, NANFA gets some well deserved attention from a few people who pay attention to such matters. Maybe our Pres could even be on national tv!
I'll help, though politics is not a strength I have. Maybe we might want to enlist ASIH to assist. I'd bet they'd be interested. Not AFS, too much focus on sports and commercial fishes by that group, and we'd be sure to end up with lmb, whereas I think our sentiment would be for an undersung hero.
I still go for the generic fish, that lives in both Alaska and Florida (say, "the minnow"). We could provide an excellent rationale for designating not a single species but a group the "National Fish." After all, isn't America about diversity?
David L. McNeely, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
Langston University; P.O. Box 1500
Langston, OK 73050; email: dlmcneely at lunet.edu
telephone: (405) 466-6025; fax: 405) 466-3307
home page http://www.lunet.edu/mcneely
"Where are we going?" "I don't know, are we there yet?"
----- Original Message -----
From: Prizma at aol.com
Date: Thursday, September 9, 2004 8:12 pm
Subject: Re: NANFA-L-- America's national fish AC Contest
> lets make a top 10 list...
> advertise it in an upcoming ac. ( along with reasons for each
> specie
> collected from this and future list chatter )
> each nanfa member gets 3 votes. mail in a postcard ( cut from a ac
> page? )
> to cast your vote.
> we pass the results to dave mc for and to the powers that be.
>
> end result is nanfa gets credit and publicity... and who better!
>
> gotta be freshwater tho in my opinion and needs to range across
> most of the
> states and has to be unique to north america.
> lots of cool species suggested already.
>
> shad
> bowfin
> rainbow darter
> pumpkin seed
> alligator gar
> catfish
> small mouth bass
> hog sucker
> paddle fish
>
> hard to pick just one...
> thus on the vote card we let you pick 3.... then the one with the
> total most
> votes gets the final nod.
> that works.
> i bet at least 50% of the members voting would have picked the
> winner when
> picking 3 from the 10. that way most of us are happy and content
> and pleased w/
> the final results.
>
> and dont let this get to the sportfisherman... and really they
> generally
> only appreciate a very narrow band of the emmense diversity in our
> noth american
> waters. we are the folks of native fish diversity.
>
> casper
>
>
>
>
>
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: Fri Dec 31 2004 - 11:27:17 CST