Fwd: Farewell and Heartfelt Gratitude to Allen Fish and Teresa Ely

[Mary Malec]

I am sick for Alen's reputation, for Teresa's future

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Christine Lehnertz <cleh...@parksconservancy.org>
Date: Wed, Oct 23, 2024 at 5:13 PM
Subject: Farewell and Heartfelt Gratitude to Allen Fish and Teresa Ely
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Dear GGRO Day Leader Volunteers, 

 

The following message was shared with Park Conservancy employees late today and we wanted to send a copy to you as leaders of the GGRO volunteers. We’ll be sharing the staff message with all volunteers of GGRO tomorrow morning. 

 

I am also inviting all GGRO volunteers to an in-person meeting on Saturday, October 26. We want to provide an opportunity to share information with you directly and to provide time for questions. As part of supporting our staff at GGRO, I ask you if you are volunteering on Hawk Hill or for bird care over the next few days, please allow our staff to focus on their important work and not press them for details about the news we are sharing with you today.  Their wellbeing is our paramount concern as changes are happening at the GGRO.  There is more information about the volunteer meeting at the end of this message and Saturday is a time dedicated sharing the details with you that we can - thank you very much for your consideration and support of our GGRO and community science staff.

 

Gratefully,

   Chris Lehnertz

 

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Dear Parks Conservancy Employees,

 

After 39 incredible years, our dear colleague and friend, Allen Fish, Director GGRO, has decided to move on to the next chapter in his raptor conservation and community science journey effective October 24. 

 

Allen has been an integral part of the Parks Conservancy since 1985 and has made remarkable contributions. From Allen's early days, he was pivotal in establishing the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory as a powerhouse of community science in an urban national park. Over the years, the GGRO has contributed to hundreds of scientific publications, conference presentations, dissertations, books, and numerous articles on the critically important role of raptors in ecosystem health. 

 

Through his dedication, vision, and unwavering commitment, Allen has helped shape GGRO into what it is today, an award-winning and internationally recognized program. Just this year, GGRO won an "Excellence in Volunteerism" award from the National Park Service showcasing the innovative work of volunteers as community scientists. 

 

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Allen has been a friend and mentor to many of us, always full of raptor knowledge, fascinating stories and wisdom to share. Thank you, Allen, for all that you have brought into our park lives, your contributions will truly be everlasting! 

 

In his own words 

"It has been my greatest privilege to be a part of the Parks Conservancy and help establish and grow our earliest community science efforts. The critical raptor monitoring programs of the GGRO have shared an inspiring and vital opportunity to connect people to the science of national parks. I am certain that I have worked with the best people in the world, in particular, many hundreds of volunteers across four decades. The GGRO has been a lens focusing many thousands of people on the chance to understand and care for birds of prey populations. Together, we have set in place a raptor monitoring and tracking system for the Pacific Flyway that has never been more critical given the rapid pace of ecological change our planet faces. Thank you all for your support, friendship, hard work, and deep belief in the power of the community to do essential conservation science. We have built an important and impactful community science program, and I have faith that raptor conservation will be a part of the Parks Conservancy for many years to come." 

 

Teresa Ely, Senior Program Manager at GGRO, has also decided to leave the Parks Conservancy. Over the past eight years, Teresa has worked closely with Allen to further expand the reach of the GGRO and establish it as one of the premier programs for banding birds of prey in the Pacific Flyway to collect valuable migration data. Nationally recognized for her expertise in raptor banding and field methods, Teresa has played an integral role in GGRO's scientific collaborations for the past half-decade.

 

Succession planning and sustainability are essential to the long-term success of our programs, and over the past year, we have been working with Allen to prepare for his transition. In charting the course ahead, we’ll incorporate valuable insights from Allen to position GGRO for continued success. 

 

Yolanda Molette, Director of Conservation and Community Science, will provide added leadership capacity to this team in the interim, supported by GGRO staff, as we determine the best way to move forward. NPS Volunteer Management and Program Partners along with the Parks Conservancy Volunteer team will continue supporting GGRO and the volunteer programs. And we are very, very grateful to Rose Fielding, Program Manager, Mel Hackett, Operations Manager, and Carmen DeLeon, Coordinator, who have stepped up to lead the current operations of the GGRO. 

   

While it is difficult to say goodbye, we are excited for Allen and Teresa as they embark on new adventures. We are deeply grateful for their outstanding contributions, and their legacy at GGRO will continue to inspire us for years to come. Please join me in wishing Allen and Teresa all the best in their future endeavors.  

 

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To you, the Day Leaders, and for all volunteers, we understand this has been an incredibly challenging time for many of you. It has been difficult for the Parks Conservancy and the GGRO staff as well.  We realize there are long-term bonds amongst many of you and with Allen and Teresa, and your passion for the GGRO is evident. Sometimes unexpected things occur, and we must find a path forward. GGRO has been at the heart of community science raptor research and is a cornerstone of the Parks Conservancy's and National Park Service's commitment to building a strong nexus between park stewardship and volunteerism. The Parks Conservancy’s community science movement contributes greatly to the efforts to support the National Park Service in monitoring and analysis of a range of species vital to our environment and ecosystems.

 

On Saturday, October 26 from 8:30-9:30am, I will be hosting an in-person meeting for all GGRO volunteers.  The objective is to provide information about the recent changes at GGRO and answer questions from the volunteers.  I will be joined by Claire Mooney, Vice President of GGNPC Park Projects and Conservation; Alison Forrestel, Chief of Natural Resources, NPS GGNRA; and Ronni Johnson, Volunteer and Internship Manager, NPS, GGNRA. We will meet in the large conference room at Futures Without Violence on the Presidio, at 100 Montgomery Street (PLEASE NOTE: this location is in the Presidio not a downtown San Francisco address on Montgomery Street).  There is parking available across the street at the Presidio Bowling Alley, along Montgomery Street, and behind the Futures Without Violence building.

 

The GGRO is here to stay, and we are committed to its vital role as an outstanding model of community science. We hope you will continue to be part of this wonderful program and help us create the next generation of GGRO volunteers.  Allen shared this sentiment with us about the GGRO volunteers and we have every intention to continue this legacy. “Thank you - volunteers of GGRO past and present – you are an immensely inventive and passionate and hard-working community of brilliant people, and I am deeply fortunate to have worked alongside you for 39 years.”

 

Warm regards,  
  Chris Lehnertz

 

CHRIS LEHNERTZ (she / her)

President & CEO

Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy

201 Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA 94123

Main: (415) 561-3000

Cell: (415) 815-7398

-———————————————————

Executive Office Manager

Nessa Ramos

nra...@parksconservancy.org

Office: (415) 561-3058

 

 

[Paul Meadow]

Shoot!  I am on the east coast and won’t be back in time to attend this meeting.  

My biggest concern ( I’m sure I’m kot the only one), is that Allen and Teresa have been accused of something against which they’ve not been permitted to defend themselves, and that we have not been permitted to speak in their defense, all under the guise of ‘privacy’ concerns, which is a very effective way to squelch scrutiny over decision making in management.  

Anyway, that’s what I would ask about.  

Thanks for sharing, Mary. 

Best

-Paul

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[Brianna Gerard]

Paul I agree. The evasiveness of this whole saga is a harmful way to churn the rumor mill and completely unfair to everyone. 

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[Mary Malec]

I think once he is no longer part of the program he will be able to say something,  

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[Julian Hyde]

I’m not sure that Allen will ever be able to tell the whole truth, Mary. He may have signed an NDA (so that he cannot criticize the actions of the parks conservancy, among other things). The timescale (several weeks from beginning to end) suggests that all parties have lawyered up. 

Julian

On Oct 24, 2024, at 07:44, Mary Malec <mal...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[John Farnsworth]

What bothers me is that the volunteers themselves, past and present, are being robbed of the opportunity to thank Allen for his decades of service. 

Since leaving California I’ve searched for volunteer citizen science opportunities to replace the experience I had with GGRO, but here in Northwest Washington there’s nothing that compares in terms of the community involvement that supports GGRO. I’ve come to appreciate all the more the role Allen played in creating the hawkwatch community. He believed in us, he invested heavily in our training and support, in fomenting leadership among the dayleaders, and in celebrating the trove of data we gathered. While he was open to creative ideas, he was deeply committed to the rigor of the data and the science based upon it. 

I wish him all the best, and feel frustrated that there’s no way to let him know of our collective appreciation of his efforts over the years. 

John S. Farnsworth, PhD
Nature Beyond Solitude: Notes from the Field
Coves of Departure: Field Notes from the Sea of Cortes

Forthcoming in Spring of 2025: Reading Nature: The Evolution of American Nature Writing

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CHRIS LEHNERTZ (she / her)

President & CEO

Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy

201 Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA 94123

Main: (415) 561-3000

Cell: (415) 815-7398

-———————————————————

Executive Office Manager

Nessa Ramos

nra...@parksconservancy.org

Office: (415) 561-3058

 

 

[Mary Malec]

John

Allen will hear what you said.  And we will do something for and with Allen as soon as we can, and we will continue our letter writing and connect with the press.  

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[JJ Harris]

oh god

she is a master of corporate-speak, or does she just use Ai?

"While it is difficult to say goodbye, we are excited for Allen and Teresa as they embark on new adventures." 

Incredible.

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[Brian O'Laughlin]

AI is a good bet.

Claire was on the hill last Thursday. She came up during the last hour. Rose gave her binoculars and showed her some hawks. Heroic, I thought. Gretchen, the dayleader, introduced herself.

Claire said nothing (except to Yolanda, who was spending a few hours up there). 

The zoom meeting with volunteers a week or so ago seemed to show her pattern: stay on the talking points. When asked a question, repeat the talking points.

Hints about what the PC thinks of the GGRO volunteers show through such actions. The aforementioned Zoom meeting began 10 minutes late, and spent 15-20 minutes introducing the conservancy staff, many of whom said nothing after introducing themselves.

"Sandbagging"

-Brian

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[Belle Davis]

This is sickening. So sad for Allen, Teresa, and the GGRO as a whole...

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