Bylaws of the North American Field Herping Association (NAFHA)

ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of this organization shall be the North American Field Herping Association (hereinafter, "NAFHA"). Each chapter of NAFHA shall be named according to location. Naming of a chapter will be the responsibility of the board of each chapter.

ARTICLE II. PURPOSE

The purpose of the association will be:

To collect scientific data on wild reptiles and amphibians in the United States, Canada, and Mexico and maintain a database for the collection and sharing of such scientific data.
To unite amateur/private herpetologists and professional herpetologists in the collection of data with the goal of conserving North American herpetofauna, with a greater goal of species management. A highlight of this group is to provide state or provincial and national game agencies with sufficient data to assist in the development of more educated decisions on how to better manage reptile and amphibian populations. The NAFHA and its members recognize that habitat destruction and alteration, poor land management, and non-native species are the greatest threats to North American herpetofauna. The NAFHA and its members will focus on methods of conservation related to the above issues and will assist in the collection of data in an effort to develop a management plan for such issues.
To disseminate the data collected, and otherwise make such data available, to recognized researchers, agencies, institutions, lawmakers, and others interested in herpetology and conservation for the purposes of education, conservation, research, and sustainable use of North American herpetofauna.
To promote knowledge in the general field of herpetology for the benefit of the public and the general NAFHA membership.
To inspire all people to enjoy and protect wild herpetofauna and promote the responsible enjoyment of the activity of observing herpetofauna in the wild.

* NOTE: We recognize the right of members and non-members of NAFHA to collect species of amphibians and reptiles in accordance with applicable local, state/provincial, and federal regulations. NAFHA, however, does not promote the collection of amphibians and reptiles and this practice will not be permitted at NAFHA-sponsored events. Exceptions may be considered in certain cases, e.g., discoveries of new taxa or range extensions.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP

Membership in the association is open to all persons 18 years of age or older who properly register, and accept and comply with these bylaws of the NAFHA, as such bylaws may be amended from time to time.
A chapter will be eligible for membership as a whole once it has a membership consisting of at least 5 NAFHA members and it completes registration at the NAFHA website. If a region does not have enough members to form its own chapter, members may nonetheless engage in the authorized activities of any other chapter.
Members of any chapter may participate in the authorized activities of any other chapter.
Chapters must collect and submit their own data to the NAFHA database on a timely and regular basis. If a chapter does not submit data in accordance with the above, a vote pursuant to Article VIIA may result in removal of such chapter.
Members acknowledge that membership and participation in NAFHA is done on a completely voluntary basis. Members further acknowledge that herping, the collection of data as contemplated herein, and other related activities may involve some risk and/or inherent danger. By joining NAFHA and engaging in the activities of the association and/or regional chapters, members assume all risks associated with the activities in which they are participating.
By submitting data and photos, members recognize that all data and photos could become completely public.

ARTICLE IV. DUES

At the present time dues will not be collected for membership in the NAFHA.
If the NAFHA decides in the future that dues are necessary or desired, the amount of the dues shall be established through a vote pursuant to Article VIIA.

ARTICLE V. CHAPTER OFFICERS AND ELECTIONS

The elected officers of each chapter shall be President, Vice President, Conservation Officer, Education Specialist, and Secretary.
The term of office shall be one year and members may be elected to office more than once. There shall be no limit on consecutive terms.
Officers shall be nominated at the online forum or at meetings in November and voted in to office in December, except for the inaugural elections immediately following the establishment of NAFHA. In the event that only one person is nominated, and that person is unable or unwilling to run, nominations will be re-opened. In the event that a person elected is unable or unwilling to assume the office, another person seeking the office shall be appointed to the office by a vote pursuant to Article VIIA.
Officers shall be members in good standing and at least 18 years of age or older.
The President must have been an active member of the association for at least one year prior to assuming office, except for the inaugural elections of the NAFHA.
Each chapter shall be responsible for its own affairs, but may seek the advice of the International Board of Directors or other chapters if the need arises.

ARTICLE VI. DUTIES OF CHAPTER OFFICERS

President:
Shall be the principal executive of such chapter and shall preside over all board and membership meetings of the chapter if and when the chapter decides to hold meetings. The President shall represent the chapter on most occasions.
Vice-president:
Shall be responsible for the general membership meeting programs if and when the chapter decides to hold meetings, and shall assume the duties of the President when that officer is absent.
Conservation Officer:
Shall act as liaison between the chapter and outside researchers, conservation organizations, wildlife agencies, lawmakers, and the like. The Conservation Officer will promptly advise the NAFHA International Board of Directors when a request for data is received by the chapter. The Conservation Officer shall also assist the Education Specialist in group field trips. The Conservation Officer may assume additional duties as assigned by the chapter officers.
Education Specialist:
Shall be responsible for establishing and moderating (if the need exists) the chapter forum at www.fieldherpforum.com

Shall be responsible for setting up field outings for the chapter and assisting members in data collection. The Education Specialist will also be responsible for public education and outreach for his/her chapter if the chapter deems this action necessary.
Secretary:
Shall maintain the non-financial business records, shall record minutes of all chapter meetings, shall maintain a journal of these minutes, recording them in a timely manner and making them available to all members of the chapter, and in the absence of the President and Vice-president, may assume the duties of conducting a scheduled meeting.

ARTICLE VII. VOTING

The election of officers (excluding the Database Coordinator), any changes to the rules and regulations of the NAFHA (including these bylaws), or any conservation or management issues of North American herpetofauna must be approved by a majority vote of all NAFHA members in good standing in a 7-day online vote, with a quorum constituting of 15% of the membership.

ARTICLE VIII. DATA

Data (including photos) will be designated by the submitting member as either Sensitive (S), Non-Sensitive (NS), or Closed (C). Sensitive data are those records which require the submitting member's permission to be released to parties or persons within and outside of the NAFHA membership, Non-Sensitive data are those records which do not require the submitting member’s permission to be released to parties outside the NAFHA membership, and Closed data are highly sensitive records which may only be released in rare instances as approved by the submitting member. Notwithstanding the foregoing, each member agrees and acknowledges that neither NAFHA, its officers, the officers of a chapter nor any other member shall be liable for the release of any data that is inconsistent with the terms set forth above. By submitting data, each member specifically acknowledges that it does so at its own risk.
Data status can be designated upon submission, after submission, and/or temporarily assigned via an option in the member preference panel which allows a member to designate all of his records as Sensitive or Non-Sensitive. Additionally, a member can choose to designate all of his/her records as temporarily Sensitive, which will treat the member's data as Sensitive in the data release processes for all projects that are not voted upon by the submitting member.

ARTICLE IX. DATA RELEASE

Data will be released by the NAFHA for those projects that undergo the following procedure:
1. A project description will be submitted to the International Board that details the scope of the data being requested, the intended use, and information regarding any known risks of releasing data.
2. The project description and known risks will be detailed on the NAFHA website and open to member comments for a minimum 10 day period.
3. The International Board will review member comments and vote to approve or reject a given project. Any project which is not unanimously rejected will proceed to a member vote in accordance with the below.The project will be put to vote by the members whose data is considered within the scope of the project's request.
4. Voting members will be notified which of their records are being requested, and given the following options:
  1. Yes - I approve this project. Release ALL of my data (SENSITIVE, NON-SENSITIVE, and CLOSED)
  2. Yes - I approve this project. Release ONLY my SENSITIVE AND NON-SENSITIVE data.
  3. Yes - I approve this project. Release ONLY my NON-SENSITIVE data.
  4. No - I do not approve this project. DO NOT release any of my data.
  5. No - I do not approve this project. However, please release ALL of my data (BOTH SENSITIVE AND NON-SENSITIVE) if the majority of the voting members approve the project.
  6. No - I do not approve this project. However, please release only my NON-SENSITIVE data if the majority of the voting members approve the project.
5. Voting members will be shown which of their data they have selected to release, and will be required to confirm their decision.
6. Votes will be tallied. If the number of voting members who have approved the project exceeds the number of voting members who have rejected the project, then the data of the approving members will be released, as will the data of members who did not approve the project but nonetheless authorized the release of their data. In addition, the data of members who did not vote will be released (unless they have indicated otherwise).
7. If the number of voting members who have rejected the project exceeds the number of voting members who have approved the project, then only the data of approving members will be released, to the degree that the release was authorized. The data of members who did not vote will NOT be released.
8. Released records will be made available to the requesting party via a password protected portion of the website, and/or a CSV file, according to the requesting party's preference.
9. Notwithstanding the foregoing, as stated above, each member agrees and acknowledges that neither NAFHA, its officers, the officers of a chapter nor any other member shall be liable for the release of any data that is inconsistent with the terms set forth above. By submitting data, each member specifically acknowledges that it does so at its own risk, and that all such data may become completely public.

ARTICLE X. INTERNATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The International Board of Directors shall manage the affairs of the NAFHA. The International Board of Directors shall consist of the President of each chapter, a National Coordinator, and the Database Coordinator, as well as one other board member from each chapter. The term for each International Board member, with the exception of the Database Coordinator, shall be one year. Each International Board member may be re-elected through a vote pursuant to Article VIIA., as long as that Board member is willing to remain in office and no other NAFHA members receive more votes. There shall be no limit on consecutive terms.
There is no term limit for the Database Coordinator, however the Database Coordinator may be dismissed by a vote pursuant to Article VIIA. The Database Coordinator shall oversee the database and the data release process.
The International Board of Directors and the NAFHA members will elect an International Coordinator who will serve to steer the NAFHA and the database with the assistance of the International Board. This election will be determined by a vote pursuant to Article VIIA.
Permanent vacancies in any office of the International Board of Directors shall be filled by a vote pursuant to Article VIIA.

ARTICLE XI. MEETINGS

Each chapter will decide when and if it will hold regular meetings.
Each chapter shall be responsible for selecting and coordinating its own invited guest speakers and meeting areas if it chooses to hold meetings. Any costs associated with these meetings shall be the sole responsibility of the chapter and its members.
Meetings shall be open to all members and non-members.
National meetings, chapter meetings, and board meetings shall take place if and when members agree upon the place and time. Meeting announcements shall be posted at least one week prior to the meeting on the chapter forums at www.fieldherpforum.com
www.fieldherpforum.com shall not create chapters or moderate forums for the NAFHA without a request from the International Board of Directors to do so.

ARTICLE XII: RESIGNATION AND REMOVAL OF OFFICERS, INTERNATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS, CHAPTERS, AND CHAPTER MEMBERS

Notice of resignation by an officer shall be posted on the NAFHA forums or provided in writing and delivered to the President of the applicable chapter.
Notice of resignation of an International Board member shall be posted on the NAFHA forums or provided in writing and delivered to the International Coordinator.
A chapter officer may be removed from office for failure to perform the duties of the office. This removal will require a majority vote of the chapter membership involved.
An International Board member may be removed from office for failure to perform the duties of the office. This removal will require a vote pursuant to Article VIIA.
Termination of membership may be done voluntarily by a member at any time by providing written notice delivered to the President of the applicable chapter, or membership of a member may be terminated by a vote pursuant to Article VIIA.for any one of the following causes:
1. Causes for termination:
  1. Intentional cruelty to reptiles, amphibians or other animals.
  2. Failure to follow applicable fish and game regulations.
  3. Deliberate destruction of habitat while searching for herpetofauna.
  4. Claiming to speak for the NAFHA or its chapters when not authorized to do so, or publicly attributing opinions to the NAFHA or its chapters when no stand has been taken.
  5. Engaging in any activity considered by the International Board to be detrimental to the interests or reputation of NAFHA, its chapters and/or members.
  6. Any illegal animal-related activity or illegal activities which transpire while in pursuit of an animal.
  7. Disturbing known research sites and animals.
2. Reinstatement:
  Terminated members may apply to the chapter board or International Board for reinstatement, no sooner than one year after termination. Any such application may be accepted or rejected with or without cause through a vote pursuant to Article VIIA.

ARTICLE XIII: LIABILITY

The NAFHA is a volunteer association; its International Board of Directors, Chapter Board of Directors, and members are not liable for any misconduct, legal or illegal, or any act or omission, by members.
The NAFHA, its International Board of Directors, Chapter Board of Directors, and members are not responsible for and do not assume any liability for any damage or personal injury, including death, sustained by a member or non-member during meetings, field trips, data collection, or any other activity of the NAFHA. Members and non-members join and participate solely at their own risk.
The NAFHA, its International Board of Directors, Chapter Board of Directors, and members are responsible for entering their own data into the database, editing their own data, and ensuring that it is accurate and legally collected. By registering in the database, members and non-members of the NAFHA agree to make their data and photos broadly available to the public, unless otherwise indicated in the data’s sensitivity status. Exact online data points are not intended to be accessible to the public; each entry can be viewed only down to the county level. Members and those submitting data and photos recognize the possibilities and take the risk that although safeguards are in place, any and all data and photos can become completely public. The NAFHA, its International Board of Directors, Chapter Board of Directors, and members assume no liability for submission and protection of data and are not liable for any data in the database, prior to, or after use by an outside source.
Ownership of data and photos entered into the database by members and non-members of the NAFHA remain the property of the submitting party, however by entering the data and photos into the database, members and non-members (i) represent and warrant that they are the owners of such data or have the necessary licenses to provide and disclose such data and grant the licenses herein, (ii) agree that they will indemnify and hold harmless the NAFHA and its officers for any breach of the immediately foregoing representation and warranty, and (iii) grant to the NAFHA the right to use that data for all organizational purposes consistent with the terms set forth herein and to disclose such data as expressly permitted by such member.
The NAFHA, its International Board of Directors, Chapter Board of Directors, and members are not liable for the loss or corruption of data or use of data which was obtained illegally through “internet hacking” or any other means. Although the database is protected and backed up on a regular basis, database “hacking” and other events beyond the reasonable control of NAFHA comprise risks that all members and non-members assume by the submission of their data.
NAFHA officers and members do not have the authority to assume any obligations, whether financial or otherwise, on behalf of the NAFHA in any way.
IN NO EVENT SHALL NAFHA OR ANY OF ITS OFFICERS HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO A MEMBER OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, OR LOSS OF USE, OR FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF NAFHA, ITS OFFICERS, CHAPTERS OR MEMBERS, UNDER ANY CAUSE OF ACTION OR THEORY OF LIABILITY, AND IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER SUCH PARTY HAS ADVANCE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THESE LIMITATIONS SHALL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING THE FAILURE OF THE ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY.
EACH MEMBER SUBMITS ITS DATA "AS IS" AND WITH ALL FAULTS; AND EACH SUCH MEMBER AND THE NAFHA HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS (IF ANY) OF OR RELATED TO: MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, LACK OF VIRUSES, ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS, RESULTS AND NONINFRINGEMENT. THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE DATA REMAINS WITH THE PARTY USING AND/OR RELYING ON SUCH DATA.

ARTICLE XIV: AMENDMENTS TO THESE BYLAWS

These bylaws may be reviewed by the International Board of Directors. A proposal for a change in the bylaws may be submitted to the board in writing (either in person or on the NAFHA forums) by any member at any time.
Amendments must be accepted by a vote pursuant to Article VIIA.