Charter for the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Botulism Type E
Coordination and Response Initiative

February 2009

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Mission Statement:

The Great Lakes Botulism Coordination Network (GLBCN) is a voluntary partnership of representatives of government agencies, academic institutions, and involved stakeholders whose mission is to:

• Exchange information pertaining to botulism matters in the Great Lakes basin by working through the existing partnerships, establishment of new networking relationships, and building upon existing programs;
• Communicate botulism information and advice (technical, policy or other) related to the ecosystem of the Great Lakes basin to stakeholders (including the public) through member organizations, as required;
•  Influence and support the coordination of botulism activities, including: laboratory research and field investigations, environmental management decisions, and response actions in the Great Lakes basin.

Purpose/Goals:

• To support the Network Members that are involved with related efforts to identify, document, and address botulism issues and concerns in the Great Lakes basin;
• To discuss issues related to botulism in order to establish priorities of concern and provide guidance on management actions;
• To help inform the development of a best practices manual for responding to botulism mortality events;
• To provide input for the development of a robust botulism mortality event reporting mechanism which includes data management;
• To provide high quality information, expertise, and research of ongoing and emerging botulism issues in the Great Lakes basin, through the Network Members to the general public and interested stakeholders.

Operations:

• A Steering Committee will assist in the development of the Botulism Network. The expectation is that a volunteer from each sector (Federal, State, Tribal, Academia) will be able to participate. Additional volunteers that can offer sufficient time to facilitate the development of the network are welcome.
• The GLBCN’s administrative tasks will be provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office through the establishment of a network administrator.
• The GLBCN will conduct its business primarily through conference calls and e-mails. Information items to be sent the entire network will be provided to the network administrator for distribution.
• Decisions will be made though consensus between Network Members.
• The GLBCN will report to GLRC on a regular basis.
• The Steering Committee is expected to perform its facilitation role for one year, after which time an assessment of the continuing value of the steering committee’s facilitating role will be assessed.