Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods)

The workshop was attended by about 22 people, including the President, managers, scientific program heads and others from the Museum, representatives from scientific societies such as the Entomological Society of Canada, the Canadian Society of Zoologists and the Canadian Botanical Association, members of the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada (meeting in Ottawa the following day), and representatives of government agencies including Parks Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Biodiversity Convention Office, the Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network, and the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

The agenda, as planned by Dr. Graham, included introductory remarks, an overview of the Survey by Dr. Hugh Danks, a series of Break-out groups (followed by presentations from each group) on Current and future needs for a BSC, Necessary functions of a BSC, Best approaches, and Making it happen, followed by an open discussion.

Very few ideas for Survey activities that were put forward were new to the BSC or its Scientific Committee, although there was some emphasis on the additional need for specimen data basing and the like. Most of the scientists at the workshop thought that science and the need for understanding should drive the priorities (as in the present Survey), but especially the senior government representatives thought that government "strategic priorities" should drive everything, as in the current exclusively top-down model for line departments.

An unweighted summary of all points made was prepared by Dr. Graham for circulation to participants. However, because some of the ideas put forward were mutually exclusive and because the diverse ideas from the brainstorming sessions were not assembled into a practical or coherent scheme, finite output from the workshop will require additional discussions.