BOLETÍN / NEWSLETTER – 10/2005

[No hay versión en español]

(English version)

Membership Recruitment

This is the time of year when Amigos del Lago conducts its annual membership drive. We hope you will continue to stand with us in our on-going efforts to make Lake Chapala a cleaner and more beautiful lake.

Amigos del Lago operates as an independent, non-governmental organization. We monitor government decision-making with regard to Lake Chapala. We speak out on behalf of the lake and its ecological stability. We urge community and political leaders to act responsibly in support of laws and projects that are environmentally sound. We work with municipalities around the lake to increase public awareness about Lake Chapala and the plant and animal life it sustains.

We want a lake that is clean, attractive, and economically healthy. We have an energetic board of directors and the support of the international Living Lakes network under the leadership of Global Nature Fund, but we can’t do it alone. We need financial support, volunteer skills, and technical advice. We need people to coordinate special projects, write letters to the editor on current issues, tell other people about our organization, help us to raise operating funds and find organizational sponsors, and more. And we all need to realize that results take time, lots of it. There are many stakeholders, all of whom are important; simply communicating with them requires perseverance and patience.

Our activities so far this year include:

1) Working with scientific and legal experts in the community to understand and respond to government actions, such as the federal initiative to spray the lake with glyphosate as a “solution” to the water hyacinth problem.

• Monitoring governmental action and analyzing specific legal/technical documents.
• Maintaining regular communications with municipal leaders around the lake.
• Expanding the network of supporters who care about Lake Chapala’s future.
• Collaborating with academic and other professionals in researching and writing briefs, testimony, and proposals on behalf of residents and others concerned with protecting Lake Chapala’s ecology.

2) Initiating a monthly electronic bulletin, mailed to supporters and members throughout the world.

3) Increasing international awareness and involvement in our efforts to restore Lake Chapala to health.

• We hosted a visit from Marion Hämmerl, president of the International Living Lakes organization, to increase her first-hand knowledge of the issues facing our lake.
• Alicia Cordova, president of Amigos del Lago, attended the Living Lakes conference in the Philippines in the spring, to learn about other countries’ efforts to save their lakes and to increase other people’s awareness of Lake Chapala’s situation.
• We encouraged Marion Hammerl’s efforts to prepare a letter to President Fox, expressing the opinion of the Living Lakes organization that using glyphosate on Lake Chapala is not the way to go.

4) Initiating a planning process for local communities to help monitor Lake Chapala’s water quality.

5) Cooperating with municipal authorities to develop signs and maps for local hiking trails, in an effort to further local eco-tourism. (To be described further—soon—on our web site www.amigosdelago.org!)

6) Administering the organization:

• Maintaining the web site.
• Finding volunteers to translate Spanish documents into English.
• Supervising staff.
• Maintaining membership records.
• Responding to inquiries.
• Preparing press releases and other publicity.
• Managing organizational finances.
• Conducting board elections and orienting new board members.

Please help make our 2005 membership drive a success. Details are available on our web site (www.amigosdelago.org/member-e.html), where you can sign up today. For the Spanish version, use www.amigosdelago.org/member-s.html. There are several categories of membership, as shown below. We welcome your participation at whatever level works best for you:

• Less than 20 pesos ($2 USD): Associate Member (cannot vote for board members)
• $20 - 24 pesos ($2.00 - 2.40 USD): Friend of the Lake (Full Membership; can vote)
• $25 - 200 pesos ($2.50 - 20.00 USD): Supporter of the Lake
• $201 - 499 pesos ($20.10 - 49.90 USD): Advocate for the Lake
• $500 - 999 pesos ($50.00 - 99.90 USD): Defender of the Lake
• $1,000 + pesos ($100.00 + USD): Guardian of the Lake

Contributions can be brought to our office in Chapala, transferred to our organizational account by wire transfer, or mailed to us at Amigos del Lago, Avenida Madero 407, 45900 Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico.

Thank you for your support and encouragement so far. We will continue to work hard for the future of Lake Chapala and hope you will be part of our efforts.

Alicia Cordova, President
Board of Directors
October 2005