North American Lagomorph Working Group

Charter

Mission and Goals

The North American Lagomorph Working Group (NALWG) is a group comprised of representatives
from state agencies, tribal agencies, federal agencies, universities, and non-government organizations
that recognize the importance of managing and conserving lagomorph species in North America for
their ecological, cultural, recreational, economical, and intrinsic values. At the forming of NALWG
in 2022, many North America lagomorph species have declining or unknown population trends and
face multiple threats (e.g., anthropogenic land use, climate change, disease). Knowledge gaps on
threats and lack of monitoring or management across many jurisdictions hinder conservation efforts.
Therefore, the objectives of NALWG are to:

1) Identify conservation and management priorities for North American lagomorph species
2) Increase cross-state communication, collaboration, and consistency in monitoring,
management, and research programs
3) Facilitate disease monitoring and management coordination

Roles and Responsibilities

NALWG Membership: The membership of NALWG consists of a variety of individuals and groups
interested in the conservation of lagomorphs in North America. Membership is open to anyone
interested in lagomorph conservation, including (but not limited to) professionals, graduate students,
and private individuals. Primarily, membership involvement is focused on participants across all
states in the continental U.S., but also includes collaborators and interested parties in Canada and
Mexico. All members will be placed on the NALWG listserv and notified of NALWG meetings and
other activities within the group. NALWG will host an all-member meeting annually. The
membership will have the ability to request NALWG hosted events (e.g., symposia at national
meetings), as well as the opportunity to review and revise any documents endorsed by the group
(e.g., a national lagomorph conservation plan).

Steering Committee: The Steering Committee will be comprised of 12 members, not including the
Chair. Individuals will serve on the Steering Committee for a 3-year term, which can be renewed or

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extended at the discretion of the Steering Committee. Members of the Steering Committee should be
professionals in their associated field. The Steering Committee membership will represent the
diversity of NALWG member organizations and should include, at minimum:

• Two representatives from state agencies

• Two representatives from tribal agencies
• Two representatives from federal agencies
• Two representatives from academic institutions

The Steering Committee membership should also represent the diversity of interests of NALWG
member organizations, for example:

• Persons representing different areas across the country (e.g., Southwestern U.S., Northeastern
U.S., Pacific Northwest, etc.)
• Persons representing a range of species expertise (e.g., Appalachian cottontail, white-tailed
jackrabbit, snowshoe hare)
• Persons representing a range of professional expertise (e.g., wildlife biologist, wildlife
veterinarian, research scientist)

Because the Steering Committee terms last for 3 years and require professional expertise,
membership on the Steering Committee will exclude:

• Undergraduate students
• Graduate students
• Seasonal/temporary field technicians

Chair: The Steering Committee will have one Chair, serving a 2-year term which can be renewed or
extended by the Steering Committee. After serving their term, the retiring Chair will become a
Steering Committee member and help advise the newly elected Chair. The Chair will have the
following responsibilities:

• Convening the Steering Committee as needed to discuss, address, and/or plan for NALWG
objectives, events, outreach, and reports

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 • Holding an annual Leadership meeting with the Steering Committee, Standing Committee
Leaders, and representatives from independent sister groups to obtain updates on activities
related to lagomorphs both within NALWG and North America
• Maintaining the membership listserv
• Managing the NALWG website
• Inviting approved nominees onto the Steering Committee
• Ensuring the NALWG membership meets at least once annually

Standing Committees: The Steering Committee can establish new Standing Committees at the
request of NALWG members. Standing Committees consist of NALWG members with more
specialized interests, such as species groups, to allow for more coordinated efforts by a subset of the
NALWG membership. For example, the Appalachian Cottontail Standing Committee within
NALWG coordinates efforts between state agencies, federal agencies, tribal agencies, universities,
and NGOs within the range of the Appalachian Cottontail in the eastern United States, allowing for
better coordination, collaboration, and consistency in the monitoring, research, management, and
conservation of this species. The Standing Committee Leader will have the following
responsibilities:

• Convening the Standing Committee to discuss, plan, coordinate, and/or collaborate on issues
of interest to that committee
• Maintaining a member email list for the associated Standing Committee and share that list
with the Steering Committee
• Ensuring Standing Committee meetings occur a minimum of twice a year, although more
meetings may be necessary to meet committee goals
• Communicating with the Steering Committee on the activities and progress of the associated
Standing Committee
• Attending an annual leadership meeting with the Steering Committee, other Standing
Committee Leaders, and invited representatives from sister groups to provide information on
the activities and achievements of the Standing Committee

Elections and Voting: New Steering Committee members can be nominated from the current
NALWG membership by anyone in the current Steering Committee membership. Steering

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Committee nominees will be elected by a supermajority (i.e., 2/3rds) vote of the Steering Committee.
Judgment on the suitability of a Steering Committee nominee will be based off of the current and
needed representation of interests and NALWG member organizations on the Steering Committee.
The Chair will be nominated from the existing Steering Committee membership and will be elected
via a supermajority vote of the Steering Committee. Standing Committees will be established by a
vote of the Steering Committee via the request of a minimum of 5 NALWG members. Once the
Standing Committee is approved by the Steering Committee, the NALWG members involved in that
Standing Committee will elect a Standing Committee Leader by majority vote. The Steering
Committee can vote to dissolve a Standing Committee if the group is inactive or if other issues arise.
Prior to a vote to dissolve a Standing Committee, the Steering Committee Chair must inform the
Standing Committee Leader and members of the decision to allow time for an appeal. The Standing
Committee can object to their dissolution, but they need to appeal to the Steering Committee via the
Chair and address issues that resulted in the movement to dissolve the committee.

Meetings

Annual Meeting: Led and organized by the Steering Committee and held annually, this meeting is
open to all NALWG membership. This meeting will consist of presentations on research, monitoring,
management, and threats to lagomorphs by individuals from NALWG membership, as well as a
business meeting to discuss topics, collaborations, and opportunities to the group as a whole. The
meeting may be held at a U.S. national wildlife or mammalogy conference, but always with the
option of virtual attendance to ensure meeting accessibility to the entire NALWG membership.

Leadership Meeting: Led and organized by the Steering Committee Chair and held once a year. The
Steering Committee, Standing Committee Leaders, and invited representatives from independent
sister groups, such as the New England Cottontail Working Group and North American Pika
Consortium, to give updates and communicate pertinent information and opportunities that may be of
interest to NALWG.

Charter Prepared by: Corinne A. Diggins, NALWG Chair, August 2022

Charter Edited and Approved by: NALWG Steering Committee Members, September 2022

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