MNPS ELECTIONS for 2021
The 2021 Elections are closed.
Results will be announced following the Board meeting on June 3.
Every year there is a contest among the chapters for the largest proportion of the chapter members who vote. Last year the Calypso Chapter smashed the opposition in % ballots returned with 33%. Next was Clark Fork with 15%. Congratulations, Calypso Chapter. Will your Chapter will win in 2021? Be sure to vote!
Here are this year’s candidates:
PATRICK PLANTENBERG – I am a retired reclamation specialist for the State of Montana and run a private landscaping business in Townsend. A member of the Kelsey Chapter, I was Secretary of the MNPS for 20 years. Since my retirement, I have been active in urban forestry in Montana as Chair of the Townsend Tree Board, Past President of the Montana Urban and Community Forestry Association, and Past Montana Director of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. I co-chaired the Organizational Committee for the first ever International MNPS Annual Meeting in Saskatchewan with the Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan. I am happily married to Mary for 31 years and have two children. I look forward to helping lead the MNPS over the next two years. Get out and Vote!
LAURIE KURTH – I am a retired plant ecologist working for federal agencies. In my final position, in Washington DC with the US Forest Service, I managed the national program budget for wildfire risk reduction (fuels management) and oversaw wildfire prevention, air quality management, and state assistance programs. I returned to Montana in 2018 and am reconnecting with Montana flora, including expanding native plant gardens on my property and attending Clark Fork Chapter activities. I serve on the International Association of Wildland Fire’s Diversity and Inclusivity Committee. I enjoy kayaking, traveling, hiking, biking, and quilting. In the summer, you might see me at farmer’s markets, fairs, and street festivals selling handcrafted goods, including those we bring back from Nepal and Thailand.
KRIS BOYD, incumbent – I have lived and worked as a biologist in Troy, Montana for 17 years. I have been actively involved with The Wildlife Society for many years as a Leadership Institute Scholar, founder of the Early Career Professional Working Group, Editorial Advisory Committee member and contributing author of The Wildlife Professional Magazine, President of the Montana Chapter, and President of the Northwest Section. The observation, identification, biology, ecology, and ethnobotany of native plants has always given me pleasure… and I am excited to continue my involvement with the Montana Native Plant Society as the Western Director-at-Large.
