1. Stimulate and encourage the advancement of a transdisciplinary, professional approach to accommodating and acknowledging the broad array of research that is related to the Adirondack Park of New York State and its environs and increasingly vital to understanding the area's regional character;

2. Develop funding for and promote coordinated transdisciplinary research about the Adirondack Park of New York State and its environs;

3. Foster and report research that may be directly applicable to policy-making in the Adirondack Park of New York State and its environs and apply rigorous academic standards to this research;

4. Provide a forum to discuss research needs, aspects, funding sources and information/data dissemination throughout the region with the goal of including and reaching a wide spectrum of data generators and users;

5. Improve communication and coordination among the sponsoring organizations, their local and national affiliates, and the various professional disciplines who comprise the membership of ARC;

6. Bridge the gap between information producers and users, unite information producers whose disciplines have historically been separated or not recognized within academia, and integrate local research and information needs into Consortium processes;

7. Promote professional and educational development of the membership and others by providing opportunities for the exchange of knowledge and information, utilizing workshops, conferences, electronic media and the Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies as deemed desirable;

8. Enhance primary and secondary school (K-12) student awareness and understanding of the unique cultural and biophysical nature of the Adirondacks through curricula support such as lesson plans, teacher workshops, publications and meetings intended to facilitate the creation of a self-sustaining cadre of informed educators to function as a subsidiary of ARC;

9. Facilitate the individual participation of the members in the affairs of ARC.

Membership and associate membership in ARC is limited to those whose background, interest, profession or craft reflect ARC's purpose and intent, who meet one of the criteria as defined below (Section 3) and who are members in good standing.

1. Membership in ARC is limited to individuals who may or may notrepresent other Associations or Organizations.

2. The membership period will extend for one full year that shall match the fiscal year as determined by the Executive Committee of ARC.

The membership/associate membership criteria are listed below. The annual fees, due by the end of General Meeting of each year, for each type of membership include a subscription to the Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies and appear to the right of the categories:

Full Voting Membership

Associatiate (non-voting) Membership

The Officers of ARC shall be a President, a Vice-President who shall be the President-Elect, and a Secretary/Treasurer. These Officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these bylaws and by the parliamentary authority of the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order, or any other parliamentary authority adopted by ARC. For the duration of their time in office, these Officers shall be considered as members of the Executive Committee.

The Officers described in Section 1 shall be elected at the first meeting. Thereafter, they shall be elected by mail ballot. Officers shall serve for two years or until their successors are elected, and their term of office shall begin at the close of the Annual Meeting. The Vice-President (President-Elect) shall assume the position of President at the close of the Annual Meeting.

No member shall hold more than one office at a time and no member shall be eligible to serve more than one consecutive term in the same office.

A Nominating Committee of not less than three members of ARC shall be appointed by the President, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee. One member of the Nominating Committee shall be the Vice-President. The Nominating Committee shall nominate at least one candidate for each Office, and shall conduct the election in accordance with the standing rules established by the Executive Committee. All persons nominated shall be full voting members in good standing of ARC.

The Executive Committee shall establish standing rules governing the nomination and election process in order to insure a fair and equitable election of Officers. Election shall be determined by a plurality of the votes cast.

The Secretary/Treasurer shall inform the membership of their opportunity to submit name(s) for nomination as Officers by petition containing five signatures of eligible members.

An elected Officer of ARC may be removed from Office by the Executive Committee if the Officer has had three consecutive inexcused absences from meetings or for non-performance of duties as specified in these bylaws or as determined by the Executive Committee. The unexpired term of any office will be filled by the election of a qualified member by the Executive Committee.

The President Shall:

1. Preside at meetings of the Executive Committee and those of themembership;
2. Create, appoint and discharge all ARC Committees including designating their chairpersons unless otherwise provided for in these bylaws;
3. Call meetings of the Executive Committee;
4. Carry out any other duties as assigned by the Executive Committee.

The Vice President shall:

1. Be the designated President-Elect;
2. Assist the President in the guidance and coordination of committee activities;
3. Assist the President in the development and implementation of activities associated with the goals and priorities of ARC;
4. Carry out other duties as assigned by the President or the Executive Committee;
5. In the absence of, or in the event of incapacity of the President, the Vice President shall assume the duties of the President.

The Secretary/Treasurer shall:

1. Maintain an accurate list of the members of ARC;
2. Receive and disburse funds;
3. Notify members and Executive Committee members of meetings, prepare and report minutes;
4. Provide the budgeting necessary and maintain accounts that shall beopen to review and approval by the Executive Committee;
5. Prepare financial reports as necessary;
6. Carry out any other duties as assigned by the President or the Executive Committee.

The Officers shall perform other duties as required by these bylaws or customary to their office.

An Annual Meeting of ARC will be held each calendar year.

It shall be considered necessary to sponsor one ARC conference during each year; topics will support the purposes outlined in Article I of these bylaws. Yearly topics will be defined by the Executive Committee or a committee so designated by the Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee will determine the specifics of each Annual Meeting or special meeting.

At the Annual Meeting, special meetings, and in ballots, except for ballots for the election of Officers, a quorum shall be ten percent of ARC members.