A Chronology of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists

Through 1982

by

Tim M. Berra

[Berra, Tim M. 1984. A Chronology of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Through 1982. Special Publication Number 2, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Allen Press, Lawrence, Kansas. ISSN 0748-0539.]


Introduction | Chronology | The AIBS Affair | The Navy Manual Affair | The IRS Affair | Resolutions | Figures

ORGANIZATIONS, like organisms, are subject to evolution via selection. They must adapt to their environments or become extinct. The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists exhibits the highest degree of Darwinian fitness. We are leaving multitudinous offspring in the form of published research and inspiration and stimulation for new members. Our "fossil record" dates back to 27 December, 1913 when the first issue of Copeia was published. Copeia, like life itself, evolved from a modest beginning and radiated into a prestigious quarterly journal recognized around the world as a leading source of technical articles on ichthyology and herpetology.

What follows is not the definitive history of the Society, but rather a chronological or stratigraphic look at past events. The procedure used was analogous to a paleontologist's attempt to reconstruct the phylogenetic history of a species by piecing together bits and pieces of the fossil record. There are gaps in the fossil record, and there are gaps in the information available to the historian. For example, I can find very little data on the early years of the Society from 1913-1930. So far, attempts to locate the archives of John Treadwell Nichols have been unsuccessful. This does not necessarily support the punctuated equilibrium mode of evolution. The history of the Society shows a gradual transition periodically interrupted by quantum leaps, just as is shown by the history of organisms. Both modes of advance are important.

If we think of the history of the Society as one continual event dating back to 1913, we have an advantage over the paleontologist. We have members who can remember the early days and the people involved. I would like to call upon these people to contribute their experience to a fully developed history of the ASIH.

Our current problem of how to maintain herpetological interest in the Society is not a new one. The following was written by ASIH founder John T. Nichols to Major Chapman Grant on 30 November 1934:

From long association with many kinds of naturalists I have come to think of mammalogists usually being industrious, ornithologists companionable, herpetologists quarrelsome, ichthyologists opinionated, and so forth and so on. Possibly you have not thought of these class distinctions, having only recently become a good deal of a herpetologist and having been derived from an ornithological background. As a matter of fact one of the difficulties of holding the A.S.I.H. together and keeping "Copeia" going on an even keel is due to the herpetological temperament. Hence I hate to hear mention of anyone resigning on account of the getting of goats, which is quite a common occurrence.

The material in this report was obtained from four sources. (1) Each issue of Copeia from 1913 through 1982 was examined page by page and notes were made of interesting items. (2) The official repository of ASIH documents is the Smithsonian Institution Archives. The ASIH file contains about 18 cubic feet of material in 42 boxes, much of which is tissue copies of correspondence of officers. It would take a full-time researcher at least a year to read and digest all this material. I worked at the Archives for a total of 10 days on two visits. (3) The Secretary's notebook contains lists of various committees and other tabular information. Much of this information, such as lists of Governors, has been omitted from this report in order to save space. (4) Correspondence and conversations with ASIH members and others produced some information. Various drafts of this report were read by Reeve M. Bailey, Arnold Grobman, Clark Hubbs, Laura Hubbs, Robert R. Miller, Jay M. Savage, Aaron Wasserman, and George R. Zug. Identification of the people in Figure 1 was provided by Reeve M. Bailey, Roger Conant, Arnold Grobman, Laura Hubbs, George S. Myers, and M. Graham Netting.

CHRONOLOGY

1913	27 Dec., John Treadwell Nichols issued, at his own expense, the first number of Copeia - a single sheet folded to make 4 pages with 5 short articles "Published by the contributors to advance the science of coldblooded vertebrates. " The name Copeia was used in memory of Professor Edward Drinker Cope, the distinguished American accomplished in the systematic and faunal aspects of ichthyology and herpetology.
1914	12 numbers of Copeia were issued (2-13) each of 4 pages. In No. 10 was a note that Mr. Nichols had begun the sale of the journal for 5 › per copy. A two-page Index To Date was published after No. 13 in December.
1915	12 numbers of Copeia were issued ( 14-2 5 ). The size increased with No. 18 to 8 pages/copy and consecutive numbering of pages was instituted. In 1915, 78 pages were published.
1916	1 Jan., A publication committee for Copeia was established consisting of John T. Nichols, Executive; Henry W. Fowler, and Dwight Franklin. This committee met in Feb. and organized the American Society for the Study of Fishes and Reptiles. Bylaws were adopted in March, and the name of the society was changed to the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. On 8 March the first regular meeting of the Society was held at the American Museum of Natural History in N.Y. 13 numbers (26-38) of Copeia containing 100 pages were issued in 1916. An index for 1913, 1914, 1915 was published in February.
1917	The first illustration appeared in Copeia, nest and eggs of Schilbeodes insignis No. 42: unnumbered sheet between p. 34-35. An index to 1913-1917 was published in December.
1918	No. 64 First annual index published.
1919	No. 69 First photographs published in Copeia, of sharks. Handwritten corrections to improperly set line No. 70:52.
1921	References cited for first time, as footnotes in paper on Cottus by Carl L. Hubbs No. 90:7.
1923	12 Oct., Nichols announced his intention of giving up the editorship of Copeia whereupon the Society decided to publish it as its official organ.
1924	Dr. E. R. Dunn was elected editor and the place of publication moved from N. Y. to Northampton, Mass. ". . . When dues payments of $2/yr. failed to cover the printer's bill [Dunn] reported the deficit to the Society's second 'angel' Thomas Barbour, who neither looked nor talked like one." (Netting, 1963, Some highlights of fifty years in Program of 50th anniversary meeting.)
1927	Copeia changed to a quarterly publication beginning with No. 162. Title page included "A journal of cold blooded vertebrates. Established in 1913." Table of contents appeared in No. 163 and a Literature Cited section was used for the first time in a paper by C. L. Hubbs.
1929	The Western Division was chartered.
1930	Last issue edited by E. R. Dunn was No. 173. Dr. Carl L. Hubbs was elected ichthyological editor and Helen T. Gaige, herpetological editor. The new editors changed the format of Copeia and discontinued consecutive numbering of issues. Place of publication was changed to Ann Arbor. Size was increased to 7 x 10 inches, and the quality of paper was improved. The covered journal format gave a modern appearance and the new sections of Ichthyological and Herpetological Notes, and Editorial Notes and News were included. Since 1930 four issues of Copeia numbered 1-4 have been published each year. The quantity of the material published increased dramatically. The sudden increase in size was largely attributed to the diligence with which Dr. Hubbs secured new members during the years 1929-30 when he was Secretary (Netting 1933 (4):228). No. 4 was the David Starr Jordan Anniversary Number. Total pages for 1930 amounted to 170 and the most illustrations to date were published.
1931	First discussion of contribution to Zoological Record, tabled (2):68. No. 3 was Leonard Steineger Anniversary Number.
1932	Dues raised to $3/yr. to support the growing journal. Widespread depression and unfavorable exchange rates resulted in resignation of many foreign members (2):108.
1933	The depression put financial strain on Copeia. A flood of papers arrived due to tight funds of journals and museums and to the suspension of the Bulletin of the Antivenin Institute. A $4 page charge was instituted (1):45. The Society weathered the depression fairly well. It only dropped 3% in members and subscriptions whereas other societies sustained losses of 10% or more (2):112. Life membership available for $75 (2):113. Meeting at the Museum of Comparative Zoology had separate sessions for ichthyologists and herpetologists (2):112. No. 4 was the 20th anniversary number with a reprint of page 1 number 1.
1934	The first fold out illustration published in Copeia, of Mola mola, appeared (4):148.
1935	A count of members in continental U.S. indicated that 212 (68%) were located east of the Mississippi River, 38 (12%) in the middle west, and 61 (20%) in the west. From 1929-34, 49% of the pages of Copeia were contributed by eastern members, 25% by middle western members, and 26% by western members. 244 pages were systematic matter, 112 pages were lists of species, and 309 pages were of ecological and miscellaneous material (1):47. George A. Boulenger was elected first honorary member of the Society (4):200.
1937	Society had 3 life members Thomas Barbour, Carl L. Hubbs, and Helen T. Gaige. Endowment fund set up with almost $400 (3):199. Helen T. Gaige became Editor-in-Chief with No. 2 and remained in that office through the middle of 1950. Ichthyology Editor was Lionel A. Walford and Herpetology Editor was Karl P. Schmidt. This staff remained unchanged through 1946(1).
1938	Letter to editor from Major Chapman Grant, President of the Western Division, requested protest of a proposed California antivivisection law (1):54. Endowment fund reached almost $800 with addition of 8 new life members J. W. Bailey, W. T. Broughman, C. E. Burt, L. M. Klauber, E. A. McIlhenny, J. T. Nichols, K. P. Schmidt, and F. H. Stoye (1):55. First meeting west of the Mississippi, at Berkeley. Local committee chose to remain anonymous (3):155.
1939	First Stoye Award, $10 each, to Louis A. Krumholz for ichthyology and Francis X. Lueth for herpetology. First issue of Ichtherps, "a worthy addition to that group of pseudoscientific publications which follow the Auklet tradition." Walter L. Necker elected first Historian of the Society (4):243.
1940	No. 2 was the Edward Drinker Cope Centenary Number. Contribution of $50 toward publication of the Zoological Record is approved. Endowment fund reached $1600 (3):212. Board of Governors to be composed of 50 members each elected for a 5 year term (3):214.
1941	Two articles published in French by Paul Chabanaud (1): 30-32. Food at Florida meeting included barbecued kid, beef, pork, opossum and porpoise, and a buffet luncheon at Ross Allen's Reptile Institute featured turtle, alligator, and rattlesnake meat (3): 190. Report of historian indicates over 800 biographies of members of file (3): 189. First issue of Dopeia. No. 4 was the Hugh McCormick Smith Memorial number.
1942	First color plates published in Copeia, of Triturus, in paper by Victor C. Twitty (2):65. Previously scheduled Havana meeting canceled because of war conditions. Moved to New Orleans (3): 196. First distribution of abstracts of papers at meetings (3):200.
1943	List of names and ranks of members serving in armed services (1):67. Treasurer purchased $1,000 Savings Bond for Endowment Fund at 2 1/2% interest. (1):68. No meetings were held during the war years 1943-45 at the request of the Office of Defense Transportation (1):66.
1944	Copeia experienced delays in publication due to war shortages.
1946	From No. 2 through 1947 (2) two Managing Editors were added, Reeve M. Bailey and Norman Hartweg. Revolving Research Fund created to assist younger members to amplifying their initial research and to furnish small grants for the furtherance of specific research projects in any appropriate phase of ichthyology or herpetology (2):111. Society had 23 life members and $2,437 in the Endowment Fund.
1947	Report on foreign scientist after the war (1):72. With No. 3 Gerald P. Cooper became Ichthyological Editor, K. P. Schmidt remained Herpetological Editor and Helen T. Gaige remained Editor-in-Chief. An Editorial Board was established to replace the Managing Editors: R. M. Bailey, E. R. Dunn, N. Hartweg, R. E. Johnson, and R. R. Miller. Board of Governors recommended that the Society join the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Final action to be determined by majority vote of membership by mail ballot (4):289. There were 31 life members, $2,955 in Endowment Fund, and $1,643 in Revolving Research Fund. Honorary Foreign members increased to 20 evenly divided between Ichs and Herps (4):289. Life membership now costs $100, dues up to $4 (4):292. Duties of the officers defined (4): 290. The questions as to the proper pronunciation of Copeia was raised and Secretary Netting was asked to investigate and report at the next meeting (4):293. (I can find no report-TMB. )
1948	388 members voted in favor of joining AIBS, 14 agreed in principle but objected to assessment duplication, 39 were opposed. There was now a total of $3,662 in the Endowment Fund and 41 life members (4):306. Graham Netting resigned as Secretary, a post he held since 1931 (4):308. List of members (4):323-344. Inclusion of abstracts of papers in the printed program was an innovation of the New Orleans meeting (4):309. 1800 crayfish were stuffed for crayfish bisque (4):307, Filet d'Amphiuma was on the banquet menu. "The New Orleans meeting will never be forgotten. . ." (4):309.
1949	Color plate of Natrix erythrogaster ( 1):8. Lionel A. Walford became the first publications secretary (4):306. On 22 Nov., ASIH became ASIH, Inc. After 32 years as an unincorporated association, the Society incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia. Certificate of Incorporation No. 33857 was reproduced in Copeia 1950 (1):69-70. Permanent address of the corporation shall be in care of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
1950	No. 1 was Samuel E Hildebrand Memorial Number. After 20 years as Editor-in-Chief Helen T. Gaige was replaced by Gerald P. Cooper beginning with No. 3. R. R. Miller and Norman Hartweg became Ichthyological and Herpetological Editors, respectively. Editorial Board at the time was W. A. Gosline, L. R. Rivas, A. M. Woodbury, E. R. Dunn, R. Bolin. Special Gift Fund henceforth to be known as the Frederick H. Stoye Fund consisted of $3,000 invested in U.S. Savings Bonds. The income from the investment "is to be used to offer awards for meritorious papers presented by students...at the annual meeting." Prizes are to be known as the Frederick H. Stoye Award. (3):246. Historian was asked for an accounting of his tenureship and a full statement of the Society's material now in his custody (3):247. Society had 50 life members (3):249. An article in the Saturday Evening Post (21 Oct. P. 36, 184-7, 190) by a hotelkeeper reported that the Statler chain rolls out the red carpet with eclat for lesser known groups such as American Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and the International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo.
1951	Size of Copeia trimmed 168 x 250 mm. New style for listing contents on inside front cover. Note titles each listed on a single line instead of run together. Historian reported about 450 biographical sketches of members and a partial set of Copeia in his possession (4): 319. Board provided that at least one author of all feature articles must be a member of the Society and that a non-member may publish no more than one note during the year (4):319. G. S. Myers and Romeo Mansueti were given prizes for high scores made in bibliographic questionnaires filled in at the annual banquet (4):323.
1952	Two column format adopted for Copeia. Publication of Constitution and Bylaws of the ASIH adopted 29 June, 1951 with amendments of 13 April (1):54-57. First editorial "Tower of Babel" by G. S. Myers deploring publication in languages other than English, German and French (1):57. The Sherman C. Bishop Memorial Number was No. 3. Office of Historian was abolished and records turned over to the Secretary. Groundwork was laid for formation of the Southeastern Division (3):215. Food on field excursion at annual meeting included gar, armadillo and diamondback rattlesnake (3):217. List of Board of Governors published (3):222.
1953	Board voted to retain full membership in AIBS and to affiliate with AAAS (4):247. Constitution amended to include the Southeastern Division (4):247. Southeastern Division formally approved (4):248, boundaries listed (1):71. Constitution amended so that officers begin their term on 1 Jan. following the annual meeting at which they were elected (4):249. First mention of obtaining museum jars from overseas (4):250. Discussion of taxa endings (4):251. Sixth ed of Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles was published prepared by K. P. Schmidt (4):254. This was the first edition that came out under the auspices of the Society 1959 (3): 191.
1954	Affiliation with AAAS appeared on inside back cover for 1st time in No. 1. Note of affiliation in Science 120:91. Revolving Research Fund was not revolving. It was down to $420. $1,438 was expended for 9 grants. The RRF was established 1946 to furnish small grants. Urgent appeal for contributions was made especially from members who had received grants (2): 166.
1955	Copeia was to be published approximately 10 Feb., and every 3 months thereafter so that delinquents on mailing list could be warned in time to receive No. 1 (1):72. Society now too large to carry delinquent members as was done on an individual basis during the Depression (1):73. Board passed motion that only articles in English be printed due to higher cost of setting type in foreign languages (1):72. Royal D. Suttkus and Clyde F. Reed both indicated that independently they had prepared an index to Copeia from 1913 to date (1):73. Dr. Suttkus reported that Dr. Reed's index was more complete (1):79. Papers submitted to Copeia rarely turned down (4):314. Clyde Reed privately published his index (4):316. Life membership dues now $125 (4):316. Signs of the Cold War-State Department said it was okay to communicate with Russian scientists (4):322. Newsweek (11 July p. 48) covered annual meeting in San Francisco and reported on W. Frank Blair's work with spadefoot toads.
1956	Board of Governors approved a motion to change from "membership" to "affiliation" with AIBS. Membership involved payment of $1/member of ASIH to AIBS. Affiliation required a $100 flat fee (4):271, however, 78% of members voted to retain full membership 1957 (4):322. Publication costs were rising faster than Society income (4):271. Fish fry at Michigan meeting consisted of lake trout which provided food for thought about its near extinction (4):272.
1957	No. 2 was the Emmett Reid Dunn Memorial Number. Editorial Board expanded to 22, 10 Ichs and 10 Herp members plus index and review editors (4): 318. NSF grant of $700 towards the anticipated deficit in the publication of Copeia was not needed and was declined with thanks. Members contributions were used to enlarge the 1957 issue. Endowment Fund at $9,000 (4):324. Supply of museum jars still a problem (4):325. Working version of constitution and bylaws adopted 29 June, 1951 with amendments through 20 April, 1957 was published (4):329-31. Dues increased to $8, life membership to $150.
1958	First listing of 49 suggestions for authors publishing in Copeia (1):67-9. See 1959 (1):86 for the suggestions considered essential by Editorial Board. Copeia now printed by linotype, instead of monotype, on coated paper (2):158. Costs were reduced $1.30/page (4):348. Constitution amended to create a 1 year President-elect who succeeds to a 1-year term as President. The office alternates annually between an ichthyologist and a herpetologists. On 10 Nov. John Treadwell Nichols, founder, sponsor, and Honorary President died at the age of 75 years. Short obituary by H. W. Fowler in Copeia 1959 (1): 38 characterized him as "tall, striking, ever affable, generous, greatly interesting and possessed of a deep sense of humor and comprehension."
1959	No. 3 was the Karl Patterson Schmidt Memorial Number. This was the last memorial issue. Board of Governors voted to abolish article X of bylaws which set up anniversary and memorial numbers (4):357.
1960	First issue of Copeia to have "Founded in 1913 by John Treadwell Nichols" on its masthead. "Phylax Telescopus," a column under Reviews and Comments by G. S. Myers was published on a trial basis in 6 issues of 1960-61. It was a wide ranging, rambling commentary on unrelated topics of "exotic and possibly esoteric goings on in the ichthyological and herpetological world." Article 8 of bylaws required that the principal of the Endowment Fund be kept intact and the interest credited to the operating account of the Society (4): 397. Lively debate at Governors meeting over subscribing to AIBS business management services. One officer and 2 Governors threatened to resign if they had to work with AIBS. A motion to subscribe to AIBS services was rejected and a motion to provide clerical help to the new Secretary and/or Treasurer was approved (4): 397. A motion that the Western and Southeastern Divisions be abolished was defeated (4):398. Constitution was amended to provide for a Distinguished Fellow category (4):398. Common Names of Fishes Checklist, a joint production of American Fisheries Society/ASIH is now ready, Reeve M. Bailey, Chairman (4):400.
1961	Inside front cover has copyright symbol for first time. Suggestions for authors trimmed to 12 points from previous 49 (2):264. Constitution amended to define Executive Committee as President, President-Elect, Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, and Managing Editor (4):511. Dr. John R. Dymond was elected the first Distinguished Fellow of the Society (4):512. Romeo Mansueti suggested that each article be accompanied by an abstract which would be sent to the abstracting services, but no action was taken by the Board on this proposal (4):512.
1962	Size of Copeia almost doubled from previous year. The longest paper to appear in Copeia was a 108-page article by Branson and Moore on the lateralis system of sunfish (1): 1- 108 published with external support (4):868. Contents listed on back cover. First use of abstracts. W.I. Follett became 1st Patron of Society (4):864. Board went on record as being opposed to additional inter-organizational structures involving several zoological societies. Doris M. Cochran elected second Distinguished Fellow (4):864. Board voted not to accept advertising in Copeia (4):865. Society awarded a 2-year NSF grant for publication of the Herpetological Catalogue (4):868. Constitution published (4):870-3.
1963	"50th Anniversary Year" appeared on cover of Copeia. Secretary James A. Peters pointed out that the letter recently sent to members of the Society with an appeal for donations to the AIBS was not approved by the Society. Furthermore, the Society did not maintain an office at the address shown on the envelope of the fund appeal letter (1):224. For more details of this interesting episode in Society history see Essay 1. The 50th Anniversary Meeting was attended by a group of distinguished scientists at the invitation of the Society and under the sponsorship of NSF (4):717. At the business meeting a motion that the Society withdraw from participation in the AIBS was tabled until the next Board of Governors meeting (4):717. Program of the annual meeting included a brief summary of highlights of the 50 years of Copeia by M. Graham Netting (4):721.
1964	Special [50th] Anniversary Issue (No. 1) contained 3 papers on history of ichthyology and invited papers presented at 50th Anniversary meeting in Vancouver by honorary foreign members. By a vote of 21 to 20 the Board passed a motion to withdraw from adherent society membership in AIBS effective at the end of the year (4):736. Constitution amended to provide for transfer of assets to a like organization in the event that ASIH dissolves (4):737. The manager of Biltmore Motor Hotel forgot that most of his minor employees were high school students who had to go back to school. The day after Labor Day the hotel was full but there were no bellboys, waitresses, etc. The children of the guests were immediately given temporary employment whether or not they had previous hotel experience. Joe Bailey's 10-year-old son showed up in Ed Raney's room at 1:00 am with a tray of ice and mixers. Spotting his father he grinned, "Look dad, I've got a job."
1965	In a mail poll on the AIBS question, 459 members stated that the Society should stay out of AIBS and 175 indicated we should rejoin (4):535. Clyde F. Reed was given permission to publish a 10-year index to Copeia covering 1955-64 (4):535. The Board approved the following statement for inclusion in the revision of the Navy Manual on poisonous snakes of the world, "This manual has been revised with the assistance of a committee appointed by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists." (4):536. See Essay 2 for a review of the navy manual episode. Constitutional amendment passed allowing all members of the Society to attend the Board of Governors meetings (4):536. A procedure for assessing page charges was proposed by Bruce B. Collette and approved by the Board (4):536. An amendment to the bylaws was proposed by Fred W. Berry and unanimously passed by the Board which resulted in the reprinting of all numbers of Copeia that were out of print (4):536. Board approved deletion of some material previously included in the annual reports of meetings (4):537. Marion Grey Award set up to honor the best paper written by a woman ichthyologist. This special fund was the result of a gift from Myvanwy Dick and Henry Bigelow (4):537. Translation committee disbanded (4):540.
1966	Notes now have a separate Literature Cited section. All back issues of Copeia are in print (2):380. Poll of Western Division members resulted in constitutional amendments which abolished this Division (4):901. Board accepted 7 recommendations concerning the Stoye Award including the abolition of "places" i.e., no first and seconds (4):902.
1967	Board rejected proposal to eliminate the office of Vice-President (4):880.
1968	Board directed that $1,000 held in Marion Grey Award Fund be used as a subsidy for publication of a lengthy ichthyological paper in Copeia (4):894. Constitution published (4):899-902.
1969	Color plate (4):710-1. In 1968 the Internal Revenue Service challenged the tax exempt status of the Society and recommended that our tax exempt status be revoked retroactive to 1950 because our Endowment Fund represented an unreasonable accumulation of money and could grow indefinitely. A law firm was retained and successfully appealed this IRS action. A number of changes were made in the constitution and bylaws in order to avoid future difficulties (4):872-3. See Essay 3 for further information. NSF extended its grant to ASIH (without additional funds) for publication of the Herpetological Catalogue for 2 more years until June 1970 in order to make the publication self-supporting (4):872. Life membership and office of Vice-President for Conservation eliminated (4):873.
1970	Vice-President for Finance and Finance Committee replaced with Long Range Planning and Finance Committee (4):797. Number of Editors increased from 2 to 4 in addition to the Managing Editor (4):799. A proposal by James A. Peters to publish Copeia in two sections with separate Managing Editors was rejected by the Board (4):800. A resolution was passed shedding a collective figurative tear for the loss of the Morehead Biltmore, site of the 1964 meetings which were described as a slapstick comedy that rivaled the offerings of the Keystone Cops (4):800.
1971	Color plate of darters (1):18-19. Color plate of sea lamprey blood cells (4):724. Office of Vice-President for Membership eliminated (4):770. Board approved the transfer of the sponsorship of the Herpetological Catalogue to the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (4):772.
1972	Lengthy paper by John Michael Fitzsimons on goodeid fishes selected for support by Marion Grey Fund (4):728-756. A poll of members' interest yielded the following responses: Herpetology 527, Ichthyology 501, both 322. Therefore it was decided by the Long Range Planning and Finance Committee that the current format of the journal should be continued. The committee recommended against publishing a separate monograph series (4):908.
1973	Fish and herp papers no longer separated, but are more or less randomly distributed in Copeia. Raney Fund for Ichthyology established through gifts by Edward C. and Charlotte E. Raney to provide support to young ichthyologists (4):830. NSF one-year grant to the Society of $6,813 to support the development of a National Plan for Ichthyology by a committee chaired by Ernest A. Lachner (4):833. Board accepted invitation from Smithsonian Institution Archives to turn over to it our inactive records (4):833.
1974	No. 3 was Festschrift in honor of Carl Leavitt Hubbs on his 80th birthday. Page size of Copeia to be increased in 1975 from 168 x 250 mm to 174 x 252 mm. This increased words per page by 6-7% and eliminated wasteful trimming of page to smaller size (4): 1014. Committee on History of the Society established with Graham Netting, Chairman (4):1022.
1975	Report of the Committee on Resources in Herpetology, David B. Wake, Chairman (2):391-404. Report by Secretary Bruce B. Collette showed that Copeia produced the most words per dollar of 13 journals studied with the exception of 2 government subsidized fishery publications, the Fishery Bulletin, and the Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada (4):796. The phrase "and the principal left intact" was removed from the wording of the Stoye and Raney Funds (4):797. Constitutional amendment required that the 10 vacancies on the Board be filled equally by 5 ichthyologists and 5 herpetologists, and that each Governor vote for 5 in his field (4):798. Bylaws amended so that Board elected the Nominating Committee instead of the President selecting the members (4):798. Now have 215 life members (4):800.
1976	A national plan for ichthyology was submitted by Ernest A. Lachner, Chairman (3):618-625. Fish collections in the United States and Canada were reviewed by Bruce B. Collette and Ernest A. Lachner (3):625-642. ASIH became an affiliate member of the Association of Systematics Collections (4):850. Associate membership established (for second person in immediate family of an active member) with full privileges. Only one copy of Copeia will be sent to the family. Proposal to re-establish life memberships which were abolished in 1969 was defeated (4):851. Chairman of Committee on the History of the Society reported that he was no longer logistically or psychologically prepared for the task (4):853.
1977	A donation of $5000 to the Raney Fund by Edward C. Raney was recorded (4):804. Establishment of the Helen T. and Frederick M. Gaige Fund to be used to benefit young herpetologists and herpetology (4):806. Editorial Board changed from 5 ichthyologists and 5 herpetologists to 16 members evenly representing the four divisional disciplines of Copeia (4):807. Wording of Stoye and Raney Funds changed to remove "and the income from the fund will be used". Amendment makes possible the use of the principal as well as the interest (4):807. Misnumbering of Board of Governors, should read Class of 1982 not 1981 (4):810. Committee on the History of the Society is reactivated and charged with writing a history Tim M. Berra, Chairman (4):817.
1978	Color plate of Notropis (4):588. Authors must assign copyright to the Society as a condition for publication in Copeia (4):743. A bequest of $5000 was received from the late Frederick Stoye (4):743. The assets of the moribund Revolving Research Fund were equally divided between the Raney and Gaige Funds (4):745. Board voted that ASIH should become a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (4):746.
1979	Report on ichthyological collection curation from the Subcommittee on Curatorial Supplies and Practices of the Ichthyological Collections Committee was made available to members (4):772. Board voted to approve use of Spanish, French or Portuguese abstracts when papers of special interest to scientists in non-English speaking countries are published (4):773. More old records (5 cu. ft. ) were added to the ASIH files at the Smithsonian Institution Archives (4):775. Rejection rate of manuscripts received is 50% Actual cost per page is $81 Authors are requested to reimburse the Society at the rate of $50/page (4):783. Constitution and Bylaws published (4):788-790.
1980	A late fee of $2 will be assessed members who do not pay dues on the first notice (2):383. No. 4 was the largest issue of Copeia ever published. Stoye Awards increased from 2 to 4 to correspond to the 4 editorial categories of Copeia (4):954. Board voted to utilize Allen Press to store the supply of back issues instead of the Publications Secretary (4):957. Board voted down a motion to have Governors nominated from the floor and elected at annual business meeting (4):958. Dues increased to $24/year for regular membership, $ $18 for student (4):958.
1981	Board voted that no further reprinting of out-of-print issues of Copeia be done in light of a contract with University Microfilms that makes all back issues available (4):927 and 929. A constitutional amendment was passed changing the composition of the Executive Committee to include President, President-Elect, immediate Past President, Secretary, Treasurer, Publications Secretary, Managing Editor and Chairman of the Long Range Planning and Finance Committee, and to exclude Divisional Editors (4):930 and 941. A Publications Policy Committee composed of the Managing Editor, Divisional Editors, Publications Secretary, Index Editor, President and President-Elect was established by President Collette (4):926 and 930. This new committee will report directly to the Board of Governors (4):935. ASIH received a NSF grant to fund travel of 9 American ichthyologists to the International Coral Reef Fish Conference in Australia (4):935. Last page of Copeia No. 4 was a questionnaire from the Long Range Planning and Finance Committee about various issues of concern to the Society.
1982	Allen Press will serve as a repository for Copeia back issues (4):994. When required, a resume in the appropriate foreign language will appear at the end of some papers in Copeia (4):998. ASIH accepted a $20,000 grant from the National Marine Fisheries Service to publish a book on larval marine fishes as a memorial to Elbert H. Ahlstrom (4): 1000- 1. ASIH agreed to contribute $300 per year toward support of the Ichthyological Newsletter produced by the California Academy of Sciences (4): 1001. President Savage expressed his concerns that the ASIH is rapidly becoming an ichthyological society as reflected by the disparity in herpetological versus ichthyological papers (23 vs 199) at the DeKalb meeting (4): 1000. He appointed a Committee on Program Excellence (COPE), (4): 1005, to study and report on this situation (4): 1008.

ESSAY 1. THE AIBS AFFAIR

In the late 1940's, biologists generally became aware that, relative to physicists and chemists, they were neither receiving their proportionate share of grants from the NSF nor equivalent attention from congressional and federal agencies. Biologists were fragmented into a large number of small special interest societies, while physicists and chemists each had their own major societies to represent them.

In order to provide a comparable national voice for biologists, as existed for chemists and physicists, the officers of a number of biological societies convened to discuss this situation. Those discussions led to the foundation of an umbrella organization with offices in Washington, D.C., the American Institute of Biological Sciences. The AIBS was essentially a federation of diverse independent biological societies and was funded primarily through dues collected by the individual societies amounting, at first, to $.50 per member.

The AIBS was successful in the late 1950's and early 1960's. Government officials increasingly turned to the AIBS for advice. The AIBS initiated a periodical that kept biologists informed about the Washington scene in a way that had never been done before. It organized highly successful national conventions at which a number of biological societies met jointly, and those meetings provided the opportunity for valuable cross-disciplinary symposia. The AIBS took on projects that no individual biological society was capable of or interested in. For example, it developed the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, which produced a new generation of high school biology textbooks, the content of which was determined by professional biologists rather than by commercial textbook publishers.

The AIBS, perhaps due to its fundamental structure as a federation of societies, was in constant financial trouble. One of the results was that more than a prudent part of the cost of operations of AIBS was being met by overhead from grants. In 1962 the AIBS was accused of fiscal irregularities by the National Science Foundation. For example, NSF funds, awarded for the curriculum study, were diverted to support the AIBS Film Service without NSF approval. Funds received from the sale of publications were not held in escrow as the NSF maintained they should have been. Interest was drawn on NSF funds and not repaid to the government as a directive required. Business management operations were criticized and irregularities in charges for entertainment and travel were identified.

To extricate itself from these difficulties AIBS needed to raise at least $250,000. In early February 1963 a mimeographed appeal for funds was sent to all ASIH members. Included in this solicitation was a note from the ASIH representative to the AIBS, Richard G. Zweifel, who expressed his personal opinion (so identified) that the AIBS provided a necessary service for all of biology. This note and fund appeal were mailed by the AIBS; and the envelope used bore the printed return address "American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists 2000 P Street N.W. Washington, 6, D.C." This actually was the address of the AIBS. Several ASIH members in leadership positions (William A. Gosline, James A. Peters, Jay M. Savage) strongly objected to this inappropriate and unauthorized of use of the ASIH name. These individuals felt the use of the ASIH name was unethical, if not illegal, and reflected the same sort of shady practices which caused AIBS to be in difficulty in the first place. Other member societies' names were similarly used, e.g. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography.

Arnold B. Grobman, writing on behalf of the AIBS to ASIH secretary Peters attempted to dismiss the importance of the use of the ASIH name on the AIBS fund solicitation. Peters inserted a statement in Copeia 1963 (1): 224 that the appeal for donations to AIBS was not approved by ASIH and that the ASIH did not maintain an office at the address shown on the envelope.

At the 1963 business meeting a motion that the ASIH withdraw from the AIBS was tabled until the Board of Governors meeting. The Board voted 21 to 20 to withdraw from AIBS in 1964. A mail poll of the membership in 1965 resulted in 459 members voting to stay out of AIBS and 175 favored rejoining.

ESSAY 2. THE NAVY MANUAL AFFAIR

The first edition of the Office of Naval Intelligence's Poisonous Snakes of the World was published on 30 June 1962. This manual was intended to serve as a training aid and identification guide of the most widely distributed species of venomous snakes. It was reviewed by Sherman A. Minton, Jr. and Herndon G. Dowling in Copeia 1964 (2): 458-9 who referred to it as "an uncritical and naive compilation." After pointing out many errors they wrote that "the entire publication gives the impression that someone who did not realize the enormity of the task turned it over to a group of untrained subordinates who were expected to produce the work by a certain deadline. "

The frustrating machinations that followed were colorfully summarized in a memo to the Executive Committee from J. A. Peters (Secretary) and V. G. Springer (Treasurer) dated 24 May, 1965. The details below are paraphrased or copied from that memo.

In late 1964, Arnold Grobman approached the Executive committee with a proposal, originating with the Navy, and specifically from Captain John R. Seal, that the society participate in a revision of the Navy manual "Poisonous Snakes of the World." The Executive committee indicated its willingness to permit an eight-man committee to be organized and to see what could be done. The committee was appointed, with Roger Conant as chairman, and began local contact with Commander Granville Moore to try to arrange the mechanics of the procedure.

Springer and Peters discussed the arrangements and contract with Moore and Lieutenant Hartgrove, fiscal officer in the Navy. It had become apparent that the committee proposed complete revision from beginning to end of the manual, and that Commander Moore felt that such revision could not be done. The gap between what the Navy expected and what the Committee felt had to be done was so great that Peters felt the only solution was to have a preliminary meeting at which the committee and the Navy got together to discuss the entire problem. The Navy, however, could not finance such a preliminary meeting unless a contract to do the entire job was signed. Since it was entirely possible that the meeting would reach an impasse, and the committee would decide it could not function within the limits set by the Navy, it was not clear who would then have to fulfill the contractual obligations. In addition there was concern on the part of some members of the committee that the society was obligating itself to put a stamp of approval on the final revised manual either directly or through a committee, but that there was not mechanism to insure that the comments of the committee would be accepted and/or incorporated in the manual.

The problems and difficulties were communicated to the committee, now effectively composed of seven people. Three voted that we discontinue all efforts on the project, three indicated a small committee might be able to do more. Conant voted as chairman to break the tie and cast his ballot in favor of a small committee.

A three-man committee, composed of Findley Russell, Sherman Minton (chairman) and Herndon Dowling, was appointed and immediately indicated the necessity of getting together with the Navy to see if anything could be done. Again, it was impossible for them to do so unless the contract was signed. By this time a copy of the contract drawn up by the Navy was available. Conversation involving Peters, Russell, a representative of the ONR Grants Office, Commander Moore, and several high ranking officers in the Navy, resulted in Peters' drawing up a letter to be attached to the contract upon which the contract would be conditional.

This letter stated three conditions.

1. That a preliminary meeting be held, to include all individuals expected to participate in the fulfillment of the contract and such other individuals as may be selected to represent either the Navy or the Society.
2. That the costs of the preliminary meeting be met by the funds allocated to this contract.
3. That this contract is null and void, without further obligation on the part of the Society, if the preliminary meeting results in a decision that the participating individuals and the Society will not be able to meet the commitments of the contract.

The Navy signed a contract with this letter attached, although when they returned the contract to Peters, the letter had been removed, and there was no immediately obvious guarantee that they planned to honor it.

On the strength of this letter, and the assurance of Commander Moore that with this letter it would be possible to receive payment for the preliminary meeting even though the committee decided that they could not continue to work on the manual. Peters arranged a meeting in Washington on April 14.

Shortly after the meeting in Washington, Dowling and Russell turned in requests for the funds they had expended in attending the meeting, asking for payment. Peters called Commander Moore to find out what had to be done to obtain payment. Moore indicated that it was a simple matter of filling our standard government travel vouchers and submitting them for payment of the Navy. Springer started to work on the task and made a series of telephone calls to various Navy offices, but got little satisfaction. Finally, May 20, he got some action.

Two Navy auditors showed up in Springer's office, and requested to see his books. Springer asked why, and was told that the contract we had signed gave the Navy the privilege of an audit of our books at any reasonable time. He immediately opened his records. After reviewing them, the officers made the following statements:

1. The ASIH bookkeeping system is inadequate to handle the type of contract we have with the Navy; the Navy should have investigated the society beforehand, and never signed the contract with us.

2. There is a possible conflict of interest involved, since the bookkeeping and secretarial functions are performed on Government property, and this should have been investigated before the contact was signed.

3. The contract we have with the Navy is set up in such a way that the Society must pay out of its own operating funds any bills submitted for payment out of this contract (the amount, obviously, could run up to $7500). After such payment, the bills, with receipts showing that the payment had been made, are submitted to the Navy which would then issue funds to cover the disbursements. Thus, to pay Dowling and Russell, our treasurer must pay them out of the current operating funds of the society.

4. The Society must give advance notice to the Navy contracting of officer on the letting of any subcontracts. The auditing officers considered each member of the three-man committee an individual subcontractor, and there is some question in our minds as to whether they were authorized to assemble in Washington without prior approval of the Navy.

5. The Society must inform the Navy of any fees, salaries, etc. to be paid to subcontractors. When the auditors were told that Commander Moore and the members of the committee had decided that they would get $75.00 a day for their work, they indicated that this might well be considered excessive by the contracting officer, under which conditions he could refuse to pay. He would approve the amount, however, if we could "establish that this was a normal consulting fee for a herpetologist . "

6. The records of expenditures on the contract must be maintained and available to the Navy for audit for three years after termination of the contract. At any time during this three-year period, the Navy may decide that we paid too much for certain items, or that certain items were not allowable. If this happens, the society (NOT the subcontractors) will have to reimburse the Navy. It is possible (although not very probable) that the Navy could decide that the contract had not been fulfilled, and request the entire sum to be paid back by the society. This would undoubtedly lead to litigation

7. The auditors said that although overhead is allowable on the contract, they could not see where we would have any overhead, and would not receive any.

8. Both the secretary and treasurer of the society are government employees, and time spent in behalf of the society in working with this contract, cannot be salaried.

None of these things were pointed out to the society by any of the representatives of the Navy. When strong misgivings about some of the clauses in the enormously detailed contract were felt, the society was reassured that most of the details applied to general contracts. Russell talked with several high Navy officers during his visit prior to the meeting of the committee, and the general results of those conversations, was that the society had nothing to worry about. Now it develops that none of these people talked to represented the Navy Auditing Department, and that the latter group is planning to give us every bit of a hard time they can on every point in the contract .

In a memo of 28 May 1965 Peters and Springer apologized to the two Navy auditors and stated that the auditors met with Springer as a result of Springer's request for explanations of how to obtain funds for payment on the contract.

To make a long story short, the problems were eventually resolved and the second edition of Poisonous Snakes of the World was issued. The preface bore the statement, "This revision has been made with the assistance of a committee appointed by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists."

The above account is primarily about the kind of conflict that occurs between bureaucratic granting agencies and earnest scientists. The same kind of time-consuming nonsense would be going on today at many university campuses were it not for the fact that most universities have placed a research foundation or grants administration between the granting agency and the investigator.

ESSAY 3. THE IRS AFFAIR

The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists was granted exemption from tax on 21 June, 1950 under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939. On 23 August, 1968 IRS auditor William Hamilton checked the ASIH returns and account book for 1966 and 1967. On 22 October, 1968 the Society was informed by the IRS that our tax exempt status was to be revoked retroactive to 1950. This decision was based upon two grounds: 1.) The balance in the Endowment Fund allegedly represented an unreasonable accumulation of income, and 2.) our bylaws required the principal in the Endowment Fund by kept intact. Both of these points violate IRS rules for tax exempt organizations.

The Society retained the law firm Hanson, Cobb, Tucker, and O'Brien of Washington, D.C., to deal with this problem. A hearing was held on 21 March, 1969 and included J . A. Peters, R. H. Gibbs, Jr., D. Cohen, and R. Highton, lawyers representing ASIH and Mr. Lewis of the IRS. It was argued that the entire Endowment Fund was necessary as a reserve for the obligation to life members, and that the income accumulated in the Fund was exceeded by the actual amount needed for the publication costs of sending Copeia to life members. Therefore the balance in the Fund did not represent an unreasonable accumulation of income.

The Society conceded that our accounting system was not the most sophisticated and that the term "Endowment Fund" was more properly called a reserve. However, the provision in the ASIH bylaws requiring that the principal of the Endowment Fund be kept intact was actually revoked in June 1968, prior to the IRS audit. The Society also demonstrated an error in the IRS calculations indicating that ASIH had a balance of $18,470 in the Fund rather than the $34,111 indicated by the IRS.

On 15 April, 1969 the IRS notified the ASIH that the proposed revocation of our tax exempt status was withdrawn, and our returns for 1966 and 1967 were accepted as filed. We were warned that our exempt status could be adversely affected if we accumulated more income than needed to carry out the functions forming the basis for our exemption. Changes in the constitution and bylaws designed to avoid future problems of this nature are listed in Copeia 1969 (4):873.

RESOLUTIONS

(Positions taken by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists)

1930	Letter sent to House Appropriation Committee commending them on furnishing means for the Reptile House now under construction in the National Zoological Park.
1932	Thanked fellow scientists of countries using non-Latin alphabets for publishing in English.
1933	Urged Congress and Administration to maintain activities of Bureau of Fisheries, National Museum, and the National Zoological Park and other federal agencies at as high a level as is consistent with financial conditions. Protested against production of recent motion picture showing distinct errors in regard to fish and reptiles, especially snakes, and recommended that competent technical advice be secured.
1936	Favored congressional action which would make possible the perpetuation of the California sardine before supply is seriously threatened by unrestricted fishing.
1938	Disapproved of legislation which restricts the holding of animals in captivity by institutions, laboratories or private persons or their use in observational or experimental studies. Recommended legal protection for the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii).
1939	Recommended enactment of protective legislation for all species of sturgeons of the Mississippi River system.
1942	Offer to the government of expertise of members in recognition, avoidance and treatment of poisonous reptiles in prosecution of war effort. Expressed fraternal esteem to foreign colleagues who have had their lives endangered and their work disrupted by war conditions.
1946	Requested protection for certain fishes in arid parts of West which are confined to extremely limited waters. Urged favorable action on Senate Bill 1850 which offers support and expansion of all research in U.S.
1950	Strongly opposed the proposed construction of tramway into Jan Jacinto Wilderness Area and proposed flooding of lower end of Grand Canyon.
1955	Reaffirmed all possible steps be taken to maintain the unique fishes, amphibians, reptiles and other animals of the West and their habitats, whose existence is threatened by eruption of the human population.
1958	Condemned U.S. Department of Agriculture's indiscriminate use of poisonous sprays in its anti-fire-ant campaign.
1960	Urged authorities planning fish control measures using rotenone to seek advice of independent zoologists. Supported house bill 10598 that would allow importation of animals for zoological, educational, scientific, and medical purposes and opposed senate bill 3570 which would withhold federal support for research involving experiments on live animals.
1961	Endorsed the proposed 88-mile National seashore on Padre Island, Texas. Objected to large-scale non-specific poisoning of Green River.
1962	Supported and endorsed proposed National Fisheries Center and Aquarium for Washington D.C.
1963	Commended Secretary of Interior Stewart L. Udall for his personal review of use of fish toxicants after Green River fish eradication program passed out of control and caused serious damage to native fauna more than 115 miles downstream. Opposed introduction of foreign fishes into Middle American waters without full study of possible effects. Recommended additional biological studies to minimize adverse effects and maximize benefits of Rampart Dam on the Yukon River, Alaska. Favored defeat of a highly restrictive proposal before Congress regarding use of animals in scientific research and support for provision calling for proper care and housing of laboratory animals.
1964	Recommended that manipulation of [fish] populations be undertaken only after due consideration of effectiveness and of effects on native fauna. Heartily approved plan of Trout Unlimited to set up refuges for endangered species or subspecies of trout. Requested the Fish and Wildlife Service provide adequate regulations to permit the prompt importation of animals for research and educational purposes without undue delay. Urged the legislatures of all states in the natural range of the alligator to provide more effective legislation and increased warden services for the protection of this valuable species.
1966	Recommended to the Zoological Society of London that first consideration be given to indexing systematic, zoogeographic, ecologic, and anatomical literature. . .
1967	Commended the Nevada Fish and Game Commission for policy of protection of endemic fishes and establishment of refuges for native species. Recommended to Secretary of Interior that an ichthyological member of the Conservation Committee be added to the Fish and Wildlife "red book" panel.
1968	Commended State of New York for enlightened legislation protecting the box, wood and bog turtles.
1969	Urged Bureau of Land Management to reject the application for a right-of-way made by Spring Meadows Inc. which would permit irrigation from a well within 1/4 mile of Devils Hole, home of the endangered pupfish Cyprinodon diabolis. Supported request by Pyramid Lake Indians for a minimum of 250,000 acre-feet of water per year to help decrease rate of decline of Pyramid Lake. Condemned disposal of toxic gases in the ocean. Urged action that will control, prohibit and compensate for oil and atomic wastes released into ocean. Commended those states which have passed legislative controls on pesticide use. Commended Secretary of Interior for action to increase protection of American alligator in Everglades and urged prohibition of traffic in crocodilian hides. Commended those institutions and individuals working towards world population control.
1970	Heartily supported Philadelphia City Council ordinance which prohibits sale of American alligator skins and products. Urged Secretary of Interior to make every effort to guarantee the continuation of basic environmental and biological research on fisheries.
1971	Declared full support and urged passage of the Nature Protection Act. Urged the Committee on Rare and Endangered Wildlife Species Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, to define and identify depleted species and subspecies of native and foreign animals. Urged members to conduct field work in a responsible manner so as not to cause extinction by over collecting, etc. Urged prohibition of importation or exportation from U.S. and Mexico of any species of Northern American Tortoise (Gopherus). Called for governments and people of world to take large scale action to curb population growth by promoting birth control, legalizing abortion, reducing tax incentives for natality, etc. Commended New York, California, Connecticut for stemming the commercial over-exploitation of endangered and depleted species including Crocodylia. Urged river modification projects such as channelization, impoundments be minimized or deferred until essential environmental studies are completed. Permitted full usage of either -i or -ii ending for patronymic names.
1972	Urged states and provinces to carry out thorough research on effects before releasing exotic species.
1973	Urged ratification of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Urged that the Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center receive support and encouragement commensurate with the invaluable assistance rendered. Opposed any plan that promotes inter-ocean transport of biota such as pumping sea water into Miraflores or Gatun Lakes at the Panama Canal.
1975	Condemned the continuation of rattlesnake roundups and supported legitimate efforts to curtail these activities.
1976	Expressed gratitude to National Science Foundation for support given ASIH for the work of its committees on resources in herpetology and ichthyology.
1977	Commended office of Endangered Species for its efforts and expressed desire to cooperate in common goal of protecting our irreplaceable living heritage.
1978	Expressed support for Endangered Species Act and urged defeat of attempt to weaken it. Called for exemptions for scientists in wildlife regulations. Urged support for the movement of the vertebrate collection at Cornell University to a new building on the main campus.
1980	Commendation to UNESCO for its support of check-lists of fishes. Endorsed the proposed critical habitat designation of the San Marcos gambusia in San Marcos River, Texas.
1981	Urged reinstatement of the NOAA Systematics Laboratory at the Smithsonian Institution. Extended best wishes to Martinus Boeseman on his retirement as Curator of Fishes of the Rijksmuseum in Leiden. Endorsed Senate Bill 41 to authorize the establishment of a Desert Pupfish National Wildlife Refuge at Ash Meadows in southwestern Nevada and southeastern California.
1982	Urged Congress to continue its support of the Endangered Species Act without weakening it. Commends the wisdom of the ruling of U. S. District Court Judge William Overton which prevents "creation science" from being taught as the scientific equal of evolution in Arkansas public schools. Urged Congress to include in the proposed Volcanic National Monument for Mt. St. Helens sufficient unaffected areas to serve as controls for biological studies.