Newest Press Release Sent to County Media: Community Continues Efforts to Save Natural History Museum

Below is the newest press release sent out to local media outlets today. We're hoping to see some of them at the meeting so we can get them just as excited about our fundraising strategies.

COMMUNITY CONTINUES EFFORTS TO SAVE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

A survey of potential pledges garners $27,000 in one day

On Monday August 17 a dedicated group of community volunteers and members of the Board for the Natural History Museum met at a second planning meeting to discuss the future of the museum. A survey of attendees at the meeting garnered potential pledges for $27,000 to help keep the museum open. Additionally, the group launched plans for short term fundraising and long term strategies to keep the museum open.

On August 7, 2009 Humboldt State University announced plans to close the museum due to State Budget Constraints. Immediately after the announcement concerned community members rallied their support to "Save the Arcata Natural History Museum." On August 12 the first community meeting was held at the Museum with over 60 people in attendance. At this meeting Dean James Howard and Associate Dean Steven Smith agreed to let the group come up with a plan by Aug. 28 to raise $120,000 and to submit strategies for long term fiscal support for the museum. A second meeting held on August 17 set forth a fundraising, marketing and long term strategies plan for the future of the museum.

The museum was opened 20 years ago with donations from companies and foundations. HSU pays about $100,000 annually for the museum director's salary, utilities, maintenance, and a portion of the museum's operating expenses. The museum generates a roughly equivalent amount, about $120,000, through memberships, programs, store sales, sponsorships, and donations from the public.

The next scheduled meeting to discuss the fundraising plan and proposal submission will be during the Board Meeting at the Natural History Museum on August 19, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. The group has also launched a blog (http://savearcatanhm.blogspot.com) ; twitter (www.twitter.com/savearcatanhm) ; and Facebook page.

For the most up to date information about this event and what others can do to help out the fundraising effort please visit the blog or email savearcatanhm@gmail.com . For interviews please contact Karen Reiss, 825-0465 or karen-reiss@redwoods.edu

Times Standard Follow-up Article on Community Organizing to Save the Museum: August 16, 2009

HSU museum gets some slack

John Driscoll/The Times-Standard

Posted: 08/16/2009 01:30:24 AM PDT

A devoted group of volunteers and community members have bought Humboldt State University's Natural History Museum in Arcata just a little more time to hatch a plan for its future.

Facing a solid closure date of the end of the month, the group was able to convince the deans of HSU's College of Natural Resources and Sciences to grant them time for a last ditch effort to raise funds through next June and plan for even more daunting fundraising beyond that.

Dean James Howard and Associate Dean Steven Smith agreed on Wednesday to let the group come up with a plan by Aug. 28 to raise roughly $120,000 -- the university's costs through the end of the fiscal year.

”If we can convince them that we have good ideas, then that will convince them to give us 10 months,” said Karen Reiss, biology professor at College of the Redwoods.

If that huge hurdle can indeed be cleared, the group should have several months to come up with a strategy to raise a daunting $300,000 to $400,000 annually.

The museum was opened 20 years ago with donations from companies and foundations. Despite its popularity -- with at least 20,000 annual visitors -- last year, museum director Melissa Zielinski warned that the operation wasn't sustainable. On Aug. 7, HSU announced the museum would have to close its doors as part of deep cost-cutting measures -- some $12 million in cuts to the school -- due to the state budget calamity.

The closure appeared certain.

But parents, HSU and CR faculty and other community members rallied, and invited Howard and Smith to hear their concerns and learn what it would take for the university to give the museum some slack. Howard and Smith gave the group some guidelines, and agreed to look at a plan to determine if it's feasible. In part, they told the group that any future for the museum would have to address the strain on its staff, and allow for the building of a workspace on the property.

On Friday, HSU spokesman Frank Whitlatch said that if a reasonable plan can be presented, it will buy the museum some flexibility.

”It's a little looser than that and a little more open to discussion,” Whitlatch said.

Reiss was candid about the difficulties of finding $120,000 in donations in a struggling economy, let alone the $300,000 to $400,000 the museum would have to bring in annually. But she said that there is a dedication that runs deep in the community to keep the Natural History Museum running.

For Zielinski, the movement to save the museum offers a ray of hope that wasn't there on Aug. 7. There's a possibility, at least, that a large donor could step forward, or that funding could be found in public agencies that have previously turned down requests for money, she said. But Zielinski also recognizes that HSU is under tremendous pressure to cut costs.

”I'm not giving up hope ... This is a pretty valuable institution,” Zielinski said.

John Driscoll covers natural resources/industry. He can be reached at 441-0504 or jdriscoll@times-standard.com.

IF YOU GO:

What: Publicity, planning and fundraising meeting

Where: HSU Natural History Museum 1315 G St. Arcata

When: Aug. 17, 6 p.m.

August 14 Press Release: COMMUNITY ORGANIZES TO SAVE HSU NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

August 14, 2009

COMMUNITY ORGANIZES TO SAVE HSU NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

Humboldt State University announced August 7 that it would permanently close the HSU Natural History Museum at the end of the month. But concerned community members are saying, not so fast.

A group of more than 60 parents, K-12 teachers, HSU and College of the Redwoods faculty, and others gathered at the museum Wednesday night to discuss the closing. They were joined by Dean James Howard and Associate Dean Steven Smith of HSU’s College of Natural Resources and Sciences, who offered to explain the rationale behind the decision. The meeting was organized by Karen Reiss, a professor of biology at College of the Redwoods and member of the museum’s board of directors, to explore whether HSU would be amenable to discussing alternatives to closing the museum.

HSU owns the museum building on the corner of G and 13th in Arcata. It also pays about $100,000 annually for the museum director's salary, utilities, maintenance, and a portion of the museum's operating expenses. This comes to about half the annual budget. The museum generates a roughly equivalent amount, about $120,000, through memberships, programs, store sales, sponsorships, and donations from the public. According to Howard, HSU stands to save between $50,000 and $100,000 annually if the museum closes.

The university’s sudden decision was prompted by the California legislature's recent drastic budget cuts. Howard and Smith emphasized however, that there were other contributing factors. An August 2008 report from the museum director stated that current levels of funding were inadequate for continued operations: staff was stretched too thin to take vacation time, and yet the museum couldn’t shut down without losing revenue. This report requested an increase of about $125,000 per year for 2.5 new staff positions, as well $40,000 for a one-time purchase of a trailer for office space.

Community members at the meeting highlighted the importance of the 20-year-old museum to the community at large, but especially to a generation of children and educators. This past year, with McClean Foundation funds, the museum developed and distributed grade-specific curriculum to all K-5 teachers in the county to enable them to use the museum to teach California state standards in science education. This program cannot be implemented if the museum doors close. Museum records indicate that over the last ten years 25,000 school age children have visited the Museum.

Humboldt County kids aren't the only ones who have thronged to the museum over the years. Sharyn Marks, a professor of biology at HSU, recalled how 600 folks of all ages came to this year's six-hour Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Day, presented by Marks and her herpetology students. Museum programs include other programs for adults such as last year’s Skull Identification workshops and Bee Awareness event.

At Wednesday’s meeting, community members repeatedly pressed deans Howard and Smith to clearly state that they wanted to see the museum stay open, and would be receptive to a proposal to do so. Ultimately, they agreed, offered to develop clear guidelines for what a proposal would need to include in order to be seriously considered by HSU, and then excused themselves from the remainder of the meeting. Discussion turned to organization of a concerted community response that would include 1) a request to extend the closing date, 2) a plan to generate public awareness and short-term funding to keep the museum open this year, and 3) the development of a sustainable “new model” for funding and operations that would ensure museum operation into the future.

A meeting has been scheduled for Monday, August 17, 6p.m., at the museum, to draft a letter to HSU and coordinate initial publicity and fund-raising efforts. Any community members ready to undertake these efforts are welcome to attend.

For more information, please contact Karen Reiss, 825-0465 or karen-reiss@redwoods.edu

The First Times Standard Article About the Closure: August 8, 2009

Hoping for a miracle: Budget woes forcing closure of Natural History Museum

Kimberly Wear/The Times-Standard

Posted: 08/08/2009 01:27:14 AM PDT

ARCATA -- Director Melissa Zielinski is hoping a miracle can save Humboldt State University's Natural History Museum.

Sitting amid the museum's diverse collection just an hour after Friday's official announcement that budget woes were forcing the downtown Arcata facility to close at the end of August -- Zielinski said she wasn't willing to give up hope. Not yet.

”I'm hoping we can find some other solution,” she said, looking around at the colorful displays she's helped student interns design over the years. “But it really doesn't rest with the university because the university is in such dire straits right now.”

The museum's only hope is a donor or an outpouring of community support, Zielinski said.

”My plea is if there is somebody out there who really wants this place to stay and is able to fund us, now is the time to step forward,” she said.

The museum, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary, was established after HSU bought a world-class fossil collection from Hilda and Tom Maloney of Willows, Calif. According to the university, it was the couple's wish that the collection be displayed for educational purposes, and so the museum was born.

With donations from companies and foundations, it opened its doors on April 26, 1989. It has 500 family memberships and sees about 20,000 visitors a year, Zielinski said. While cherished and appreciated, Zielinski and HSU spokesman Paul Mann both said the museum has been underfunded by outside sources for too many years, despite strong membership numbers, dedicated volunteers, grant-writing efforts and outreach. A museum staff report last fall estimated that an additional $200,000 a year was needed to adequately support and staff the facility.

And that was before the budget crisis.

Mann said the university would welcome a donor or philanthropist to help keep the doors open. He said closing the museum will save the university about $86,000 per year, counting staff salaries -- and admitted it may seem like a drop in the bucket compared to the $12 million the university is struggling to cut from its budget. None of the five staff members are full-time.

But there's also the $200,000 per year needed to keep the museum running in a sustainable manner. With the current economic environment, Mann said, it would be difficult for the university to approve filling two upcoming openings on the museum's staff.

In the meantime, staff members have had to forgo vacations and make personal sacrifices in order to keep the museum going.

”You just can't ask people to do that forever and ever,” he said.

Fieldbrook resident Leslie Wolff was disappointed to hear the news when she arrived at the museum Friday to pick up her daughter Julia, 5, who had spent the day learning about the creatures who make their homes in local tidepools.

”I'm shocked and saddened because the museum is such a resource for the community, the programs are outstanding,” she said. “My daughter has learned so much.”

Wolff said many of her friends also depend on the summer programs at the museum, calling the facility “unique and unparalleled.”

”There's nothing else like it in our community,” she said. “They do real science, even for 5-year-olds.”

Besides the summer programs and extensive fossil collection, the museum houses mounts of local wildlife like the gray fox and barn owl, an exhibit where children and adults alike can listen to local bird calls, activity boxes, and other hands-on opportunities. There are also displays with live snakes, a rare blue Pacific tree frog and up-close looks at sea anemones and star fish.

It also operates as a learning laboratory for HSU students.

Gabriel Delgado, who is about to begin his senior year as an environmental science and ecology restoration major at HSU, said Zielinski broke the news to the staff on Thursday.

”It was a shock because this place is great,” he said. “I love seeing the kids come in and their eyes light up. I'm going to be sad when the kids find out and when the members find out. It's going to be heartbreaking news for them.”

Over the last year, being at the museum has become more than a job, he said.

”It just feels like a warm, comfy home,” Delgado said.

With the sounds of children oohing and aahing during up-close-and-personal looks at sea urchins and star fish echoing in the background, Zielinski spent Friday breaking the news to the museum board, volunteers and members.

A plan for packing up the museum and the future of the collection is still being worked out, but Zielinski said she's just not quite ready for that yet. Zielinski, who has been with the museum since 1992, says she can't accept that such a unique resource for the community will just disappear.

The staff regrets, but understands, the university's decision, she said.

”There's so many families we have seen grow up here,” Zielinski said.

The museum staff just finished a project for local schoolteachers that coordinates activities at the museum with the state's science requirements for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Plans for the fall programs were under way and a “Prehistoric Ball” fundraiser at the museum was set for October. Now it's all on hold.

”The official word is we're closing at the end of August and I just want to see if there's anything I can do to prevent that,” she said. “But it's out of my hands and it's out of the university's hands.

”Once we're gone, we're gone, and it's going to be a sad thing for the community,” Zielinski said.

Kimberly Wear can be reached at 441-0520 or kwear@times-standard.com.

FIND OUT MORE: For more information on HSU's Natural History Museum or to help, call 826-4479 or visit its Web site at www.humboldt.edu/~natmus/.

To learn more about the university's budget woes, visit www.humboldt.edu/~budget/.

HSU's ORIGINAL Annoncement to close the Natural History Museum dated August 7, 2009

State Cuts Force HSU to Close Natural History Museum

Aug 07, 2009

Humboldt State University will be forced to close its Natural History Museum permanently by the end of August. The closure is due to this year’s severe and unprecedented state budget cuts to the California State University system.

Museum staff were informed of the decision beforehand and volunteers and supporters were being contacted by the campus. A plan for the museum’s orderly closing, which will likely extend well beyond the last day of being open to the public, is being finalized.

The decision was made after many months of difficult discussions about the museum’s finances and the ability of the university to adequately fund it. It had been perennially underfunded even before the most recent budget cuts. The museum staff had estimated a year ago that an additional $200,000 annually was needed to finance the operation on a sustaining basis.

In a year when major cuts are being made across campus, that type of new funding is not available.

“This is really a shame. Even with all the budget limitations, they’ve been doing very good work, and have been an important asset for the community.” said Steve Smith, Associate Dean of the College of Natural Resources and Sciences, which oversees the museum.

“There were many staff, donors, volunteers and community organizations that strongly supported and partnered with the museum,” Smith said. “We really appreciate all they have done. But unfortunately, we are confronted with the most serious budget crisis in the CSU’s history, and cuts like this are unavoidable.”

He thanked the museum’s long-time Director, Melissa Zielinski, as well as the staff, volunteers and donors “for their earnest and unstinting support across many years.”

Located in a university-owned building in downtown Arcata, the museum opened to the public in 1989. It offers exhibits and programs to teach community members of all ages about the natural world, and serves as a learning laboratory for Humboldt State students. Decisions about the future use of its building, the museum’s collections and related issues are pending.

Estimated savings from the closure are relatively small, about $100,000 annually, excluding utilities and insurance (editor’s note: This figure has been corrected. The original savings were estimated to be $26,000 annually). The overriding issue was future viability and the challenge of remaining open with inadequate funding. A detailed internal analysis conducted a year ago concluded that the museum “was barely solvent” and could not continue to function as it had in the past. Pending staff departures made the challenge even greater.

The closure of the museum comes as Humboldt State struggles to absorb its share of recent state budget cuts to the California State University system.

The system’s state funding has been reduced to $1.6 billion this year. That’s nearly $600 million lower than a decade ago, and creates a funding shortfall of $564 million even after the receipt of significant federal stimulus funds.

For Humboldt State, that means a reduction of about $12 million in a $102 million general fund budget. Actions already taken at the system and campus levels to address some of the shortfall include student fee increases, eliminating spring admissions, unpaid employee furloughs, hiring freezes, administrative salary freezes and reductions in equipment purchases.

Additional cuts will be necessary, and students will face elimination of many classes as well as reduced services this fall.

More information about Humboldt State’s current fiscal emergency is available at its Budget Office website, http://www.humboldt.edu/~budget.