The bylaws revision was approved March 4, 2026, by affirmative vote of 24 out of 26 active lead principal investigators.
Changes in this revision:
Due to changes in the way that the U. S. National Science Foundation (NSF) manages the LTER Network, with more emphasis on relationships between individual program officers and individual sites, the role of the Science Council/Executive Board chair as an interface between NSF and the Network has been reduced.
Other important functions persist, such as:
- Leading science planning and some synthesis efforts
- Interacting with external networks and groups
- Working with LTER Network Office to set Executive Board and Lead PI Meeting agendas
The chair of the Executive Board will now be elected from among already-serving members of the Executive Board, provide continuity without demanding too much additional time from any single individual. The Executive Board will also elect a chair-elect from among members in the second year of their three-year terms. The elected chair-elect would then automatically become chair in the third year of their EB term.
