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March 8, 2007:  Please welcome Nancy Karraker, our newest Associate Editor.  Nancy is currently a post-doctoral scientist at the University of Hong Kong.

Volume 1 concluded with the release of  issue 2.  Issue 1 of Volume 2 will be released on schedule around April 23 - May 7, 2007.    Watch for the announcement via several listserves (including PARC) and the HCB website.

Acceptance Rate is currently 47%. 

HCB will not become eligible for inclusion in ISI Journal Impact Ratings until 2008.  Until then, HCB will make an effort to post an estimated, self-calculated Journal Impact Rating using the ISI equation.  Based on current data, Volume 1 had a Journal Immediacy Rating of at least 0.818.  
There were at least 18 citations of HCB articles from Volume 1 ( total articles = 22). 

Impact Rating Calculation:  citations/articles = 18/22 = 0.818. 

This score is comparable to Journal of Herpetology, although we are not allowed to post Journal of Herpetology's rating.  I will continue to update the impact rating as citation information becomes available.  Please recognize that this is an estimate.   ISI does not include all citations or all journals in this calculation and we do not currently have access to all citations found in their database.  Realize that this is an instantaneous estimate of HCB's performance and not an ISI rating!

September 9, 2006:  The website is undergoing maintenance which may cause temporary down-time.  Several website access issues have been resolved and most of the PDF's for issue one are posted.  Upon posting of the last few articles for issue 1 we will officially announce its release.

August 30, 2006:  The first issue is being compiled for release.  Ray Saumure will fill the role of copy editor on the journal.

July 24, 2006:  For all of those who signed Hobart Smith's get well card at this year's national herp meetings in New Orleans, he was very happy to receive it. 

June 29, 2006:  Aaron Bauer announced that the executive committee of the World Congress of Herpetology will also partner with HCB to help "internationalize" the journal.  Together with the partnership with PARC this relationship will help strengthen the journal and provide a firm foundation for growth of the publication.  Further discussions among WHC representatives and HCB shall ensue at the 2006 ASIH/HL/SSAR meeting in New Orleans.  See you there!

June 26, 2006:  Pictures from the meeting in Henderson, Nevada.  Click Here!

June 14, 2006:  The first organizational meeting of Herpetological Conservation and Biology was hosted by Phil Medica at the USGS office in Henderson, Nevada on June 2-3, 2006.  The picture to the left is of attendees responding to the cover of the journal's first issue.  Pictured from left to right standing: Stan Trauth (Special Features Editor; Professor, Arkansas State University), Bruce Bury (Editor-in-Chief; USGS Corvallis, Oregon); Malcolm McCallum (Managing Editor; Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University-Texarkana), Roger Luckenbach (Editorial Board; Professor, Fresno Community College, California); Phil Medica (Editorial Board; USGS Henderson Nevada), Ray Saumure (Associate Editor; Research Biologist, Las Vegas Springs Preserve.  Sitting from Left to Right: Gwen W. Bury (Editorial Assistant; Graduate Student, Western Washington University); Dave Germano (Associate Editor; Professor, California State University-Bakersfield). Not pictured are David Bradford (Associate Editor; US EPA, Las Vegas, Nevada).

June 1, 2006: Several of the editors and others will meet in Henderson, NV on June 3-4, 2006 regarding journal operations and related details.
May 9, 2006: Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation officially offer their support to Herpetological Conservation and Biology.
April 24, 2006: We have now been receiving manuscripts for 10 days.  In the opening week HCB was accessed over 1000 times by visitors from at least 39 countries.  We have now been accessed by individuals from at least four dozen different countries.  Many investigators have inquired or submitted manuscripts. The response has been dazzling, and certainly rewarding for the huge amount of work it took for us to make this journal a reality.

April 14, 2006: We have launched our new journal!!!
April 1, 2006:  New stuff..... We now have 46 members of the journal staff from every major continent on the globe!  This includes the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, nine Associate editors, and four Assistant Editors.  We obtained information on submission rates from the primary North American Herpetology Societies and determined that an average editor for most journals handles around 30 manuscripts per year. Members of the steering committee agreed that this was a hefty load.  Our target maximum manuscript numbers for Associate Editors is 15 and for Assistant Editors 5-6 per year.  If the load increases, we will recruit additional editors.  The role of Assistant editors is to assist the Associate editors in order to reduce workloads.  Each Assistant editor will be assigned to an Associate editor.  Our goal in this design is to develop a relationship in which Associate editors can mentor Assistant editors who may develop into good Associate, Managing and Executive Editors of the future.  This system will help ensure the journal's survivorship well into the future. 

Manuscripts are beginning to trickle in, and inquiries regarding submission are being made, and we haven't released a call for papers  Calling should go out in mid-April.  Discussions with PARC continue; however, some members have informally approached the World Congress of Herpetology. 

Ray has drafted and crafted a fine set of authors guidelines which have been approved by the steering committee.  On the same page is the revised page layout, however, Mike Tuma's brother Andy Tuma is taking a look at it for possible adjustments.

Discussions with former officers in SSAR and HL have led me to believe that neither society views us as either a threat or competition.  The primary income for these societies is page charges and memberships.  Because we have neither of these, we are not expected to in anyway compete with them.  This should be a major relief for most people! 

I know everyone is looking forward to launching this journal.  The entire steering committee thanks each and every person who has taken the time to comment, review, revise, assist, and lend support to this effort.  Launching a new journal is not simple matter nor is it a trivial action.  I am especially proud of what we have been able to accomplish in such a short time.  Without the help of everyone involved there is absolutely NO WAY we could have come so far in such a short time.  Nine months and the herpetological community has a new infant journal born! 

March 1, 2006:  There are now 38 members on the International Board of Advisors.  On March 1 Bruce Bury and Malcolm McCallum met with the PARC executive committee about sponsoring this journal.  Several issues were discussed regarding the role PARC would play, financial resources needed, and details the journal workings and operations. Bury and McCallum withdrew from the committee meeting so that the executive committee could discuss the matter further in private. 

After we departed, the PARC executive committee spent nearly the entire remainder of their 1-hour allotment talking about the journal.  There was much support and interest in the journal, and many agreed that it could fill a certain gap (especially with respect to management-related pubs).  However, all executive board members agreed that this was too important of a decision to decide after just one discussion. Thus, they are convening a small sub-committee to further discuss this topic early next week, and perhaps again if necessary.  The PARC sub-committee is charged to report to the  the PARC Steering Committee during their Spring meeting in late March, and hopefully will have a decision for us (or a counter-proposal) by that time.

 February 2006:  Whit Gibbons joins the crew and forwards the journal to the PARC executive board for discussions.  The total membership on advisory board is now 36.  A formal Proposal is submitted to PARC for consideration during the March 1 Executive Board Meeting.  Starting to receive inquiries regarding publishing in HCB.

Justification for Teaming HCB with PARC

 The teaming of “Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation” (PARC) and the journal “Herpetological Conservation & Biology” (HCB) would provide a mutually beneficial relationship for both parties and herpetology in general.  HCB considers PARC the obvious and most preferred partner in this project. 

Benefits for PARC:

(1)   HCB would provide a visible forum and outlet for science-based activities of PARC, and promote increased knowledge for all.  This relationship would facilitate the current listserv that encourages informal free exchange of information without the restraint in peer-reviewed outlets.  HCB could provide the formal, peer reviewed outlet for elaboration and discussion of many topics that frequent the listserv.  These would be the  well thought-out arguments and available in a citable format, which can be referenced and revisited many times.

(2)   Sponsoring a journal could even further increase the prestige of PARC and furthers PARC’s goals to create and foster partnerships among conservation and other organizations. 

(3)    HCB can provide an opening for expansion of international activities.  Many international researchers do not have fees to access many journals, and will be attracted to HCB because of its free downloads and page charges.  HCB will provide a direct link between international researchers and PARC, potentially leading to expansion of PARC groups on the international front. 

(4)   PARC would have the option to print and sell hard-copies of the journal to individuals, museums and libraries and keep the profits from these.  However, HCB is designed as a non-profit venture (e.g., any profits are used to improve the outlet). 

(5)   PARC could better advance its goals because HCB would be the first journal in North America that is fully accessible and useable by all interested parties.  It would be the first electronic herpetology journal in North America with full pagination and eligibility for ISI ratings (ISI is a measure of productivity).

(6)   If desired, PARC could partner with other organizations to sponsor HCB, allowing PARC to garner full benefits but share only part of the risk associated with launching a new journal.  

Benefits for HCB:

 (1)   PARC has already established itself as a thriving and recognized organization dedicated to the conservation of amphibians and reptiles.  HCB would benefit from this relationship with such a well founded group.  This would lend credibility to our effort and improve the confidence of potential authors that HCB is a legitimate, permanent outlet for quality contributions. 

(2)   HCB would have permission to display the PARC logo on its website and journal cover, thus demonstrating PARC’s endorsement of the journal.

(3)   Although HCB has offers from www.hellbender.com and others to provide webspace for its journal, PARC could guarantee a permanent home for the server and the journal.   The expenses for server space on an isolated server are minimal  ($100/year) and the cost for reserving the web address (www.herpconbio.org) is about $10-20/year. 

(4)   HCB may (at PARC’s option) receive assistance to print hard copies that are desired for deposition in selected museums and or libraries.  Some people may want to purchase hard copies.  PARC may receive any income for printing the printed product.  However, HCB prefers maintaining a not-for-profit venture as HCB wishes to promote science and knowledge, and not run a business. 

For Herpetology and Conservation in General:

 (1)   PARC endorsement of HCB would further the interests of amphibian and reptile conservation by improving the free exchange of scientific information in a rapid and timely manner.  Maintenance of the electronic (primary) version of HCB with free downloads and no page charges are key features.

(2)   Currently, several influences have reduced natural history publishing in herpetology journals.  However, baseline and natural history information is essential for informed conservation efforts, and much conservation activities relies on natural history or life history dynamics. 

(3)   By providing an outlet for natural history and basic conservation/management manuscripts, HCB-PARC would facilitate information exchange, improve conservation efforts and reduce overall costs to conservation through reduction of duplicated efforts.  

HCB now has 4 Editors, Steering Committee (N = 10), and a large (N = 30) associated editorial and advisory board (which is a pool of notable experience to review submitted papers in a timely manner).   To provide flexibility (e.g., sponsorship by PaRC0, the final structure of HCB has not been finalized.  We want HCB to reflect levels of involvement.  Current advisory board is designed to provide feedback through votes and commentary on the direction and content of the journal  For example, the advisory board was asked to vote whether or not to propose teaming with PARC.  The vote was overwhelmingly yes.  HCB’s Steering Committee consists of people who are doing most of the work: developing the instructions for authors, page layouts, webpage design, etc.  Once details are hammered out, the results are distributed to the advisory board for comments and acceptance.  A consensus exists that selected PARC officials are welcome on the advisory board or Steering Committee of HCB. It is also a consensus that HCB be a scientific outlet and that complimentary educational and outreach activities would be better served in a different venue than HCB.  Prior to launching the new journal HCB, there will be some restructuring to utilize the editorial board most efficiently and to finalize the management of the peer review process.  Ultimately, all structure and function in HCB are controlled by the Editorial and Advisory board. 

January 2006:  The membership on the advisory board explodes to 29 members (as does the email, argh!).  This includes representation from a number of countries outside of the U.S.  Electronic format with limited print copy is way to go.  Articles to be in PDF format with full pagination.  Free downloads, no page charges.  The mock website has been refined.  Erin Muths volunteers for the Amphibian Conservation Post.

December 2005: Germano volunteers as Reptile Natural History Editor.  Much discussion regarding e-format.  Eventually, the majority of those involved are convinced.  Survey regarding the preference for download fees or page charges is sent through PARC, Wildlife Society listserv, Ecolog, and Histonet.  Zootaxa's format is second to no charges at all.  The title of the journal is finalized as Herpetological Conservation & Biology.

November 2005: Wassersug suggests using electronic format and forwards everyone an article published in Nature.  Bury recommends open access without page charges if we go electronic.  Most of the group is hesitant about e-format. With further discussion and investigation of electronic journals such as PlosBios, Zootaxa, and Check List, the primarily online journal with rapid publication begins to coalesce.  We send a survey through PARC and find overwhelming support for an electronic herpetology journal provided that hard copies exist. 

October 2005: Seven more members join the advisory board making its membership total 10.  New members: Sever, Miller, Saumure, Mitchell, Humphries, Plummer, & Wassersug.  Miller & McCallum volunteer for editorial posts.  Most of this time involved Development of Concept and selection of a name for the journal. Eventually, the name Herpetological Conservation & Natural History is a temporary working title.

September 2005: Surveys regarding double-blind peer review sent through PARC listserv, most people like the concept.  Discuss possibility of using Allen Press, Taylor & Francis Publishers, or Magnolia Press.  Journal committee is composed of three individuals, Trauth, McCallum and Bruce Bury

July 2005:  First discussion of need for journal at SSAR/HL/ASIH meeting