PRESENT: R.Hunt (Chairman), Mrs.K.Cottingham, (Vice-chairman). R.D.Pryce

(Secretary), Mrs.D.Hopkins (Treasurer) and 23 members.

APOLOGIES: A.Richardson and J.Taylor.

MINUTES of the 1991 Annual General Meeting were adopted without amendment. MATTERS ARISING: There were none.

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT: The Chairman thanked all members of the Committee, particularly R.D.Pryce (Secretary), Mrs.D.Hopkins .(who had been persuaded to remain in office as Treasurer, despite wishing to stand down), I.K.Morgan for his vital role as Editor of the Newsletter and valuable advice as representative of the Countryside Council for Wales and John Taylor for dealing with publicity. He also praised those involved in the production and distribution of the Newsletter which had now become an important, well established and respected journal dealing with all aspects of Welsh natural history. One major event to have taken place during the year was the opening of the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust's new reserve at Penclacwydd which now provides much improved facilities for bird-watching in the area. He thanked the WWT staff and wished the reserve success in the future.

SECRETARY'S REPORT: The secretary thanked the chairman for his statement and went on to say that there had been six indoor and eight field meetings during the year. Lectures had generally been quite well attended but some field meetings had attracted very poor numbers, no-one, for instance, had attended the Oxwich meeting. Concern had been expressed that venues did not reflect the needs of the membership so the secretary took this opportunity to appeal to the floor for ideas for the future programme. Two issues of the Newsletter had been produced in 1991 and had been very well received but there had again been some criticism that there were not enough articles of general interest. The secretary reiterated that the publication is a journal written by naturalists for naturalists and the editor would accept any copy which was of local wildlife interest at whatever level. It was also suggested that as the Newsletter had become a more substantial Production only an abbreviated version be supplied to late subscription payers. Major local planning issues: Pembrey Saltings, South Llanelli and Carmel Woods, had been addressed by the Society during the year together with a host of more minor concerns. The warden's report for Ffrwd Fen reserve, jointly managed with Dyfed Wildlife Trust, will follow but the secretary mentioned future plans which included management work and peat research. In addition, the Trust had been fortunate in being able to establish a woodland reserve at Coed Rhyal, overlooking the fen, on license from British Coal Opencast. There had been considerable concern shown by members of the Society over the proposed establishment of a section of the Dyfed Wildlife Trust in Llanelli but this subject will be aired under "Any Other Business". The secretary congratulated the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust on the opening of the Penclacwydd Centre which had rapidly become a focal point for naturalists from both within and away from the area. The Society again had a presence at the Llanelli Flower Festival and thanks were conveyed to all involved for their hard work in making it a success. Finally the secretary echoed the chairman in thanking all members and officers for their continued support without whom the Society would not be the force that it is today.

TREASURER'S REPORT: The Statement of Accounts was received and adopted and is reproduced below. The Society currently has 120 members. including 14 honorary, but there is still concern that a minority are persistently late in paying their annual subscriptions. An increase in publicity in 1991 had resulted in a corresponding increase in expenditure. Bank interest had been low but this will increase as the balance had now been transferred to a new account giving a better return. The new venue for meetings, whilst being £1 extra per meeting, was well worth the increase due to better facilities, larger size and easier parking, and had been generally welcomed as a great improvement by members. T.S.Crosby reminded the treasurer that she had not charged the cost of refreshments to the Society and he urged her to do so in future; this was endorsed by the other members present.

SUBSCRIPTION INCREASE: Due to the increasing size of the Newsletter and potential increase in cost of its production and distribution, an increase in subscription rates was proposed by the treasurer and after some discussion the following rates were accepted. These would now include the cost of postage which had previously been left to the discretion of those members who lived outside Llanelli. From January 1993 the subscription rates will be: Ordinary: £3.00; Family: £4.50; OAP, UB40 & Student: £1.50; Junior: £1.00. From the next issue of the Newsletter, defaulters will only receive the cover (which will include the programme and a final reminder to pay) but will be able to obtain a copy on receipt of their subscription plus an A5 self-addressed envelope with 26p stamp.

RESERVE WARDEN'S REPORTS

UPPER LLIEDI RESERVOIR (M.H. Williams): 1991 had been a good breeding

season but in common with the national trend, Pied Flycatchers had been down in numbers due to a storm in the Mediterranean during migration. The Great-crested Grebes had been unsuccessful in raising young due to the lowering of the reservoir water level by 2 feet just after the nest had been built. Occupied nest boxes were as follows:

The Badgers reared five cubs but there was constant worry over the threat of digging. No bird rarities were noted this year but wildfowl numbers included 200+ Pochard and 70 Tufted Duck. Feeding had been discontinued due to one volunteer dropping-out: only three now. The warden appealed for extra help from end November to end March. Cost of feeding in the past had been born by he warden but B. Stewart, from the floor, stated that there was currently available, 5000 boxes of Trill bird seed, gratis, to anyone who had sufficient storage space. I.K. Morgan offered to press Welsh Water to construct a floating island in order that grebe nesting would be immune to water level changes and he would also ask for stricter control over fishing boat activity to minimise disturbance.

STRADEY WOODS (I.K. Morgan): This reserve has never benefitted from a formal management agreement which had resulted in only very limited opportunities for conservation work although the site is under no imminent threat. It may be possible in future to persue agreements on other sites of interest within the Stadey Estate.

FACTORY ROAD (F.H.Webb): Again no cutting or grazing had been considered necessary as the Geranium sanguineum was continuing to flourish. Six stems of Linaria supina had been observed and R.D. Pryce had collected specimens of Hieracium for expert determination at the National Museum of Wales.

FFRWD FEN (F.H. Webb): The new grazier had been much more effective and the Phragmites and Lathyrus palustris populations had benefitted. There had been thee management committee meetings during the year and the management plan was nearing completion and soon to be submitted for approval by the committee and CCW. Future plans include further ditch and pond excavation, hydrological survey and the provision of a hide and disabled access. Scheduled work for the honorary warden in the management plan, amounts to more than 20 days per year. which F.H.W. would regretfully be unable to fulfill. He therefore appealed for a volunteer replacement honorary warden. R.D.P. reported that British Coal Opencast, during 1992, would fund replacement gates, ditch excavation and dip-well pipes and Heather Pardoe of the National Museum of Wales had offered to do some research into the fen peat deposits.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS: As the number of nominations eoualled the number of vacances the following were elected unopposed: Mrs. I.M. Vaughan (Patron), R.Hunt (Chairman), Mrs. K. Cottingham (Vice-chairman), R.D.Pryce (Secretary), Mrs. D. Hopkins (Treasurer), Committee members:

• J. Taylor (publicity)
• P.A. Jones (newsletter, functions, fungi)
• Mrs.E. Jones (programme)
• A. Richardson (WWT)
• B. Stewart (invertebrates, birds etc)
• Miss J. Kelsall (botany)
• F.H. Webb (Ffrwd & Factory Road reserves, Pembrey Saltings)
• R. Smale (Forestry Commission)
• I.K. Morgan (Newsletter editor, CCW Observer)
• E. Jones (Hon. auditor)

The secretary had written to the Chief Executive of Llanelli Borough Council inviting a member of staff to be an observer on the committee but a reply had yet to be received.

OTHER BUSINESS: Dr. P.A. Jones questioned the role of the newly formed Llanelli Section of the Dyfed Wildlife Trust. Several Naturalists members were vehemently against the setting-up of the new Section, recalling the animosity between the two groups in the past, but generally there was cautious approval and optimism that both bodies could exist in tandem. Tom Heal, a member of both Trust council and the Llanelli Naturalists, explained the differences between the groups: in contrast to the Naturalists' members, most of the large Trust membership were not naturalists but only supporters. This large number, however, is very effective in attracting sponsorship in the short term, but still more members, and Llanelli is potentially an untapped source, will eventually make such financial dependence unnecessary. I.K.Morgan added that the Trust had much better developed management resources and the power to attract funding for reserves aquisition but he was critical of the fact that there had been very little involvement in the area in the past. The two bodies have similar aims but the Trust would need to tread carefully, especially as friction had already been generated as the existance of the Naturalists had been ignored by those Trust officers concerned with the launch. T.H. said that Trust officials could not be expected to know details of what had occurred twenty years ago and should be encouraged to complete their task. T.S.Crosby stated that both the Naturalists and the Trust were first-class organisations but he was concerned as to who would run the new Section as all keen conservationists in the area were already over-committed to the Naturalists and although he could see the necessity of the new Section it would be impracticable to run two independent meetings programmes: some joint events would be desirable. Rob Hunt was echoed by several others in saying the two groups should remain completely independent. I.K.M. agreed in that the Naturalists had its own ethos and should remain independent but also welcomed the formation of the new Trust Section. T.H. went on by saying that when numbers are sufficient, consideration would be given by council to the formal setting-up of a Llanelli Section: currently the largest section has 500 and the smallest 120. R.D. Pryce asked whether it would be possible for Llanelli Naturalists to become a corporate member of the Trust for a nominal sum in much the same way as many sponsors, thus affording the benefits of Trust membersnip to Naturalists members. A reciprocal arrangement could be made for Trust members. P.A.J. proposed that the whole issue be discussed at the next Llanelli Section meeting on 20th February in order to seek a way forward and he asked T.H. to convey the feelings of this AGM to Trust council and to relevant officers. It should be made abundantly clear to the Trust council and membership that the Naturalists is a viable and ongoing organisation and this should be reported in the Trust Bulletin. The following resolutions were proposed by P.A.J., seconded by F.H.W. and were passed unanimously:

1. Members of Llanelli Naturalists agree to remain as an independent society.
2. Llanelli Naturalists resolve to continue to work with and co-operate with other societies and organisations having similar aims for the benefit of wildlife and nature conservation.
3. Llanelli Naturalists will continue active involvement with theDyfed Wildlife Trust in existing joint ventures such as Ffrwd Fen.
4. Llanelli Naturalists will endeavour to enlist the interest and expertise of Dyfed Wildlife Trust in seeking to aquire additional reserves in Dyfed.
5. Observers from each organisation will continue to be present at the other's committee meetings.

The chairman summed up and T.S.C. thanked the officers for their dedication and service over the past year. Finally I.K.M. thanked T.H. and apologised for putting him on the spot by asking him to be the Trust's advocate.

The meeting closed at 9.40pm.