In an important three-day meeting last month, representatives of the two major American UFO organizations, NICAP and APRO, discussed means of seeking cooperative relations between their groups, and ways in which the organizations might direct their research programs so as to avoid unnecessary duplication.
Meeting in Tucson, Arizona, where APRO has its headquarters, NICAP Executive Director Stuart Nixon and the APRO Assistant Director Richard Greenwell conferred at length on the need to resolve past differences that may have prevented the organizations from working toward common objectives. Both men felt the two groups would benefit from better communication and a policy of mutual support.
One move discussed as a first step toward active cooperation was a joint statement to clarify the positions of each group and define those areas in which NICAP and APRO could coordinate their efforts. If agreed upon, the statement would be published in each organization's newsletter so that both memberships could have the opportunity to voice reaction.
Nixon and Greenwell felt that both organizations have made distinctive contributions to the investigation of UFOs, and a cooperative program in certain areas of research is clearly indicated. One example is the computer study each group is currently conducting. An exchange of scientific data once these two systems are operative could be an important incentive to serious study of the UFO problem.
NICAP and APRO last conferred in January 1971 when APRO Secretary-Treasurer Coral Lorenzen visited NICAP headquarters during a trip to the East Coast (UFO Investigator, January 1971). Although not intended as a business meeting, the session touched on the future of the two groups and possible new approaches to UFO study. Prior to her visit, Richard Greenwell came to Washington in April 1970 and spent almost a full day talking with Stuart Nixon about the status of each organization (UFO Investigator, May 1970). That meeting was the first time spokesmen for the two groups had officially met.