Audubon Florida joined with the Florida Cattlemen’s Association in their “Lobby Day” effort in Tallahassee on March 12th. Audubon and Florida Cattlemen’s Association are working together in support of a $25 million appropriation to fund the Rural and Family Lands Program, which purchases conservation easements from willing farm and ranch owners. These easements are a major tool in preservation and restoration of Northern Everglades Habitat.

Matt Smith from the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey was present with Paige, the educational Bald Eagle. The visit by Paige reminded public officials and others at the Tallahassee reception held by the Cattlemen’s Association that Audubon and Florida ranchers partnered successfully, beginning in 1962, to establish voluntary Bald Eagle sanctuaries on the Kissimmee Prairie, an important stronghold for Bald Eagle populations. It is widely believed that the Kissimmee Prairie population of the Bald Eagle helped the species rebound from near extinction caused by DDT and other persistent pesticides during the 1960’s.

Today, Audubon and ranchers in the Northern Everglades are working toward habitat and water resource conservation and restoration through the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge, the Rural and Family Lands Act, the Dispersed Water Management program of the South Florida Water Management District, and the United States Department Of Agriculture Wetland Reserve Program.