March 2nd, 2010

Dear Friends,

110 years ago a small group gathered in Maitland, Florida to found Florida Audubon Society.  Their purpose in organizing was to stop the slaughter of Florida plumage birds, whose feathers and bodies were being used for fashion.  They won that battle never imagining that they were creating an institution that would outlive them. 

I have always loved this story because it carries the very values that motivate me to work for Audubon.  Volunteers take responsibility for defending an important part of our environment.  While the circumstances are different, the actions and ideals are the same.   

As interim director of Florida Audubon I have been wrestling with ways to recast our message to motivate more people to help with our conservation mission and to take leadership roles in our chapters, programs and board.   Our predecessors’ success was defined in abundance of native birds, which reflects functioning ecosystems, which reflects human intervention to prevent to conserve and restore native landscapes, which reflects people making conservation and restoration a social and economic priority, which reflects shared and influential knowledge and values.  That is our lineage. 

So let us set the stage today for the next 110 years.  The challenges are different.  To save our birds we need to deal with climate change and water issues, and we need to manage habitat and ecosystems that have been so altered that they need human intervention to functionally benefit wildlife.

Let us honor our conservation inheritance by resolving to give our successors a Florida abundant with birds and other native species and where people are connected with nature.

For a taste of Audubon's history in Florida, read this article written in 1914 in the St. Petersburg Evening Independent (page 4).