Today, Hotel Duval in Tallahassee presented Audubon of Florida with a contribution to further oil spill recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast region. For all of July and August of 2010, Hotel Duval pledged to contribute a portion of the reservation proceeds to Audubon of Florida to assist in our efforts to monitor and protect wildlife.

Hotel Duval's General Manager Marc Bauer said, "We want to help the oil cleanup effort in any way we can. It is critical to our economy, environment and way of life."

Audubon played five primary roles in Florida’s response to the oil spill: organizing volunteers to protect beach nesting birds, coordinating with agencies for an improved response in sensitive coastal areas, treating impacted birds and wildlife, documenting bird population baselines as well as the impacts of the spill and clean-up, and advocating for ongoing restoration and improved long-term management of these irreplaceable resources.

Hotel Duval's $2,500 contribution will go, in part, to help fund Audubon’s new Northwest Florida Coastal Bird Conservation Coordinator. The position will bring new focus to Audubon’s efforts to conserve beach-dependent birds impacted by the Deepwater Horizon spill and response in Florida’s Panhandle. This work will include building the partnership of coastal land managers throughout this region to collaborate and coordinate conservation of these vulnerable species. It will also include the recruitment and training of volunteers to assist with shorebird and seabird management, monitoring and protection activities.

A "thank you" is in order for Hotel Duval's management, staff,  and guests who made this contribution possible.