Audubon California Assembly 2007 Overview

At the Assembly: California Auduboners Show Their Commitment to Conservation

In a show of their passion to learn and share knowledge about preserving the state’s remarkable natural environment, more than 200 chapter leaders representing 36 individual chapters in October attended the 2007 Audubon California Assembly at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove.

The theme of this year’s Assembly was “Global Warming and Wildlife,” and attendees participated in a number of workshops and sessions on how bird populations will be impacted by climate change, and on what we can do as Auduboners to address this important issue.

Assembly workshops that focused more on the work of chapters themselves (i.e., fundraising, membership recruitment and educational programs) were also popular, as were the sessions on seabird conservation, gardening for birds, and birding.

“We’ve done a lot in recent years to build our relationships with the chapters, but our progress has never been clearer than at Asilomar,” said Glenn Olson, executive director of Audubon California, after the event. “The enthusiasm and level of engagement of these participants really showed off the strength of our network.”

National Audubon Society President John Flicker led a large contingent of representatives from the national organization. Speaking on the first night, Flicker called global warming “the single biggest environmental threat of our lifetime” and laid out a path for how Audubon was addressing this issue.

But it was Audubon California Board Chair Steve Blank who rallied the audience on the first night by emphasizing the importance of chapters to Audubon’s work in California.

“We are beginning embrace and build our grassroots organization, not run away from it,” Blank said. “The combination of national, state and chapters together can transform National Audubon into a highly effective, grassroots conservation organization.”

He added: “All of you need to know how much power is in your hands as individuals and as organized chapters.”

The Assembly also provided an opportunity to recognize some of its finest members through the Chapter Volunteer Award for Outstanding Service. This year, the award was given to six individuals, each of which has gone above and beyond for Audubon.

The awards were given to: Elmer Aldrich from Sacramento Audubon; Barbara Courtois of Los Angeles Audubon; Darlene Chirman of Santa Barbara Audubon; Andy Mauro from Buena Vista Audubon; and Bob Wisecarver of Mount Diablo Audubon. Kasey Foley accepted the award on behalf of Waldo Holt of San Joaquin Audubon, who passed away this year.

As usual, the Assembly featured several opportunities for attendees to get outside and enjoy the remarkable wildlife and landscape on the Monterey Peninsula. Field trips included a whale and seabird pelagic tour from Monterey’s Fisherman’s Wharf, birding on the Carmel River mouth, and excursions into nearby California Condor habitat.

In one of the more popular sessions of the weekend, Gary Langham, Audubon California’s director of bird conservation, described his cutting edge research predicting the effect of climate change on the state’s bird populations. Members who attended were intrigued by how this research can help us prioritize future habitat conservation.

Another session that people were talking about afterward was “Audubon at Home: Gardening for Birds and Butterflies: Creating a Wildlife Habitat in Your Backyard,” which featured photographs and hand-on techniques. And anyone that missed Becky Bowen of Mendocino Coast Audubon describing her chapter’s amazing work among coastal bird populations in the “Approaches to Bird Monitoring” session really missed out.

Graham Chisholm, Audubon California’s director of conservation, and Dan Taylor, state policy director, wrapped up the conference by outlining several key policy initiatives being undertaken by the organization. Primary among these was the California Condor campaign (see accompanying article), in which we sought to ban the use of lead ammunition in Condor habitat areas. Also highlighted were our opposition to the proposed Foothill South toll road through critical habitat areas of Orange County, and the various water bond proposals for California which will have important ramifications for conservation.