A look back at 2008

2008 was a big year for Audubon California. Here are some of the details we compiled:

Tejon Ranch
Audubon California was a key player in a major agreement to protect up to 240,000 acres of the Tejon Ranch.
Photo by Gary Patton.
  • We helped broker an agreement to protect up to 240,000 acres of the Tejon Ranch.
  • We helped convince the Governor to abandon his plan to shut down 48 state parks to balance the state’s budget.
  • We helped a broad coalition of environmental groups encourage the California Coastal Commission to reject a toll road extension through valuable natural habitat in Southern Orange County.
  • We rallied to protect birds in San Francisco Bay.
  • We launched a major wetlands enhancement project in San Pablo Bay.
  • We honored several
    pioneers of California
    Condor recovery, including Assemblyman Pedro Nava, for their incredible work to save
    the species from extinction.
  • We started exploring the possibility of opening a new Nature Center at the Kern River Preserve in Kern County.
  • Not only did we conduct a groundbreaking survey of the state’s threatened Tricolored Blackbird population, but we also struck an agreement with farmers in Tulare County to save about one-third of the world’s population of this species.
  • We provided key funds to protect the 9,576-acre Parker Ranch in Kern County from development.
  • We were instrumental in the defeat of Prop 98, which would have greatly undermined environmental protections in California.
  • We continued our groundbreaking wildlife research and coastal sage scrub habitat conservation at the Audubon California Starr Ranch Sanctuary in Orange County.
  • We launched unprecedented programs to spread our mission to low-income Spanish-speaking communities.
  • We teamed up with the Natural Resource Conservation Service to place a conservation easement over 190 acres of wet meadows and riparian habitat on the Surprise Valley.
  • We watched a ban on lead ammunition go into effect in the California Condor range that we fought for, and commissioned a major report on the status of the Condor Recovery Program.
  • We successfully fought for new funding for ecosystem restoration at the Salton Sea.
  • We continued our conservation work at the Audubon California Kern River Preserve, from which we promote habitat connectivity throughout the Kern River Valley and beyond.
  • We successfully fought for major improvements for the state’s oil spill and recovery response following last years Cosco Busan oil spill in S.F. Bay.
  • We mapped all 145 California Important Bird Areas with input from local chapters and other experts.
  • We conducted comprehensive surveys of Long-billed Curlew and San Francisco Bay shorebirds.
  • We conducted groundbreaking research that will allow us to model the future impacts of climate change on California birds and habitats.
  • We served more than 30,000 children and adults through educational and other programming at our nature centers and sanctuaries.
  • We partnered to conserve hundreds of acres of farm and ranch land on private working land, along with several miles of riparian and hedgerow habitat.
  • We continued to establish the Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary as a hub for conservation and research in the San Francisco Bay through expanded bird monitoring, oyster and eelgrass restoration, and non-native plant removal.