Selected for his long record of achievement on behalf of bird and habitat conservation, Audubon California Director of Public Policy Dan Taylor this week takes a seat on the newly formed Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy. Taylor was appointed earlier this week by State Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez. “The Delta Conservancy will be at the center of some of the most important decisions we make in California about our environment over the next few years,” said Taylor. “I’m honored to be a part of this important effort, and I’m looking forward to the hard work ahead.”

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Conservancy Act (Chapter 5, Statutes of 2009) created the Conservancy to act as a primary state agency to implement ecosystem restoration in the Delta. The creation of the Conservancy was just one of many actions the Legislature took late last year to address the mounting water crisis in California. You can learn more about the Delta Conservancy at http://www.deltaconservancy.ca.gov.

Spanning a more than 30-year career with Audubon, Taylor has been the organization’s face for many of its most important environmental victories in the West. Prior to becoming Audubon California’s first State Director in 1996, Taylor served in several regional positions, including as Audubon’s Western Regional Representative for almost 15 years. In his career, Dan has defended old growth forests from clear-cutting, and helped bring attention to the plight of both the Northern Spotted Owl and the Marbled Murrelet. He helped lead the charge to stop the growth of off-shore oil drilling after a study revealed the effects on the then-endangered Brown Pelican. He was at the heart of National Audubon Society’s campaign to save Mono Lake by stopping decades of harmful water diversions.