We’ve heard some unsettling things about federal conservation policy since the election that will have significant implications for birds and nature in California. The incoming administration has made it clear that it will roll back nearly all of our accomplishments over the last several decades and push many of our most imperiled birds and habitats closer to the brink.
Calling those who defend the environment “radicals,” this administration intends to open our coastlines to unlimited oil drilling, divert water from wildlife refuges, undo the Endangered Species Act, sell off public lands to private interests, halt any action to address climate change, and abandon renewable energy in favor of fracking and coal mining. And this is just the beginning.
These proposals put us in the unfortunate position of having to fight nearly all of our past victories again – including protecting endangered species such as the California Condor, the Western Snowy Plover, and the Coastal California Gnatcatcher. Only this time the odds will be stacked decidedly against us.
We need your help. Please continue to speak loudly on behalf of birds – in your community, in California, and at the national level. You can help us most immediately by making a donation today.
Even more disheartening is the threatening rhetoric that alienates many of the communities that make California rich and strong.
Only once before has Audubon faced a threat so hostile to everything we hold dear, and that was in the early 20th Century when a lack of knowledge about birds and rapid industrial expansion threatened to push bird species into extinction at an unprecedented rate. And yet it was those threats that galvanized this movement and led to the many accomplishments that we’ve celebrated over the last 111 years.
We’ll stop them the way we always have – by pulling together a growing network of Americans and partnering organizations that care about their natural treasures. We will pack their meetings, flood their mailboxes, jam their phone lines, defeat their legislation, take them to court, and vote.
They will not be able to ignore us.
Moreover, we will embrace in our movement the very communities that this administration seeks to marginalize. Audubon California reaffirms our commitment to welcome all people to our centers, sanctuaries, preserves, events, and workshops – to learn with us, to be inspired with us, and to work alongside us. Just as we value our diversity in birds, we also value the richness and diversity in our society – and we will draw upon this strength as we face the challenges ahead.
The incoming administration believes that it will rewrite history with these proposals, but if we pull together now it will be we who make history and further cement our legacy as protectors of birds and nature.
We are so fortunate and grateful to be able to call on you for your support.
