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History

Audubon Goes Back Eight Decades in Washington

“Audubon is national yet local – 100 years old yet new each year with new members and new hope.” Dee Arntz, Board of Stewards

In 1916, the “bird club” of Seattle Audubon Society was founded and, in 1962, became affiliated with the National Audubon Society.

The Tahoma chapter started in 1969, with Lower Columbia Basin, Blue Mountain, and Spokane Audubon societies coming soon after. Other chapters formed through the years – some starting out as bird clubs, some because of the organizing efforts of the Western Regional Office in Sacramento – but a great many as a result of the tireless work of Hazel Wolf, the legendary secretary of Seattle Audubon.

During the 1970s, chapters became involved with environmental lobbying efforts at the state level, and chapter representatives began gathering twice a year to discuss issues, and share ideas and inspiration. The gathering of chapters, known as the Audubon Council of Washington (pronounced A-cow), continues today.

Enter the State Office
In the late 70s, Seattle Audubon funded a state issues coordinator to help advocate in Olympia. In 1981 a state office, known as Audubon Washington, was set up in the capital with support from both National Audubon and the chapters. In the late 1980s, Audubon’s scientific focus deepened, centering around the Ancient Forests Campaign, a widespread effort to protect the last of Washington’s old-growth forest and to craft a forest protection plan for state lands.

The office grew in the late 1990s and early 2000s to encompass broader environmental education, and policy directions including wetlands conservation, growth management, and habitat protection on public lands. The Washington State Audubon Conservation Committee, a partnership between Audubon Washington and Audubon chapter conservation chairs, was formed to work together on policy issues across Washington. A volunteer Board of Stewards was recruited from chapters and communities across Washington.

Hooded Merganser ©ednewbold.com

As part of National Audubon’s vision to establish nature centers in urban areas of high ethnic diversity, we entered into a partnership with the City of Seattle to create a center in Seward Park, one of the country’s most diverse neighborhoods, home to people from 73 different cultural backgrounds.

2004 till Now
At the end of 2004, Audubon Washington refocused our efforts on three core programs - science, education, and policy - resulting in significant milestones over the succeeding years, including:

• Completion of our capital campaign and opening of the Seward Park Environmental and Audubon Center
• Creation of the Great Washington Birding Trail to promote rural economic development, nature tourism, and conservation
• Identification of 74 Important Bird Areas, places in Washington critical to birds during some part of their life cycle
• Publication of the State of the Birds report, the first-ever status review of Washington’s birds
• Cooperation with other conservation and community groups on “Priorities for a Healthy Washington” to protect Washington’s clean air, clean water, and quality of life
• Successful advocacy to pass The Evergreen Cities Act 2008, and to appropriate $100 million to the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program for wildlife, birds, farms, and people.

Overall, we continue to strengthen our partnerships on the local and statewide levels, and work toward our goal of conserving birds and habitat.