(audubonview)

Dear Audubon Member,

Most of the recent news about the environment seems to focus on fights to prevent bad things from happening, such as oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, national monuments, and coastal areas; weakening of air- and water-quality standards; and reduction of funding for environmental protection. While it is important to fight these defensive battles, Audubon is also committed to a positive agenda for conservation, particularly at the state and local levels.

Recent victories in California and Florida show what we can accomplish with this positive local approach. On March 5 voters in California overwhelmingly approved Proposition 40, a $2.6 billion conservation bond issue. The money will protect critical habitat across the state, including wetlands in the San Francisco Bay that are part of Audubon's San Francisco Bay Restoration Program. Urban areas will also benefit from the bond issue, which earmarked $460 million for recreation facilities and urban nature centers, such as the network of urban Audubon centers we have begun to establish. We are proud that Audubon was one of the leading participants in a broad coalition of organizations that endorsed Proposition 40.

In Florida, Audubon is known for its efforts to enact the $3 billion Florida Forever program, the country's largest state natural-land-protection program, which passed in 1999. Last year we teamed up with the Florida Farm Bureau to design and pass the Rural and Family Lands Protection Act. As this issue went to press, we were lobbying legislators to appropriate $25 million in start-up funds for the program, which will purchase conservation easements from willing sellers to protect critical farmland from development. We are also celebrating a major victory: Governor Jeb Bush and the Florida legislature have committed some $100 million a year for the next eight years to the restoration of the Everglades, our top priority in Florida.

As we continue to build our network of state offices and local Audubon centers, Audubon is promoting a positive agenda for conservation in communities across the country. We are building partnerships with a broad spectrum of organizations and individuals who share our desire to find new ways to protect the environment and strengthen communities. Our growing network now includes 27 state offices and three dozen Audubon centers. If you want to join our effort, visit our web site: www.audubon.org.

John Flicker
President
National Audubon Society

© 2002  NASI

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