A very relevant historical document was recently uncovered in the archives of Walt Pomeroy. Walt was the Regional Vice-President of the National Audubon Society that served six states in the late 1970s, the 1980s and into the 1990s. The document is labeled “Audubon Councils” and dated in 1989. It profiles each of the Councils that existed in each of the states across the country with interesting data on their organizational structure and the issues each Council prioritized. This document was most likely compiled by the network of vice presidents from the original network of nine Regional Offices that existed at that time.
This document is more than a mere historical artifact or curiosity. It has significant relevance today. Note that Audubon Councils continue to exist in many states. Councils are active today within the current array of Audubon State or Regional Offices. Councils are an important part of the Audubon Network with “chapters” as the Council members. In many states and regions there is a viable and close working partnership between the Councils and the State or Regional Audubon office. The effectiveness of these partnerships is reflected in the positive outcomes for birds and the environment especially at the state and Federal levels.
The Pennsylvania Audubon Council is one among many Audubon Councils that continue to function in many other states. Our Council existed informally in the 1980s and our predecessor, the Audubon Council of Pennsylvania (ACP), was formally incorporated in 1987. ACP worked closely with Walt Pomeroy and the original six-state Audubon MidAtlantic Regional Office on a range of environmental issues. In that era the Council and Audubon worked closely to provide support to strengthen chapters and coordinate support for environmental issues. ACP became inactive when Audubon Pennsylvania was formed and led by Cindy Dunn, the first Executive Director of Audubon Pennsylvania. The Council was reactivated and reincorporated as the Pennsylvania Audubon Council after the Audubon Pennsylvania Office was merged into Audubon MidAtlantic. The Pennsylvania Audubon Council has worked with our Pennsylvania chapters to identify our conservation issues of highest priority with the goal to have a positive role and impact on our conservation issues of highest priority!
A snapshot of the profile of the Audubon Council of Pennsylvania in a 1989 document labeled “Audubon Councils.” The full document contains profiles of each of the Audubon Councils across the National Audubon Society network at that time!