CHAPTER ANNUAL REPORT SUMMARY FY09*

2009 was a very busy year for the Audubon Chapter network. With information supplied by 420 Chapters (90%), the following provides a small sample of the many exciting and productive Chapter achievements in FY09. In addition to recruiting members and raising funds in their communities, Chapter activities contributed directly to Audubon’s key FY09 benchmarks and goals. A range of summary metrics and program highlights are detailed below, organized by key organizational goals:

o Increase the number and diversity of people taking conservation actiono Conserve sites and landscapes essential for birds of the Americaso Conserve at-risk and declining common species of birds of the Americaso Reduce greenhouse gas emissionso Strengthen and expand our field structure to sustain and expand state

programs

A Snapshot of Audubon Chapters** Number of Chapters

As of December 31, 2009, there are 466 permanent and 6 pending Chapters.

Membership 344,293 Audubon members live in a Chapter’s territory. Chapter membership size ranges from 25 to 8,476, with a median of 454

members. 89% of Chapters (411) have less than 1500 members. Three Chapters (.7%) have over 5000 members.

Chapters recruited 2,795 new National members in FY09, earning $58,476 in Membership Incentive Payments

304 Chapters also recruited 49,876 Chapter members, earning $1.08M in direct donations.

Volunteers/Staff88% of Chapters are run exclusively by volunteers, with 12% (43 Chapters) employing one or more full- or part-time paid staff with a total of 332 FTE Chapter staff.

Financial Health Total FY09 Chapter revenue was

$25.5M and total expenses were $18.6M for a cumulative net of $6.9M; Chapter fund balances totaled $61.2M.

Chapters reported an overall median net annual operating revenue of $89, with a range between (-$10,000) and $25,000, (see chart on right).

Net Profit/ Loss for 91% of Chapters

0102030405060708090

Num

ber

of C

hapt

ers

Chapters donated over $235K in 176 gifts to National Audubon conservation and field programs.

Audubon paid Chapters $1,578,170 in FY09 through baseline and collaborative funding, TogetherGreen awards, and membership incentives. 26% of Chapters received a total of $13,591,532 in additional grant funding from other sources.

* Chapter’s report statistics are based on their fiscal year, which may or may not match Audubon’s (July 1-June 30)**Data from 2009 Chapter Annual Reports, submitted as of 5/14/2023, and December 31, 2009 PCD membership totals.

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Increase the Number and Diversity of People Taking Conservation Action

Attract young members

In November 2008, Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society (NY) formed a Youth Outreach Committee as a means of engaging teens in nature and conservation. Stella Miller, Chapter President, mentors the members of the Committee by providing leadership training in fundraising, marketing, public relations, donor cultivation, and program development and coordination. The committee meets once a month to brainstorm program and project ideas. They manage a blog, write articles for the Chapter newsletter, lead a series of "Young Naturalist" field trips, conduct workshops for Cub Scouts, gave a presentation at a senior center, and are in engaged in a kestrel nest box project. 

Preschool program

Potomac Valley Audubon Society (WV) launched a Wee Naturalists program for 3-5 year old pre-school children in January 2009, thanks to a grant from the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation–Two Rivers Giving Circle . The program provides regular opportunities for young children and parents to explore nature together safely under the guidance of an experienced PVAS instructor. Program sessions have been offered monthly at the Yankauer Nature Preserve, with each session exploring a different nature

theme. The program has proven so popular that the Chapter has added extra sessions each month to meet the demand.

Workshops

Northwest Illinois Audubon Society (IL) presented its 13th annual Food for Thought workshop with the goal of increasing awareness of the connections between food, the health of the land, and vibrant local communities. About 90 people attended, which was the capacity of the facility used. Workshop topics ranged from the socio-economic implications of CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) to operating a small retail grocery specializing in local and organic foods. Meals were prepared from as much local food as possible. NIAS promoted the event through the Chapter’s newsletter, local newspaper, fliers sent to members and past participants, and word of mouth. Evaluation forms from the previous year showed that 73 percent of those who responded indicated that attending Food for Thought workshops had positively influenced their food choices.

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Photo by Stella Miller

Photo by Kristin Alexander

Workshop costs have been met with attendance fees, grants and general Chapter funds.

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Festivals

Tulsa Audubon Society (OK) sponsored the first annual “Lek Treks & More: The Woodward Lesser Prairie-Chicken Festival” that attracted over 100 participants from 15 different states and two provinces. Funding was provided through a combination of participant registration fees, community business donations and a TogetherGreen grant. Festival activities included a variety of field trips, workshops and other events from nature journaling to learning about the venomous spiders insects of the prairie. Everyone had great views of the Lesser Prairie Chickens displaying on the lek. Attendees also enthusiastically participated in a fence marking project in an effort to reduce chicken mortality

due to fence collisions.

Chapters provided education and volunteer opportunities to adults:

251,796 people attended programs and field trips 33,142 individuals volunteered for a total of 778,614 hours

Chapters engaged children, youth and educators:

Audubon Adventures

26 % Participating Chapters3,769 Programs sponsored

120,539

Students engaged

20 Programs sponsored per Chapter (median)138 Maximum number of programs, sponsored by Coeur d’Alene Audubon Society

(Coeur d’Alene, ID)

Other School Programs

Other (non-AA) in-school programs

After-school programs

School field trips

Teacher trainings

Center classes/activities

Nature camp scholarships

% Chapters with programs 41% 14% 37% 14% 34% 20%

Average # programs per participating Chapter

30 7 12 3 13 6

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Photo by Gary Kramer, USDA Natural Resources Conservation

Service

Max # programs 810 65 387 12 150 96Chapter with max #

Buckley Hills

Audubon Society

(KY)

Tahoma Audubon

Society (WA)

Jamestown

Audubon Society

(NY)

Bucks County Audubo

n Society

(PA)

Francis M.

Weston Audubon

Society (FL)

Audubon Society of

Western Pennsylvania

(PA)

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Chapter owned and/or managed Centers and Sanctuaries

% reporting Chapters Type of entity and support

27% Own or manage a sanctuary7% Own or manage an education

center16% Support an Audubon Center32% Support a non-Audubon

Center

Chapters provided public programs and outreach events, including:

% reporting Chapters Event or Program

61% offering birding classes or workshops38% birding festivals50% Earth Day events36% International Migratory Bird Day

observances3% John James Audubon Birthday

celebrations53% other events

 Conserve Sites and Landscapes Essential for Birds of the Americas

Beach Steward

Venice Area Audubon Society (FL) members volunteered through the Charlotte County Shorebird Steward Program to meet with people on the beach and provide education about beach nesting birds and how to help promote successful nesting. Stewards were stationed near nesting bird sites with spotting scopes and binoculars where nesting activity can be observed without causing a disturbance. They distributed literature and provided information on nesting behaviors, how various disruptions impact nesting success, and ways to reduce disruptions. The steward program continues to reach a targeted audience; vacationers, beachgoers and beach-front property owners. Most people are grateful to learn of the unknown

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Black Skimmer and chick. Photo by Missy L. Christie.

treasure on their beach and alter their behaviors. Some of these same people have become stewards. During the 2009 season, a solitary pair of black skimmers nested for the first time in the area.  Ongoing success of snowy plovers producing fledglings has also been documented. 

Heron Platform

Lake County Audubon Society (IL) partnered with Lake County Forest Preserves to help save the heron rookery at Almond Marsh that had been slowly deteriorating due to winter storm damage. The Chapter applied for Audubon Collaborative Funding in the fall of 2008 and received $800 towards the construction of two nesting platforms. In February 2009, a group of volunteers from sponsoring organizations installed the first-of-its-kind heron platform in Lake County. The initial platform was utilized in the spring by a pair of nesting blue herons that successfully hatched five chicks. LCAS set up and manned spotting scopes for the public to view the chicks. Thanks to the success of the pilot platform, the Lake County Forest Preserves approved the addition of eleven more platforms for 2010.

Chapters own, protect, restore, steward and educate on IBAs and other wildlife habitat:

% reporting Chapters IBA Support

53% Educate or provide land stewardship on an IBA

52% monitor birds or other species25% restore habitat 31% lobby for protection

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Chapter volunteers set up a nesting structure for Great Blue Herons at Almond Marsh. Photo

by Gloria Morris.

33% create educational signs 61% engage in similar activities on a site that is

not an IBA

Chapters engaged in advocacy and worked for creation of sound public policy at the local, state and national levels:

% reporting Chapters Policy/Advocacy

56% met with elected officials51% maintained a phone tree or email

network47% wrote letters to the editor90% engaged in local policy issues84% engaged in state policy issues78% engaged in national policy issues

National issues included: Global Warming, Wind Power/Energy, Oil/Gas Energy Development, Growth Management, Bird Conservation/Funding, Invasive Species, Endangered Species, Farm Bill, International Family Planning, Alaska Land Protection, Clean Water Act/Wetlands, Ecosystem Restoration (Mississippi River/Long Island Sound), among others.

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Conserve At-Risk and Declining Common Species of Birds of the AmericasIBA Support

Audubon Society of Central Maryland (MD) successfully fundraised and granted $5,000 to the Maryland-D.C. Important Bird Areas Program, which is the most significant and effective bird and habitat conservation program in the Maryland-D.C. area. With these funds, the Program was able to hire a much-needed IBA Program Coordinator to do the field work that is critical to determining population size of targeted species necessary to approve a nominated IBA. The Chapter raised, and continues to raise funds for the program through annual birdseed sales, a plant sales, and Birdathon.

Land ownershipLitchfield Hills Audubon Society (CT) purchased 36 acres of land neighboring the Chapter’s 102-acre Boyd Woods Sanctuary. The new Wigwam Brook Wildlife Sanctuary has

4,300 feet of frontage along the scenic Northfield Road in Litchfield, CT. The purchase was made possible through neighbors’ donations, grants and bequests. LHAS now controls Wigwam Brook, so there will be no development in its watershed. The sanctuary provides its wildlife diverse array of habitats, including wetlands, hardwoods, grasslands, and conifer and chestnut plantations.

Land protection

Lahontan Audubon Society (NV) participated in and supported a Cooperative Management Agreement and the successful passage of Carson City Federal Lands Bill, protecting 3500 acres including Silver Saddle Ranch and large areas of the Carson River corridor within Carson City. The Chapter partnered with Friends of Silver Saddle Ranch by providing bird trips, financial support for conservation projects, and participation

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Photo by John C. Baker

Silver Saddle Ranch Photo by Nancy Santos

throughout the charrette process. Habitats protected include sage scrub, agricultural lands, riparian corridors and wetlands. LAS continues its involvement through monitoring bird and bat boxes.

Chapters involved people in Citizen Science activities:

% reporting Chapters

Citizen Science Activity

93% Christmas Bird Count 83% Great Backyard Bird

Count13% Bioblitz40% Other Citizen Science

activity

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Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Wind Energy

Wintu Audubon Society (Redding, CA) worked with Audubon CA in siting the local Hatchet Ridge wind power project. Primarily through the Chapter’s efforts the project design was modified and conditioned to make it a better project—producing renewable energy while lowering the risk to birds. A committed group of WAS Chapter leaders educated themselves on the proposal and the processes involved, built relationships with decision-makers in the agencies and local government, and developed a rational, solution-based set of recommendations. Impressed with the Chapter’s work on Hatchet Ridge, Audubon CA invited WAS to a statewide forum with other California Chapters as an example of citizen advocacy that works.

Global Warming

Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (VA) was one of three founders of a coalition of nine conservation organizations in Northern Virginia representing 25,000 people to persuade Congress to pass a strong climate change bill. Called the Northern Virginia Climate Action Network, NoVaCAN, the Chapter held three workshops focused on climate change and its impacts. Each workshop has a strong hands-on training segment to empower attendees to become climate change advocates in the public arena. Workshop attendees have also met with elected officials to advocate for sound climate change policies.

45% of Chapters listed Global Warming as a priority national issue.

Some of the actions Chapters took locally to help reduce the threat of Global Warming (GW) included:

% reporting Chapters Citizen Science Activity

39% Eco-friendly practices at Chapter meetings/events

35% Published GW articles in newsletter34% Provided GW tips in newsletter7% Sponsored or supported a GW

event6% Offered a GW workshop5% Formed a GW committee4% Sponsored/supported Lights Out

program

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Photo by Rick Keller

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Strengthen and Expand Our Field Structure to Sustain and Expand State ProgramsFundraising

Rescuing woodland wildflowers proved a winning scenario for both the environment and the Wabash Valley Audubon Society (IN). While working with endangered bats at the New Indianapolis International Airport, past president Dale Sparks noticed woodland plants in woods slated for removal.  As a fund raiser, Wabash Valley Audubon Society (WVAS) volunteers removed, potted, and sold over 550 plants at Earth Day and other events. Additional plants were donated to a nature park and planted as a service project by a high school environmental group. Information was shared on the needs of spring ephemerals and the importance of preserving native plants. The fundraiser netted WVAS $900 which was primarily used to support local environmental initiatives. WVAS is now investigating other construction projects for future rescues.

Regional Meetings

Dubuque Audubon Society (IA) sponsored the 2008 Upper Midwest Audubon Conference: Partners in Conservation. Approximately 90 people from 7 states gathered for a weekend of great speakers, fun field trips, an inspiring keynote address by NAS President John Flicker, and a lively performance by Brian "Fox" Ellis assuming the persona of John James Audubon. Two field trips took people on the river and Friday evening’s reception was held at the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. Ten Audubon Chapters

contributed funds in support of the event, which was hosted by local chapters in Iowa. An Iowa Humanities grant, Iowa Audubon, Audubon collaborative funding, and local businesses also provided financial support. This was the fourth annual conference bringing together Audubon members from Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

Chapters raise funds to support activities for the local community and beyond:

% reporting Chapters Fundraising Activity

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Photo by Dale W. Sparks

Photo by David W. Fisher

24% held a bird seed sale35% organized a Birdathon36% sent an annual appeal for

donations36% applied for Audubon Collaborative

Funding39% sold birding related items42% applied for grants

For more details on FY09 Chapter Annual Reports, please contact the Chapter Services Office.

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