In this issue: Audubon’s 2019 Policy Agenda, Victory for Birds and Parks, Rush to Drill in the Arctic Refuge, Gulf Restoration Plans, News from the Flyways, Climate Corner and Your Actions at Work.
Audubon’s policy agenda will address the biggest threats to birds and the places they need, with a focus on pragmatic and creative solutions that can rebuild bipartisan support for conservation. Through our work, we will advance landscape-scale conservation, defend bedrock environmental laws, and secure state and federal funding for our conservation priorities. Read more.
Earlier this week, the Senate passed legislation to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation fund, which has helped protect some of our most vulnerable birds across the country. The bill also reauthorizes the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. The House is expected to vote on the bill in the coming weeks. Read more.
In the gravest threat the Refuge has faced, the Bureau of Land Management has published a plan to open it to oil and gas development. Meanwhile, earlier this week, Members of Congress introduced legislation that would block drilling in the Refuge. Read more and take action.
Our new report, Audubon’s Vision: Restoring the Gulf of Mexico for Birds and People, highlights projects and programs critical to help the region and its wildlife recover from devastating hurricanes, oil spills, and other environmental and man-made disasters. Read more.
On February 6, both the House Natural Resources Committee and the Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change held long overdue hearings focused on the threat of climate change. These hearings marked the first full committee hearings on climate change in Congress since 2009! With the completion of four additional hearings on climate change earlier this week, it is clear that the priorities of the U.S. House of Representatives have shifted to better include climate change impacts and the need for strong federal policies.
Lewis's Woodpeckers are threatened by a changing climate.
Your Actions at Work
Thank you to the more than 27,000 Auduboners who submitted public comments to oppose overturning protections for the globally important wetlands in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area of the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska. These comments are now part of the public record. More than half a million shorebirds and geese, denning polar bears, and tens of thousands of caribou depend on these wetlands. We will be sure to keep you updated on our efforts to protect this irreplaceable habitat.
Yellow-billed Loons nest in the wetlands around Teshekpuk Lake.
Photos from top: Rick Lott/Audubon Photography Awards, Camilla Cerea/Audubon, Shiloh Schulte/USFWS, Andy Morffew/Flickr (CC BY 2.0), Karen Prisby/Audubon Photography Awards (left), Tom Wilberding/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) (right)
