How weâll keep protecting birds and the places they need
[National Audubon Society](
Dear Friend,
If your in-box looks like mine, youâve received a lot of email about the administrationâs first draft of a budget outline. Thereâs a lot of bold-faced or bright red type on those emails and they make it sound like the proposed budget cuts are a done deal. Audubon thinks you deserve a more thoughtful response. Those emails would also lead you to believe that an executive order to begin the long process of undoing the Clean Power Plan is the end of the line. In fact, the administrationâs budget proposal was designed to generate headlines about living up to campaign promises, but it also divided Americans on core values like clean air and clean water. The executive orders are just the beginning of a years-long process that will test the Audubon networkâs commitment to science, community and fairness.
Keep in mind a presidentâs budget proposal is just that: an opening bid. More details will emerge in the coming weeks. Those details will be debated for months in Congress. As weâve seen in recent weeks on issues ranging from privatizing public lands to health care, you have a chance as constituents to influence how that budget gets shaped. As the voice of birds, Audubon will be by your side. Weâve worked to protect funding for the places birds need for 111 yearsâwith Democrat and Republican presidents and across party lines in Congress. And in the coming weeks and months, we will work harder than ever with our elected representatives on both sides of the political aisle to make sure we continue to protect the clean air, clean water, and stable climate birds and people need to thrive.
Itâs clear that this administration, left unchecked, will fundamentally step back from all of those protections in the name of reducing the role of government. While itâs the nature of bureaucracies to need an occasional pruning, other agendas are at work, serving special interests like big oil and coal as well as the super-wealthy.
Audubonâs leadership chooses to engage with this administration as we have with 28 that preceded it. We simply wonât stand aside while the future of the Arctic Wilderness or Endangered Species Act gets decided. But weâre under no illusions about how hard the fight will be in the face of many in the administration who equate caring conservation with economic hardship. That cynical and, some would say, blasphemous world view is a complete distortion of the values that drove Republicans from Teddy Roosevelt to Richard Nixon to create national parks and bedrock environmental protections.
At every step of the budget process, Audubonâwith your continued help and supportâwill fight to protect funding thatâs critical to advancing our conservation work.
How can we do it? Weâre a credible voice for commonsense conservation, and that transcends party or politics. The Atlantic magazine recently [described Audubon]( as âone of the oldest and most centrist of conservation-minded groupsâ in the country. In a polarized political climate, Audubonâs membership is unique, with members and donors from across the political spectrum,including Democrats, Republicans and independents. We are community builders, not community dividers because birds create common ground. When I meet with chapters, I see committed conservationists and I canât readily tell Râs from Iâs or Dâs.
You, our diverse members, make us an effective organizationâin the communities we call home and in Washington D.C. Your representatives need to hear why funding conservation work is so important to you and to Audubonâs efforts across the country. You can be confident that in the coming weeks and months we will offer you opportunities to raise your powerful voice at the crucial points when it matters most.
Remember, now more than ever, youâre what hope looks like to a bird. [Get involved and take action today.](
Sincerely,
David Yarnold
CEO and President
National Audubon Society
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