The National Audubon Society today announced that David Yarnold has been named its new President and Chief Executive Officer, giving new momentum to efforts to connect people with nature and their power to protect it.  A passionate conservationist, Yarnold currently serves as Executive Director of Environmental Defense Fund and President of Environmental Defense Action Fund. Prior to that, he was a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor at the San Jose Mercury News.

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Interesting story from the Associated Press this morning about how even though the Gulf Oil spill has done far more ecological damage, the 1969 Santa Barbara spill prompted much more societal change — even going so far as to inspire the first Earth Day. Of course, the author notes, the Gulf spill is still relatively young.

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Interesting article in the Los Angeles Times this morning about how Republican candidates for statewide office in California are not making the environment a major part of their campaigns – something nearly every successful Republican candidate in California has done.

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Despite a well-funded ballot initiative launched by out-of-state oil companies to strike down California’s landmark climate change law, public support for the law is holding strong and steady, according to a new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California. Audubon California is a strong supporter of Assembly Bill 32.

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Audubon California has joined with The Nature Conservancy and PRBO Conservation Science on a landmark project to help migratory birds in California. While you’ll be hearing a great deal more about this project in the coming months, our website has a good overview of the work we’re doing. (photo by Alison Sheehey)

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The National Audubon Society, with the Environmental Defense Fund and the National Wildlife Federation, has issued a report that outlines the necessary steps to restore and rebuild an ecosystem that even before the recent catastrophic oil spill, has lost more than 2,300 square miles of wetlands—an area larger than the state of Delaware—since the 1930s. Here’s the press release, and here’s the plan itself.

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The Santa Cruz Sentinel today editorializes that budget cuts to California State Parks have left the system in extremely poor shape. Maintenance is down, hours have been cut, and crime and vandalism is on the rise. The paper takes the position that the only way to save this wondrous resource is the California State Parks Intiative (Proposition 21 on the November ballot).

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Now that the new Marine Protected Areas have been established for California’s North Central Coast, Samantha Murray and Josh Churchman are driving up and down the region letting people know how important it is for us to make this new designation work. Audubon California is very much in support of the new Marine Protected Areas, that were created as part of the state Marine Life Protection Act. This is one of the very best ways that we can protect California seabirds that rely on these important breeding and foraging areas to survive.

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A recent decision in Kansas could have major implications for how the federal government enforces the Migratory Bird Act throughout the country. In deciding that an oil company was responsible for the deaths of birds caused by its equipment, the 10th Circuit Court of appeals ruled that defendants could be found responsible for penalties under the Act even if they did not intentionally kill the birds.

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Audubon California and PRBO Conservation Science recently held two shorebird survey training workshops at the Yolo Wildlife Area and Cosumnes River Preserve. As thousands of Arctic-breeding shorebirds descend upon the Central Valley in the coming weeks, these volunteers will collect valuable data about how these birds use flooded fallow rice fields for habitat. The monitoring is a key part of a joint project to identify management practices that enhance the habitat value of agricultural lands for migratory birds.

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Short video from Audubon about our efforts to save birds in the Gulf:

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Great TV news piece about the San Diego Audubon Society’s program that uses children’s are to raise awareness about the Western Snowy Plover on the beach. We’re proud to have helped secure funding for this great project from Audubon’s Pennies for the Planet Program and the Morrisse Family Foundation.

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Earlier this month, bird enthusiasts all around the country were stunned to hear that officials had captured and gassed to death 400 Canada Geese in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Well, it turns out, killing 400 birds was just the beginning. New reports indicate that the state plans to euthanize as many as 170,000 of the geese. This all stems from the U.S. Airways crash last year which occurred when the plane struck a flock of the geese. Which is why this is worth watching for us here in California. After that accident, the California Legislature passed a new law making it easier for aiport officials to order the killing of birds near runways.

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As the San Benito County Board of Supervisors begins to consider approval for a massive solar energy plant on the floor of Panoche Valley, representatives of Audubon California today expressed serious concerns about the potential such a project could have on sensitive birds and habitat. Audubon California has listed Panoche Valley as an Important Bird Area of Global Significance because it hosts more than 12 sensitive bird species, including the Mountain Plover, which is currently under review by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to be listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. (photo by Glen Tepke)

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Following up on the untimely death of popular birder Michael San Miguel, there’s a great obituary in the Los Angeles Times that’s worth a read.

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