Jessica Wilson, NYC Audubon Executive Director

As an African American and lifelong birder, I stand firmly in the camp that the Audubon name must go—because such a change will help save more birds. If we as advocates for the wild want to guarantee a future with a healthy diversity of birds, then we must foster a healthy diversity of people who value them. Instead of letting our name be a barrier to reaching more people, we’re seizing this opportunity to tell ever-wider audiences who we are and what we do: protect birds and their habitats, to the benefit of all New Yorkers. 

– Christian Cooper, Vice President, Board of Directors

If you have ever looked at the John James Audubon watercolors at the New-York Historical Society, you are awe struck by the artist’s clear and beautiful representation of birds and their habitat. What genius! However, his artistry cannot negate or erase his racist mindset. I am no longer comfortable wearing a t-shirt with his name nor referring to my chapter as New York City “Audubon.” I support the board, staff, and community members’ carefully considered decision to remove his name. Now there is an extraordinary opportunity to re-invent a name that celebrates the diversity of life in New York City.

– Marcia Fowle, NYC Audubon Advisory Council; past Board Member and the organization’s first Executive Director

Our work with NYC Audubon is focused not just on habitat restoration, but on shared goals of introducing and engaging communities with core concepts of urban ecology through place-based learning. For this education work to be successful it has to be inclusive. This means addressing what restoration looks like in hyper-developed areas like NYC, and how it relates to people's day-to-day lives, but it also means confronting the problematic legacies tied to most large-scale conservation movements. Social justice, environmental justice, and environmental protection are tied together, and we can not afford to ignore these connections. We commend NYC Audubon in taking steps to address these issues and work towards inclusivity that will ultimately benefit both the wildlife and human communities that call NYC home.

– Willis Elkins, Executive Director, Newtown Creek Alliance

Though we'll have a new name, our work with chapters along the Atlantic Flyway and across the country will continue, and we remain committed to our partnership with National Audubon. The critical issues facing birds require everyone to work together.

– Mike Yuan, Executive Vice President, Board of Directors

I support the change to ensure a warm welcome to the organization for bird-lovers of all races. That said, let’s not forget the great contributions John James Audubon made to science and art. On appropriate occasions, those contributions should still be recognized in the organization’s lectures and other programs.

– Jai Chandrashekhar, NYC Audubon member

I must register my dismay at your changing the name of the Audubon. George Washington had slaves. Are we to rename the GW Bridge? Should everything named after Thomas Jefferson be renamed? Yes, it's horrific that Audubon had slaves. And his brilliant contributions to ornithology don't excuse that. But dropping his name and the recognition it brings to the NYC Audubon will only hurt our fine feathered friends.

– Patricia Volk, NYC Audubon member

Our founding members wanted to protect bird habitat and share birding with others, and equity and inclusion have long been central in our pursuit of those goals. But as we dug into the history of John James Audubon, we realized the negative impact that the Audubon name had on our ability to welcome everyone into that work. And once you know the history, you can’t unknow it. The next inclusive step for our mission is changing our name.

– Angie Co, NYC Audubon Board of Directors and Co-Chair, EDIA Committee

I never associated NYC Audubon or its mission with Audubon himself, since my primary interest in joining (many years ago) was environmental conservation—not something I identified with John James and his delight in shooting birds. Only later did I became a birder. For me, the name represents a long, happy relationship with kindred spirits and a sense of community with fellow birders. 

So I have a sentimental attachment to the name “NYC Audubon.” 

However—if indeed “the use of ‘Audubon’ in the name affects our ability to retain and attract staff, board members, supporters, volunteers, and organization members,” as stated on the website—then the name must be changed, both for those who object to the bad vibes the name holds for them, and for those that have little idea of who Audubon was and for whom the name means nothing. We want everyone to share our goals and our enjoyment of birds and nature.

– Mary Jane Kaplan, NYC Audubon Advisory Council and past Board Member

I think dropping the Audubon name is a faulty decision. The name, as it has been associated with the birding association over the last 100+ years, does not bring to mind John James Audubon, the man with opinions once common, but no longer respectable. Instead, it brings to mind the conservation organization that has done so much to save bird species in the past and is doing so in the present. 

Changing the name does nothing except virtue signal. I can understand some reluctance to identify with the man and his opinions. However, censorship of the opinions of the dead is foolish. The time will likely come when our current opinions will be held to be scandalously offensive. Do we really want to begin a cycle of posthumous censorship?

It’s particularly faulty if this is not the decision of the National Audubon Society. Those local groups that drop the name risk becoming second-tier organizations with considerably less clout than they had. At a minimum they risk losing the immediate name recognition that the general public has around the Audubon name. Moreover, the lack of name recognition may result in diminished funding.

– Margaret Duffy, NYC Audubon member

I was very excited to hear about NYC Audubon’s decision to change its name. This organization does impressive work towards bird conservation, but it does so within a diverse city and through the work of a diverse group of people, and it’s important that its choices indicate awareness of that. As someone who reflects that diversity and works with the organization, it is very meaningful to me that they are willing to rethink the historical choice to celebrate an extremely racist man, and to adapt to changing landscapes. To me, that is reflective of an organization that will be able to endure and continue to do the important work of protecting birds and wildlife.

– Efua Peterson, bird guide and Young Conservationist Council member

I am someone whose family is negatively impacted by the aftermath of colonization. I’ve struggled to see myself as part of a conservation legacy when many of its great figures enacted harm that reaches across generations. While it’s easy to be dismissive of something that doesn’t impact you, it’s also a reminder that empathy is a muscle we all could do better to exercise. There are so many people I’ve spoken to (well before 2020) that have a deep distrust for conservation organizations who haven’t acknowledged the nuanced, and often painful, legacies of their forefathers—as a result, choosing not to join these efforts. Meanwhile, our planet is in crisis, and we need as many people working together as possible. 

A new name won’t absolve all ills, nor will it erase the positive contributions of any individual—but it will shift focus to the importance of the cause, which is most effectively addressed by collective action. As a volunteer, I witness the effectiveness of this daily. When we stop centering one person or the other, we can get things done! 

– Divya Anantharaman, NYC Audubon volunteer

In my childhood home, Audubon’s Pileated Woodpeckers greeted visitors inside the front door. I grew up attending meetings of our local Audubon Society with my birdwatcher father. And over the past 15 years, my work with NYC Audubon and National Audubon has reconnected me to the great gift of birds my father gave me. You’d think I might cling to the Audubon name. My father was also a Quaker, however. The Quakers urged us to “put ourselves in someone else’s shoes.” That simple call for empathy has echoed in my mind, as a White man, as I’ve understood the feelings of Black birders who recoil from continuing to honor an unrepentant slaveholder and anti-abolitionist. Audubon’s paintings are beautiful. They will not be forgotten. But our organization need not honor the man. We must not, if we truly wish to welcome all into the fight to protect the birds we love.

– Tod Winston, NYC Audubon Urban Biodiversity Specialist and bird guide

I feel strongly that the name change is really meaningless. When you study American history and see the milieu that John Audubon had around him, he surely was not a great exception. Many others had similar points of view. One cannot change history by simply changing names or removing statues! In my opinion, changing our name solves few if any problems related to inclusion; it may even create new ones. I am and have always been a very liberal-minded person in all phases of my life, and totally support our focus to a more inclusive organization (and society). However without the well-known NYC Audubon name, our organization will lose important recognition, and will therefore lose clout. 

– Claude Bloch, MD, NYC Audubon Advisory Council and past Board Member

As NYC Audubon’s Director of Development from 2015 to 2021, I have lived and breathed our reputation and our brand. My work included communications, and I talked with a lot of people at festivals and outreach events. I also continue to work as a bird walk leader for NYC Audubon, with a focus on welcoming new and young birders. In my experience, “Audubon” means very little to people younger than myself (a youngish baby boomer) and to people who are not yet birders. Far from being something like a household name, it’s not readily recognized. I’ve had to explain so many times to people why we have this name, and, now that John James’s history has been daylighted, apologize for that legacy. Believe it or not, “What does the Audubon society seek to protect?” was a question during a trivia game I played at a bar recently. 

The name has always been hard to spell and there is no clear understanding—even among birders—that each Audubon Society has its own mission and board and priorities. A perfect case study in brand confusion. Dropping “Audubon” is not throwing away gold, and our embrace of change gives credibility to our leading-edge approach to conservation practices and to our equity, diversity, and inclusion values.

– Kellye Rosenheim, staff alumna and bird guide

There has always been a level of prestige attributed to the Audubon brand. Nearly everyone has heard and knows of the Audubon Society; “Audubon” is synonymous with birding. For nearly thirty years I have facilitated an experience with birds in the natural world for thousands of Staten Islanders and not one of them ever shared disdain for the deplorable aspects of the life of John James Audubon. Changing the name of NYC Audubon is a performative stunt. The NYC Audubon organization remains a charter of the National Audubon Society and each member of the organization remains intrinsically tied to the name of John James Audubon. One can change the name, but one cannot change that relationship. So, let us be reminded of the powerful proverb, a bird does not change feathers because the weather is bad.

– Cliff Hagen, bird guide and naturalist/educator

As an Afro-Latina birder, I’m proud to be part of an organization that values marginalized voices. Our bird outings, lectures, and festivals are intrinsically tied with inclusivity and belonging. Everyone, especially Black and Indigenous people of color who’ve been historically excluded from the conservation movement, should feel like our community is a place where they are welcome and valued.

– Roslyn Rivas, NYC Audubon Public Programs Manager

I’m deeply impressed by the courageousness of New York City Audubon’s decision to rename the chapter based on recognition of John James Audubon’s actions and values which were profoundly flawed and more than troubling. NYC Audubon’s achievements on behalf of birds since its founding in 1979 are enormous. It would be deeply sad, and a profound disservice to birds and conservation, to hinder the organization’s work due to a lack of interest in its ongoing and future stewardship because younger generations find the name anachronistic and a barrier to their involvement. Instead, a new name will be far more welcoming to, and therefore will allow the organization to enlist, a broader range of members, volunteers, program participants, staff and donors. New York City has one of the most diverse populations of any city in the world. A new more inclusive name is a thoughtful, brave, and necessary step to ensure the organization’s future and effectiveness.

– Jamie Johnson, NYC Audubon member and volunteer

Names and language matter. I am proud to be a collaborator and member of the organization soon-to-be formerly known as NYC Audubon as they take this step to create a more welcoming and inclusive organization. When our very language perpetuates a history of racism and colonialism, it is hard to imagine that we can make meaningful progress toward repairing these broken legacies—and since the subjugation of nature and people are intimately linked, without such repair we cannot achieve our missions. A greener world is a more just world. In every facet of the conservation and environmental movement, we need to make sure our language, programs, advocacy, and organizations fully represent the incredible diversity of our world and communities—and I applaud steps to create this greener and more just future.

– Emily Noble Maxwell, Director, Cities Program, The Nature Conservancy

SUPPORT IMPROVED GREEN ROOF TAX ABATEMENT BILL

The Green Roof Tax Abatement, which offers a $15 abatement for each square foot of green roof installed in environmentally vulnerable parts of the city, has been reintroduced for renewal in the New York State Legislature with significant improvements. These improvements remove barriers to use, increase accessibility, and raise the baseline abatement from $5.23 to $10 for non-priority community districts. Call your state legislators to vote in favor of the bill (AB6902/SB6409). 

An unprecedented number of volunteers participated in our community science programs this spring: over 350 volunteers signed up to count and tag spawning horseshoe crabs—whose eggs are a critical food source for migrating shorebirds—at three Jamaica Bay beach sites in May and June. Our Project Safe Flight program also saw all-time high participation, with 122 community scientists across the city monitoring 47 buildings for birds that have collided with windows. Stay tuned for highlights from these programs on our blog at nycaudubon.org/blog. 

Want to get in on the action? Sign up for Project Safe Flight fall monitoring by attending an information session in August. Check nycaudubon.org/volunteer in mid-July for details. 

STAY IN THE KNOW ABOUT UPCOMING PROGRAMS: 

More details about programs and registration are available at the website above. Sign up for the eGret eNewsletter at nycaudubon.org/egret and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter  (@nycaudubon) to ensure you know about events as they are announced. ■