AUDUBON PRIORITY ISSUES 2006
POLICY SURVEY FORM

Here is why it is important and how we will use the information. One of Audubon's greatest strengths is its network of chapters across the country. We value you and the contributions your chapter makes to Audubon and to bird conservation. We hope to use this survey to understand more completely the issues you feel are important for Audubon to work on collectively.

The list below represents our best intelligence on what issues are likely to come up in Congress this year that relate to Audubon's core competency: birds, wildlife, wildlife habitat. We certainly don't limit our agenda to working solely on the issues listed. We will always remain vigilant and responsive to new or late-breaking threats. While our agenda is largely set by Congress, our capacity to effectively influence the outcome depends directly on how much we can engage our state offices, chapters and grassroots in these efforts.

We are very interested in the kinds of projects you are working on at the local or state level. Often the work you do as a chapter has a logical extension at the national level. We'd very much like to find ways to collaborate with you and your active members to achieve the best conservation outcomes for the birds, wildlife and their habitats at every level.

Directions
We are sending this survey to the chapter president, conservation chair, vice president, newsletter editor, secretary and treasurer. If you would prefer to have just one opinion expressed for your chapter, please coordinate with your chapter leadership and submit one survey. It is our intention to follow up with the chapter conservation chair or president with a follow up phone call.

You will find the survey online here. Please complete the survey by January 27, 2006.

For any questions or clarification of these instructions, please contact your Regional Grassroots Coordinator at (202) 861-2242. Our grassroots department is headed by Connie Mahan (ext 3042) and ably staffed by Sara Bushey (ext 3039) and Sean Saville (ext. 3037) and we welcome the opportunity to work with you and your chapter.

Please rank each issue below (listed in alphabetical order) with 1 being the highest priority and 5 the lowest. We are particularly interested in understanding which issues your chapter is interested in working on and what capacity/tools you have to get the word out on action items.

Please rank the priority of each issue below: with 1 being of the highest priority, and 5 the lowest.	1	2	3	4	5
1 = Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The touchstone issue for the conservation movement, attempts seem never ending to open for drilling this pristine wilderness essential to birds and other wildlife. We achieved some stunning victories in 2005 but we must never let down our guard on this special place. Please outline any local or state efforts your chapter is engaged in that relate to this issue:
	1	2	3	4	5
2 = Bird Conservation Funding Programs
Programs that directly impact bird conservation, such as Neotropical Migratory Bird Fund, State Wildlife Grants, and North American Wetlands Conservation Fund. Please outline any local or state efforts your chapter is engaged in that relate to this issue:
	1	2	3	4	5
3 = River/Coastal Ecosystem Restoration and Wetlands Protection
Water-related issues, including pollution, site-specific wetlands and estuaries, and landscape-scale ecosystem restoration - the Everglades, Mississippi River/Coastal Louisiana, Great Lakes and Long Island Sound, just to name a few. Please outline any local or state efforts your chapter is engaged in that relate to this issue:
	1	2	3	4	5
4 = Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Maintaining and improving the integrity of the Act, fighting efforts to weaken it, such as the passage of Rep. Pombo's "Extinction Bill" in this Congress and a companion bill introduced late in 2005 in the Senate. Please outline any local or state efforts your chapter is engaged in that relate to this issue:
	1	2	3	4	5
5 = Farm Bill
Congress will be gearing up on this piece of legislation in 2006 for the fiscal year 2007 reauthorization process. Successful reauthorization may involve partnering with private landowners working on farm conservation. Farm bill legislation will have a key impact on wetlands protection, land-based ecosystem restoration in the mid-west and the recovery of many grassland birds species now in decline. Please outline any local or state efforts your chapter is engaged in that relate to this issue:
	1	2	3	4	5
6 = Global Warming
As this issue heats up in 2006, Congress will consider legislative options that deal with greenhouse gas emission reductions, reducing dependence on foreign oil, promotion of renewable energy, and better energy efficiency standards, to name a few. Please outline any local or state efforts your chapter is engaged in that relate to this issue:
	1	2	3	4	5
7 = Invasive Species
This includes legislation and federal agency actions that reduce the impact that invasive non-native species have on native bird populations and habitats. Please outline any local or state efforts your chapter is engaged in that relate to this issue:
	1	2	3	4	5
8 = Population & Habitat
Rapid and unchecked population growth exacerbates habitat loss, and threatens critical bird areas. Renewing U.S. support and increasing federal dollars for international voluntary family planning programs provide the much-needed and desired means for families to choose the number and spacing of their children, and reduce impacts on the global environment. Please outline any local or state efforts your chapter is engaged in that relate to this issue:
	1	2	3	4	5
9 = Public Lands Protection
Protecting critical habitats on public lands, National Wildlife Refuge, National Forests, limiting destructive energy/extraction practices, and increasing the Land & Water Conservation Fund. Please outline any local or state efforts your chapter is engaged in that relate to this issue:

Do the national issues above relate in any particular way to the Important Bird Areas in your community? If so, how?

Are there other areas of federal policy that you feel Audubon's national public policy office should engage on? If yes, please summarize here:

What local, state or federal level policy issues does your chapter plan on being involved with in 2006?




Contacts and Capacity

Name and State of Chapter:
Name and Position of Chapter Officer submitting this survey:

Whom should Audubon staff contact at your chapter regarding policy work?

NAME(s):	Phone	Email	Is this person the conservation chair?
			Yes   No
			Yes   No
			Yes   No
			Yes   No

What tools or activities does your chapter have for getting the word out on issues:

Armchair Activist letter writing group newsletter that features conservation news email network

Other (please specify):

What We Can Do for You

Would you find access to Audubon's activist list useful for promoting local issues, projects or activities? Yes   No

Please join Audubon's e-activist network. You'll receive our monthly newsletter, the Advisory, which will keep you up to date on what is moving in Congress. When action is needed, we'll send you an alert with easy links for contacting your elected officials.



What You Can Do for Us

Please add the Audubon DC office to your newsletter mailing list if we do not already receive your newsletter. Staff here are very interested in your chapter's activities and interests and our lobbyists may find it useful to take a chapter newsletter with them when they visit the Hill. You can send it to Audubon, 1150 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036.

Let us know when you come to Washington, DC and be sure and use your Audubon office as your base for conservation activities. Thank you!
2006 Audubon Chapter Survey