 |
Historical Highlights: The Heroes
For 100 years, Audubon has fought to protect birds, other wildlife, and their habitats. Conservation begins with individual action, and here are some of the heroes behind the Audubon legacy.
|
| Robert Porter Allen: |
In 1946 this legendary researcher was dispatched by Audubon to find the breeding grounds of the imperiled Whooping Crane. Allen and his colleagues discovered the birds' nesting territory in the vast wilderness of Canada's remote Wood Buffalo National Park, and vastly increased knowledge about the biology of the species. |
| Marie Aull: |
Aull's long life was dedicated to teaching others how to understand and appreciate nature. Her support led to the establishment of Aullwood, Audubon's first nature center in the Midwest, on the Ohio farm she had shared with her husband. |
| Guy Bradley: |
One of the first Audubon wardens, Bradley was killed protecting wading birds in South Florida; his death becomes a rallying cry for conservationists. |
| Frank Chapman: |
Chapman founded the Christmas Bird Count as an alternative to shooting birds, and published Bird Lore, predecessor to Audubon magazine. |
| William Dutcher: |
A prominent ornithologist, Dutcher was elected as first president of Audubon. |
| T. Pearson Gilbert: |
Founder of the Audubon Society of North Carolina, Gilbert became president of the National Association of Audubon Societies, whose name was later shortened to the National Audubon Society. |
| George Grinnell: |
Editor of Forest and Stream, he formed the first Audubon Society in 1886 with close to 40,000 initial members. Their numbers grew so quickly the following year that he had to disband the group. |
| Harriet Hemenway: |
Hemenway and her cousin Minna Hall started a campaign urging fellow socialites to stop wearing hats adorned with the feathers of endangered birds. Their work led to the founding of the Massachusettes Audubon Society. |
| Steven Kress: |
Audubon scientist, author, and founder of "Project Puffin", a program based in Eastern Egg Rock off the coast of Maine, Kress has spent his career protecting and restoring numbers of puffins, murres, cormorants, and other seabirds. |
| Paul Kroegel: |
Earning $1 a month, Kroegel was appointed the nation's very first wildlife refuge manager in 1903, when President Teddy Roosevelt established Pelican Island. Operated by the Florida Audubon Society, this land was the first federal bird reservation and first piece of land set aside on behalf of wildlife in the United States. |
| Carl Koford: |
In 1939 Audubon commissioned Koford to study the California Condor, a declining species of which little was known. His groundbreaking research revealed much about the secretive birds, and led to the establishment of the 46,500-acre Sespe Condor Sanctuary in the Los Padres National Forest north of Los Angeles. |
| Les Line: |
Longest-serving editor of Audubon magazine from 1966 to 1991, Line is credited for evolving the publication into "...the most beautiful magazine in the world..." (New York Times) |
| Roger Tory Peterson: |
Setting the standard for field guides, Peterson was hired as Audubon's education director and art editor for Audubon magazine. |
| Olin S. Pettingill Jr.: |
A PhD graduate and subsequent Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Pettingill's bird films were part of the "Audubon Screen Tours" after WWII, spreading the message of conservation nationwide. |
| Richard Pough: |
A respected ornithologist who wrote the Audubon Bird Guide, Pough sounded the alarm as early as 1945 regarding government experiments on DDT and its effects on forest birds. Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring, strengthened and further publicized these findings. |
| Theodore Roosevelt: |
In 1903 at the urging of Audubon's early activists, Roosevelt established Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the first land protected by the National Wildlife Refuge System. |
| Hazel Wolf: |
Founder of more than 20 Audubon chapters in Washington state, Hazel has received more than a dozen conservation medals, including the 1997 Audubon Medal. An active member of the Seattle Audubon Society, she also founded a "Kids for the Environment" fund to continue her inspiring legacy. |
| For a full list of Audubon Medal winners click here |
