NEW AUDUBON NM DIRECTOR

For Immediate Release January 29, 2008

Contacts: Lynn Tennefoss, Vice President, Audubon State Programs; Karyn Stockdale, Executive Director, office (505) 983-4609 x 32; mobile (505) 550-6158

AFTER YEAR-LONG SEARCH: NEW AUDUBON NM DIRECTOR

Santa Fe, New Mexico – Audubon New Mexico, the state office of the National Audubon Society, is pleased to announce their new Executive Director, Karyn Stockdale. Karyn takes the helm after the former director, David Henderson, retired in 2007 after 25 years of service with Audubon. Karyn brings to Audubon an extensive knowledge of the state’s land, water, and wildlife conservation issues and stakeholders with broad experience in conservation and non-profit management. Karyn received an M.A. in Parks and Recreation from the University of New Mexico, with an emphasis in environmental education, making her well-positioned to lead Audubon’s respected education programs in exciting new directions. Prior to this position, Karyn worked with the Trust for Public Land in New Mexico for over six years supervising a portfolio of conservation projects, including coordinating all aspects of the acquisition and conveyance of critical open space and environmentally sensitive lands as a Project Manager and Interim State Director.

“The Audubon Society’s 100 years of conservation accomplishments combined with my love for New Mexico’s natural areas excited me and I enthusiastically agreed to take on this challenge of leading Audubon’s work across our state,” says Karyn Stockdale of her new position.

Audubon started with a national movement to protect wild birds from market hunting and the feather trade for ladies’ hats which evolved into a collection of independent “Audubon Societies” across the country. These groups organized as the National Association of Audubon Societies in 1905 and became simply the National Audubon Society in 1940.

Audubon New Mexico’s offices are located at the Randall Davey Audubon Center, a nature sanctuary, education center and historic site with public trails located at the end of Upper Canyon Road in Santa Fe. Across New Mexico, there are four local chapters of the National Audubon Society – Mesilla Valley Audubon Society, Southwestern New Mexico Audubon Society, Central New Mexico Audubon Society, and Sangre de Cristo Audubon Society. These chapter representatives comprise the New Mexico Audubon Council, which advises the state office on policy issues. Additionally, New Mexico has several other birding groups including the Lincoln County Bird Club, the Farmington Bird Club, Friends of the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, the Chihuahuan Desert Conservation Alliance, and others.

“We are delighted to have Karyn’s leadership in protecting and advocating for New Mexico’s birds and habitats,” said Lynn Tennefoss, Vice President of the National Audubon Society.

In this new post, Karyn also serves as a Vice President for the National Audubon Society. She can be reached at (505) 983-4609 or kstockdale@audubon.org.

Audubon New Mexico’s mission mirrors that of the National Audubon Society on a statewide basis: to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity. Audubon aims to enhance the knowledge of New Mexico citizens to make informed decisions about the protection of wildlife and to empower them to be active stewards of the planet. Audubon is known for its science-based approach to advocacy and its accomplishments in the areas of nature education, public policy and conservation. For more information, see http://nm.audubon.org.

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