Memorable logos can work magic for an organization. Think of a black and white panda -- the World Wildlife Fund jumps right to mind. How about a green oak leaf silhouette pasted on the back window of a car -- The Nature Conservancy is readily identified. Audubon has the egret -- but is one clear image linked to our name?

At the March 1998 meeting in Santa Fe, the Board heard a presentation on the status of logos in Audubon. Over the past several years, there has been a proliferation of inconsistent logos in various programs throughout the national organization. The Board asked the staff to come back with recommendations.

At the September Board meeting in Duck, North Carolina, staff reported back with a recommendation that the logo be modified in part, and that it should then be used consistently throughout National Audubon.

The proposed modification is that for purposes of the logo, only the word "Audubon" would be used instead of "National Audubon Society." The egret would continue as Audubon's symbol.

The word "Audubon" is the only part of the logo that is currently used by all parts of the organization. The modified wording was recommended to make the logo easier to adapt to the widest range of uses. It also makes it more appealing to use in other countries as we increase our international conservation work. The Board gave preliminary approval to this recommendation, and directed staff to begin the actual design of the modified logo.

Once completed and approved by the Board, the new modified logo would be used by all parts of the National Audubon Society. It will not affect the use of chapter logos. Chapters would continue to use their individual logos as before. The Board does contemplate that all chapters affiliated with the National Audubon Society would eventually acknowledge that affiliation by somewhere including the NAS logo on newsletters and other printed materials. For example, a small NAS logo might be included on the back page of a chapter newsletter.