Audubon Chapters Receive $1 Million NFWF Grant to Launch Alabama Coastal Bird Stewardship Program with State of Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Earlier today, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced that it had awarded the state of Alabama and Birmingham Audubon Society, in partnership with Mobile Bay Audubon, a Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund (GEBF) grant of $1,465,000 to launch its Alabama Coastal Bird Stewardship Program.   

“Mobile and Baldwin County shorelines provide habitat critical to bird species of conservation concern that, with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, we will now steward to more robust populations,” said Suzanne Langley, Executive Director, Birmingham Audubon Society. “These same shorelines attract residents and tourists to watch birds and visit surrounding communities. While our staff and volunteers protect these birds, they will also educate the public about the value of Alabama’s natural treasures.”

The two-year program will direct the stewarding and monitoring of priority shorebird and waterbird populations across the Alabama coast, as well as conduct outreach to engage the public in protecting critical bird beach nesting sites. In response to the threats posed to bird populations by habitat loss and human alterations to ecosystems, Audubon’s Alabama chapters will train volunteers as citizen-scientists to monitor and protect sites at key nesting points throughout the year. Birmingham Audubon and Mobile Bay Audubon chapter members have monitored targeted conservation species and other coastal birds for decades at many of the sites that will be part of the Alabama Coastal Bird Stewardship Program. 

“The Alabama coast is vital for the conservation of birds across the Gulf,” said Audubon’s Vice President for the Gulf and Mississippi Flyway, Chris Canfield. “We couldn’t be more pleased to join in the partnership led by the State of Alabama and our Birmingham and Mobile chapters in launching this stewardship effort. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation continues to support the kinds of projects that can help make the Gulf, its wildlife and people whole again.”

The launch of Alabama’s Coastal Bird Stewardship program completes similar Audubon initiatives currently in operation across the Gulf in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The GEBF was established by NFWF in 2013 to administer a total of $2.544 billion from early agreements between the U.S. Department of Justice and BP and Transocean over the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. Through this fund, NFWF supports programs that work to address damages from the spill.  

Given the injury to hundreds of thousands of birds from the oil disaster as well as ongoing ecological and human threats, these Audubon programs and others across the Gulf Coast are crucial to guarding and stewarding the long-term health of bird populations there. See Audubon’s coastal bird stewardship program in action in the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-7O2vfEIG8 

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About Audubon

The National Audubon Society saves birds and their habitats throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon's state programs, nature centers, chapters and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon's vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Audubon is a nonprofit conservation organization. Learn more at www.audubon.org and @audubonsociety.

About Birmingham Audubon Society

Birmingham Audubon Society is one of the oldest organizations in Alabama advocating conservation and greater knowledge of birds, habitat and the natural world. Birmingham Audubon is a 501(c)3 originally chartered in 1946. Birmingham Audubon is a staffed, certified chapter of National Audubon Society serving Jefferson, Shelby, Bibb, Blount, Chilton, St. Clair and Walker Counties and supporting projects throughout the state. National Audubon members within these counties are recognized as members.

Contact:

Jacques Hebert, jhebert@audubon.org, 504.264.6849