Reduce Global Warming - Climate changes alter behaviors, population sizes, species distributions, plant and animal communities, and ecosystem functions and stability. Audubon supports enactment of comprehensive legislation to cap carbon emissions, and more immediately is calling on Congress to pass in July a renewable electricity standard that requires 15 percent of the nation's electricity come from clean sources like wind and solar by 2020.

Support Wetlands - Wetlands are critical habitat for birds, especially migratory birds. The Clean Water Act is landmark environmental protection legislation passed in 1972 that applies to all surface water bodies in the U.S., including wetlands, and is credited with cleaning up nearly one-third of our nation's lakes and rivers since its enactment. Two recent Supreme Court rulings have eroded those protections however what's needed is passage of clarifying legislation known The Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007, which would restore the traditional scope of protection intended by Congress under the Clean Water Act for wetlands and other waters.

Fund Ecosystem Restoration - A holdover from the last session of Congress, Audubon is urging passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (WRDA), which would authorize ecosystem restoration projects that increase hospitable habitat for bird species near some of our most precious bodies of water such as the Everglades, Mississippi River, coastal Louisiana, and the Great Lakes. WRDA should also include provisions to modernize the Army Corps of Engineers, including independent review of costly or controversial Corps projects, to help direct limited resources toward projects that will enhance the natural system to the maximum extent, while accomplishing other Corps missions.

Ensure Biofuels are Eco-Friendly - Use of corn for ethanol has created a very high demand for corn and has led to problems for those who rely on the crop for traditional uses like feed stock and corn sweeteners. While biofuels have the potential to help reduce our dependence on dirty fossil fuels, a rush to ethanol could result in deforestation and destruction of bird-friendly grasslands to make way for corn fields. Rather than removing land from conservation for corn production, Audubon is advocating increased production of cellulosic ethanol within the conservation programs of the Farm Bill. Cellulosic ethanol is produced from tall grasses and other materials that require less intensive use of land. These crops would need to be produced in a way that minimizes nutrient inputs and pesticides, allows for no increased erosion, and leaves some ground coverage (stalks) when harvested. Additionally, producers who move acreage from row crops to crops that produce cellulosic ethanol should be rewarded.

Improve Conservation Programs in the Farm Bill - As Congress rewrites farm policy, it will be important to ensure that the conservation programs it contains protect bird habitat. Among them are the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) protects reclaims ecologically important wetlands, the Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP) that protects grasslands from development and is critical for the health of grassland bird populations, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) that encourages private landowners to set aside land as habitat, and other key provisions that provide incentives that protect wildlife habitat and environmental quality. Learn more about the Farm Bill.