Celebrating 120 Years of Conservation with Audubon

Audubon has been a leader in conservation for 120 years. Our name has defined care for nature for generations.

Since our founding in 1905, we have helped to increase populations of many imperiled bird species, including Bald Eagles, Piping Plovers, California Condors, Least Terns, Great Egrets, and many more. We have protected the places they need by establishing sanctuaries across the United States and beyond. And we have been on the front lines of the overall conservation movement, influencing policymakers from all political parties to pass key legislation, including the Audubon Plumage Law in 1910 that protected wading birds from the depredations of the plume industry, the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act—still one of the strongest bird-protection laws in the world today—that made it illegal to kill any non-game bird in the U.S., the Endangered Species Act in 1973, and the climate-change-focused Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.

Audubon’s work continues today across the hemisphere in the form of scientific research, policymaking, education, community engagement, and the conservation and management of 300 million acres of bird habitat. Going forward, we're more focused than ever to reverse the decline of bird populations, following the science—and the birds themselves—as a guide to where and how we do it. We call this effort to reverse the decline of bird populations "Bending the Bird Curve."

Our groundbreaking science leads us to work across the hemisphere.

In 1945, Audubon sounded the first alarm about the hazards of DDT, documenting the decline of bird species, including Bald Eagles and Brown Pelicans, to the widespread use of the insecticide and launched a campaign with Environmental Defense Fund to end its use. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finally banned DDT in 1972 and, in 2007 and 2009 respectively, the Bald Eagle and Brown Pelican were removed from the endangered species list. Years of concerted conservation efforts made the recovery of these iconic species possible.

This focus on science and collaboration threads through all of work, including our work with farmers and other land stewards. In an effort to help imperiled grassland-dependent bird species, in 2017 Audubon recognized Missouri’s Round Rock Ranch as the Conservation Ranching program’s first Audubon Certified Bird-Friendly Land. With a unique market angle that connects consumers to conservation on agricultural lands, the Conservation Ranching program has certified the land-management practices of 100 ranches and farms that cover nearly 3 million acres. By following birds as they migrate throughout the hemisphere, we know where we should focus our work for maximum impact.

We have a clear vision of where and how we need to act to achieve our conservation goals.

With the help of our partners, we are rapidly scaling our impact across the places that matter most to birds—from the boreal forest of Canada and the grasslands of the Great Plains to coastal Chile—and we are implementing blueprints to protect this precious habitat. Our conservation, restoration, and management efforts are already improving more than 116 million acres across the Americas.

Our Audubon community embodies the spirit of our past and propels our work into the future.

Audubon opened its first nature center—Greenwich Audubon Center—in 1943, and connecting communities to their local birds has been a focus ever since. Audubon now manages 31 centers and 29 sanctuaries in the United States, and further engages communities in 12 countries across the hemisphere. We also make complex science actionable at the local level, turning concern into meaningful progress. Our community spans more than 480 community and campus chapters that work aligned with Flight Plan to help us bend the bird curve. 

And it all started with the revolutionary vision of a few determined women.

Help Us Bend the Bird Curve