Policy Leadership

Conservation policy for birds, people, and the planet.
National Audubon Society leadership team members with partners Fundación Cosmos and CAF at Humedal Río Maipo natural sanctuary in Chile. Photo: Sydney Walsh/Audubon

Supporting conservation leadership throughout the hemisphere.

Audubon’s policy work is grounded in science, powered by community engagement, and focused on solutions that meet the urgency of our times and help bend the bird curve, meaning to reverse the massive decline of birds across the hemisphere. Through our Healthy Birds, Healthy Planet policy agenda, we drive durable outcomes that protect birds and their habitats, build climate resilience, and strengthen communities across the Americas.

A Trusted Leader 

Audubon is a trusted nonpartisan leader in science-based conservation. We work with decisionmakers from domestic and international governments, Indigenous partners, and local communities to create solutions that last. With decades of experience in renewable energy, habitat restoration and land protection, working lands management, and environmental policymaking, and backed by the latest science and innovative tools, Audubon addresses the most urgent challenges of our time: biodiversity loss, habitat degradation, and climate change.

Through a powerful network of more than 500 community and campus chapters, 61 Audubon Centers and Sanctuaries, dozens of partners and1.9 million members and supporters, Audubon mobilizes tens of thousands of supporters who speak up for conservation across every U.S. state and territory and stretching across the hemisphere. Our “local everywhere” network, combined with deep policy expertise, drives bipartisan legislation, international and regional pledges, and hands-on conservation efforts that deliver real benefits for birds and communities. Guided by science, community impacts, and collaboration, Audubon is advancing a future where birds, people, and the planet can thrive together.

Habitats for Birds and People

Safeguarding the places birds and people depend on

Birds are vanishing at an alarming rate, and habitat loss is the leading cause. From boreal forests and grasslands to wetlands and coastal marshes, the ecosystems birds rely on are under increasing pressure from development, degradation, and climate change. Audubon is working to protect and restore 300 million acres of climate-resilient habitat across the Americas.

Guided by science and powered by partnerships, we drive policies that create connected landscapes where birds can thrive now and in a changing climate. Our efforts span from Alaska’s Arctic coast to the mangrove forests of Colombia and include bold, place-based initiatives like Everglades restoration, sagebrush protection, and urban canopy expansion. By conserving habitat, we not only protect birds but also enhance clean air, water, and climate resilience for communities.

Habitat Conservation in Action
A flock of about 60 Sanderlings—small shorebirds—fly in a group above a crashing wave.
Coasts and Oceans
Grasslands, Aridlands, and Forests
Rivers, Lakes, and Wetlands
Habitat Conservation News

Climate Solutions

Knowing that climate issues are bird issues

There is no path to stabilizing the climate without addressing biodiversity loss and dramatically changing how we produce electricity. Audubon believes that renewable energy and natural climate solutions have important roles to play in mitigating the impact of climate change—the single greatest threat to birds and other species.

Audubon supports common-sense solutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing carbon storage, including by conserving and restoring forests, wetlands, and grasslands that provide important habitat for birds and serve as natural solutions for storing carbon, and investing in responsibly sited clean energy. We also are working with partners to bring nature-based solutions and bird-friendly practices to these landscapes to achieve conservation and sustainable-development impacts at a significant scale.

Advancing Climate Solutions
A male House Finch perches on a row of solar panels.
Birds and Clean Energy
Natural Climate Solutions
Our Climate Strategy
Climate Solutions News

Conservation Financing

Investing in the Future of Birds, Nature, and Communities

Conservation is essential, but it requires sustained investment. Audubon is leading the charge to close the conservation funding gap by advocating for robust public funding and unlocking private capital for bird and habitat protection. From Capitol Hill to local legislatures in the U.S. and with international leaders across the hemisphere, we work to ensure that conservation programs have the resources they need to deliver impact.

Through our federal appropriations budget request and strategic partnerships, we’re securing increased funding for national priorities like the Migratory Bird Joint Ventures, watershed restoration programs, and Tribal wildlife grants; which are pivotal for restoring critical habitat, strengthening watersheds, empowering Tribal stewardship, and advancing conservation across the hemisphere. We also support innovative state-level initiatives and development financing in Latin America and the Caribbean. By putting financial resources behind our values, we ensure long-term protection for birds and the places they call home.

Select Areas of Focus for Financing
Americas Flyways Initiative
A person holds a female cardinal in one hand and attaches a metal band on her leg with the other.
Why Federal Funding for Bird Science Matters
Conserva Aves
Sandhill_Cranes_Alaska_Minden
Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act
Securing Support for Conservation

Bird Conservation

Partnering to support sustained action

For more than a century, foundational bird protection policies have anchored conservation progress in the United States and across the Americas, helping species recover and safeguarding the ecosystems both birds and people depend on. As birds face accelerating threats from habitat loss, a shifting climate, and planned development that doesn’t consider environmental impacts. Audubon works to defend, strengthen, and modernize these laws. This ensures these bedrock protections remain durable, effective and responsive in a rapidly changing world.

Grounded in science and advanced through a nonpartisan, diplomatic approach, we partner with lawmakers, agencies, Indigenous groups, states, and local communities to defend long-standing protections while driving innovation in how conservation is implemented.

Our focus is on building a coordinated, hemispheric approach that supports strategic and sustained action across flyways; advancing practical solutions that reduce preventable threats and increase bird survival; and embedding climate resilience into habitat conservation at scale. From supporting community-led stewardship in cities and towns to promoting effective frameworks that align conservation efforts across borders, Audubon works to ensure bird protections remain robust, well-resources, and capable of meeting today’s conservation challenges across the Americas.

Protecting Birds Through Proven Policy
Migratory Bird Treaty Act
Sandhill_Cranes_Alaska_Minden
Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act
Three Whooping Cranes fly through the air.
Protecting Our National Wildlife Refuges
New Legislation Offers Vital Support for Habitat Conservation in Cities and Towns

International Policy

Driving Global Action for Birds and the Planet

At Audubon, we believe that birds are powerful indicators of the health of our planet and our stewardship of nature. Our global conservation efforts span the Americas and beyond, reaching from boreal Canada to the tropical forests of Latin America and the Caribbean. By employing a hemispheric mindset, we protect migratory pathways, restore vital habitats, and tackle the dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.

We connect partners, influence policy, and catalyze on-the-ground action across continents. From safeguarding high-priority sites for thousands of migratory and endemic birds, to advancing nature-based climate solutions and engaging local communities, our international work reflects one truth: what’s good for birds is good for the planet. With science guiding our hemispheric approach, we’re building a future where nature and people thrive together.

Audubon on the Global Stage
Audubon and Global Policy
Audubon Latin America and Caribbean
Canada
News from the Hemisphere
Policy News Around Audubon
Ignoring Threats Facing Bird Populations is a Texas-sized Risk We Can’t Afford to Take.
April 25, 2024
State Proposal Highlights Threats Facing Three NC Bird Species
April 11, 2024 — Black Skimmers, Rusty Blackbirds, Swallow-tailed Kites proposed for threatened and special concern list.
Caribou and pipeline on tundra
The Latest on America’s Arctic
March 11, 2024 — During last fall's public process for both the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska or Western Arctic, Audubon heavily encouraged comments from the public. Here’s how you came through for the Arctic!
Shorebird in water
Alaska’s Federal Public Lands Updates
March 11, 2024 — A lot is happening on Alaska’s federal public lands. Here’s where we’ve been and where we’re going in 2024 ...
Woman standing at a podium surrounded by people with protect our pollinators signs
A Successful Swarming of the State House
February 29, 2024 — In preparation for this week’s committee vote on a bill to prohibit the use of certain pesticides that are particularly harmful to birds and pollinators, a press conference was held in the State House to show support.
Mallard flying above a marsh
Executive Order to Restore and Protect NC’s Natural and Working Lands
February 15, 2024 — An executive order announced this week aims to conserve and restore 2 million acres of forests and wetlands in North Carolina and plant 1 million new trees in urban areas by 2040.
Human standing in mountain range
OK, Alaska, What Are D-1 Lands?
January 29, 2024 — What are D-1 lands protections, how are D-1 lands vital to biodiversity, climate change, and Alaska Native communities, and why are 28 million acres on the table right now?
Cerulean Warbler perched on a tree branch
Expansion of Eastern NC Refuge Would Bring Critical Bird Habitat into Conservation
January 24, 2024 — Audubon and our members backed the proposed expansion of a refuge that supports the highest density of nesting birds in our state.
A river flows through a dry landscape.
Resilience and Stewardship for Colorado’s Waterways, 2024 Legislative Priorities
January 22, 2024 — Audubon supports proactive water strategies to benefit birds and people.
Save the Seabirds: University of Vermont Students at the Capitol
January 09, 2024 — UVM Birding Club went to the capitol in D.C. to educate legislators on gaps in bird protections for sea and shorebirds.