White-breasted Nuthatch perched on a branch
Mid-Atlantic

Policy Leadership in Pennsylvania and Maryland

Protecting birds and their habitats in the Mid-Atlantic.
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Our Work in Mid-Atlantic

Working Toward a Healthy Planet

Audubon Mid-Atlantic’s policy work focuses on educating and engaging our members and the public on critical issues that impact birds and the environment. Our work advances Audubon’s Healthy Bird Healthy Planet Policy Agenda and Flight Plan priorities. We know that when birds thrive, poeple do as well.

We work closely with Audubon chapters, members, partner organizations, and elected officials to support legislative and regulatory changes that prioritizes protecting birds and the places they need to survive. To that end, we focus our policy and advocacy priorities on issues that will benefit birds and people alike throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

Mid-Atlantic Policy Priorities
  • Develop a pathway for an ecological restoration permitting track in Maryland so that conservation restoration projects can be permitted at an expedited pace in order to meet the urgency of the problem our marshes and coastal wetlands face.
  • Identify and help procure innovative sources of beneficial dredge material to be used more readily for Maryland marsh restoration and nesting sand island restoration.
  • Advocate for funding to meet coastal restoration needs in Maryland and Delaware to protect critical bird habitat, disappearing marshes, and threatened tidal coastlines in the face climate change induced sea level rise.
  • Support federal, state, and local policies that limit human development in vulnerable or sensitive coastal zones in our region.
  • Amplify the positive ways coastal habitat restoration benefits cultural landscape heritage, climate action, disaster preparedness, and strong economies in the Mid-Atlantic’s coastal communities.
  • Support investments in conservation and habitat programs that lead to  additional watershed protections and higher water quality in the Mid-Atlantic.
  • Advocate for riparian buffer protections through best practices including tree planting and limiting development in sensitive areas.
  • Advocate for pollution reduction programs.
  • Promote best practices in the agricultural community that support working farms while protecting water resources
  • Ensure robust funding for the Mid-Atlantic region’s river basin commissions.
  • Support the responsible and rapid deployment of utility-scale wind and solar projects in the Mid-Atlantic region to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases polluting the atmosphere.
  • Advocate for appropriate siting of renewable energy and transmission infrastructure to avoid and minimize the impact on birds and other wildlife. This includes siting that avoids forest and other critical habitat fragmentation as well as educating energy developers and state policy makers in Maryland and Pennsylvania about siting best practices for the benefit of birds and humans.
  • Ensure that regional mitigation efforts consider local species and habitat concerns.
  • Promote Bird Friendly best management practices that support migrating and resident bird species as well as other wildlife and promote species diversity in forests across the region.
  • Identify incentives for landowners and forest managers to develop and implement land management plans to ensure active management for overall forest health.
  • Advocate for fully funded natural resource agencies in Maryland and Pennsylvania, allowing them to maintain and increase support and services.
  • Seek increased public funding for public green spaces that increase climate resiliency and provide habitat for migratory birds.
  • Educate the public about the benefits of increased tree canopy and biodiverse public spaces in Baltimore and Philadelphia and support work to achieve these goals.