With a new year upon us, it’s time to refocus and reinvigorate our commitment to wildlife conservation. In 2015, Maine Audubon will do everything in its power to make Maine wildlife more resistant and more resilient to climate change. That means we’re going to be more aggressive than ever when it comes to protecting intact habitat, reconnecting fragmented habitat and restoring degraded habitat. Science tells us healthy habitat is key – it is vital that this is our focus.
Here are a few of our resolutions for 2015:
1. We can’t ignore the fact that wildlife doesn’t vote and doesn’t have its own voice. We know that only people can speak for wildlife. Accordingly, as we develop a new strategic plan, we will seek to build the strongest organization we can. Our mission may be wildlife conservation, but at the end of the day, we’re only as good as our people are.
2. We’re going to encourage our members and supporters to check out what we’re doing on social media to highlight each of the 50 Maine bird species that is being negatively affected by climate change. When you realize how long (millions of years) and how far (often thousands of migratory miles each year) these birds have come, it is unsettling to realize what our human actions are doing to them.
3. We’re going to engage more people in wildlife conservation, starting with the amazing variety of programs we have this winter, from Birding Basics (people who want to start birding), to Nature Yoga for Families to our new Speaker Series. We want people of all ages, from preschoolers to seniors, to join us in our mission.
4. Knowing how important it is to “walk the walk,” we going to keep on reducing our own carbon impact, and in that connection, we hope you take notice of our new solar panels at Gilsland Farm and will choose to support our effort to transition to green energy.
We hope you will join us in our resolutions for wildlife in 2015 – we can’t to do this critical work without you!
– Charles
Charles Gauvin started at Maine Audubon in 2014. Gauvin brings more than 25 years of experience in conservation leadership, much of it as the president and CEO of Trout Unlimited, the nation’s leading river and fish conservation organization.Gauvin most recently served as Chief Development Officer at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. He collaborated with Carnegie scholars worldwide to develop program strategies and support in the United States, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Asia and South Asia.
