Our Vision
We envision our communities becoming more sustainable through good stewardship of the natural
environment where people live, work, and recreate.

Our Mission
We provide people with the education and assistance needed to practice responsible management of land,
water, wildlife, and natural resources.

Principles For Resource Management
The guidelines for our programs, services, and initiatives.

Our Core Beliefs

• The healthy functioning of our planet’s ecosystems—our air, water, and land, and the vast diversity of
  life on Earth—is worth preserving. 

• There are places on Earth where human activity should be limited.

• Maintaining healthy and functioning ecosystems begins at the local level with policies and practices
  that protect watersheds, promote biodiversity, and sustain natural resources. 

• Not only must people take steps to minimize negative impacts to the environment in human-dominated
  areas of the world, but also strive to enhance the health and functioning of ecosystems where we live. 

• Finding a sustainable balance among environmental, economic, and social systems is key to sustaining
  the quality of life for all of Earth’s inhabitants.  Our human communities can and must be balanced
  within the limits of the natural world. 

• By becoming good stewards of the environment, people and organizations can help to protect and
  sustain the land, water, wildlife, and natural resources around them.

• Scientific information, in conjunction with public participation, should be used to guide the planning,
  design, development, and management of human communities.

• While laws, rules, and regulatory approaches have been, and can be, important tools for protecting
  and enhancing our natural environment (ecosystems), voluntary efforts are an effective and essential
  means to protect and enhance the natural environment as well.

• Effective collaboration and partnerships among nonprofits, governments, businesses, and the public
  can lead to better environmental decision-making and can improve the quality of our human and natural
  communities.

A word from Kevin Fletcher, Ph.D. Executive Director, Audubon International

Twenty years ago, the Audubon Society of New York State (ASNY) was born—or, perhaps more accurately, reborn. First established nearly 100 years earlier by conservation giants Theodore Roosevelt, Frank Chapman, and John Burroughs, the “original” ASNY ceased meeting by the mid-1930s, but by 1987, the need was seen to re-establish the organization under the broader banner of environmental education, outreach, and sustainability.  Like the ASNY of Roosevelt's day, the "new ASNY" has continued to rely on an inclusive approach, one that invites anyone to become a part of the environmental solution,

In the early 1990s, we focused our efforts to create partnerships with landowners to enhance wildlife habitat, protect water quality, and build a network of lands that would add to the “conservation landscape” that traditional sanctuaries provide. Within two years, 65,000 acres of land were registered as "cooperative sanctuaries." The United States Golf Association sponsored a specific program for golf courses, and membership expanded.  As a result of international interest we began doing business as Audubon International in 1996.  Today, more than 2,200 "cooperative sanctuaries" are located throughout the United States and in two dozen countries.

Though cooperation between environmental organizations and developers was largely unheard of at the time, in 1993 through the Audubon Signature Programs we reached out to developers in an innovative way to improve environmental planning, design, and management for new developments. Today, over 150 projects in the United States and in eight other countries are working with us—with over 20 governmental agencies now encourage new development projects in their jurisdictions to participate in Audubon Signature Programs.

The Sustainable Communities Program began in 1998 as an effort with city officials and citizens in Eufaula, Alabama interested in making the entire community a “cooperative sanctuary.”  Working with municipal officials, individual citizens, university leaders, and businesses in this way had a profound positive impact, paving the way for a more comprehensive means to foster sustainability at a community level in Eufaula and elsewhere.  We now work with a half-dozen communities, with dozens more soon to enroll through this program.

While we are proud of what our members have accomplished, the pace of change needs to be quickened to address the growing crisis in our communities—loss of open space, farms, water quality, biodiversity, quality of life, employment opportunities, etc.  To help quicken the pace, in the coming years we will be focusing on affecting change in four distinct areas—our Initiatives (click on the left to learn more).  Each Initiative is centered on finding the more effective and efficient ways to engage people, drive change, and discover new and innovative ways to address our environmental challenges. 

In the end, however, we rely on you and others like you.  So, I invite you to learn more about Audubon International and what you can do to take action.

Sincerely,

Kevin Fletcher, Ph.D.
Executive Director

We Work With You

Across the world, Audubon International is working with people who can make a difference to obtain measurable conservation results. The people and groups we work with serve as models of sustainability promoting resource conservation, planning, and innovative leadership. Check out our interactive map or the list below to see where we work.

Audubon International Headquaters
46 Rarick Road,
Selkirk, NY 12158

Signature Office
230 Second Street, Suite 311,
Henderson, KY 42420

Jennifer Batza

Joshua Conway

Jessica DesLauriers

Kevin Fletcher, Ph.D.

Mary Jack

Fred Realbuto

Paula Realbuto

Nancy Richardson

Jim Sluiter

Linda Snow

Suzi Zakowski