Awards Council Annual Meetings

Rachel Carson Awards Council, a group of very talented and environmentally informed women, helps select Audubon's Rachel Carson Award recipients. The purpose of this annual meeting is to deliver and brief this group on important environmental issues.

February 7th, 2011 – David Yarnold, 10th President of the National Audubon Society

A thoughtful communicator, avid outdoorsman, and dedicated change agent, David is an inspiring leader of the Audubon community. Prior to receiving his presidential title, David was a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor of the San Jose Mercury News. He subsequently served as Executive Director and President of the Environmental Defense Fund--significantly growing the organization and spearheading its political initiatives. As Audubon President, David oversees nearly 500 local chapters, state offices and Audubon Centers across the United States.

David briefed the Awards Council on the ongoing problems facing the Gulf Coast, having witnessed the 2010 oil “gusher” firsthand. He stressed the Gulf of Mexico's global importance as the seventh largest delta in the world and its fragility in the face of human development. David shared personal anecdotes of the region's current state, describing the abhorrent environmental conditions he witnessed while flying over the spill and emphasizing that scientists are still unsure of long-term effect.

During his visit to the Gulf, David was able to capture images of the oil disaster. He screened an evocative video montage of these photographs at the meeting.

February 2nd, 2010 - Dyana Furmansky, Author

Award-winning journalist Dyana Z. Furmansky has written for The New York Times, Audubon Magazine, American Heritage, Wilderness, High Country News and many other publications. The late Wallace Stegner called These American Lands, Furmansky's first book, "the only indispensable narrative history of the public lands." Furmansky's Rosalie Edge, Hawk of Mercy: The Activist Who Saved Nature from The Conservationists is the compelling first biography of one of the most successful conservationists of the 20th century.

A vivid speaker, Dyana familiarized the Council with her intimate biography of Audubon Society reformer Rosalie Edge who ignited the modern environmental movement in1929. Originally involved with the women's suffrage movement, Edge used her talent for public debate and her love of nature for many environmental conservation efforts, which included forming the Emergency Conservation Committee in 1930; forming Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in eastern PA; establishing Olympic National Park and Kings Canyon National Park; aiding in the expansion of Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks; and starting a 30 year campaign against DDT, which Rachel Carson would continue years later.

Dyana offered original and in depth insights into how Edge paved the way for Carson and others, and yet was forgotten.

Dyana Furmansky's Audubon Blog

January 27th, 2009 - Anna D. Hoare, Executive Director of the Belize Audubon Society

Anna Hoare has been involved in the conservation field for over two decades. She's dedicated herself to building human capacity through lectures on environmental studies, conservation and ecology to children and tour guides and helping develop environmental curricula for the Caribbean region. As Executive Director of BAS, she is accountable for nine sites that are managed not only for the protection of both the ecosystems and biodiversity, but also for the active participation of local communities.

I believe that conservation has to engage stakeholders at all levels of decision making. My conservation goal is to keep involving people at all levels and ensuring that there is a balance between the needs of people and that of the environment. Environmental protection and conservation is about maintaining the integrity of both the environment and the livelihoods of people as well. It is about ensuring that environmental health is translated into environmental quality that affects our well-being.

Anna Hoare gave a wonderful overview of the Belize Audubon Society (BAS)- the oldest conservation organization in Belize. The Belize Audubon Society manages nine conservation areas including the oldest protected area in Central America, the Half Moon Caye Natural Monument. The nine protected areas they care for represent the richest land and marine environments in Belize, with critical habitat for jaguars, a wetland of international importance, impressive coral reefs, and sacred caves with beautiful limestone formations and remains of the ancient Maya.

To learn more about these critical habitats and the program that Audubon Belize has engaged in to support and protect these areas, please visit: Belize Audubon Society Managed Protected Areas

Additional Links:
Belize Audubon Society
Belize Magazine

January 15th, 2008 - Carolyn Spilman
Long Island Bird Conservation Coordinator for Audubon New York

Carolyn Spilman holds a B.S. in Biology and a M.S. in Wildlife Management from the State University of New York. She has worked across the country on various avian research projects involving loons in the Adirondacks, grassland birds in Nebraska, and waterfowl in California. In May 2007 she joined Audubon New York to launch the Long Island Bird Conservation Program.

At the Awards Council Meeting, Carolyn discussed her role as coordinator of Audubon New York's Long Island Bird Conservation Program. The program implements conservation, education, and advocacy efforts to address the issues associated with threats to endangered beach-nesting birds and their habitats.

For more information on the Long Island Bird conservation Program, please visit: Audubon New York Birds & Science Coastal Bird Conservation Program

February 6th, 2007 - Jillian Liner
Director of Bird Conservation, Ithaca - at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Jillian Liner is a native upstate New Yorker and has a BA in Biology from Skidmore College and a MS in Ecological Planning from the University of Vermont. Prior to coming to Audubon NY in 2001, Jillian spent time in Florida, Minnesota, Montana, and Vermont where most of her work focused on raptors, but she also assisted NGOs and state agencies with landscape inventories and conservation plans. Jillian loves hiking, skiing, and biking with her husband, Eric, and their quirky dog, Sadie, though much of her free time lately has been spent assisting with the renovations of their 1820s home.

At the Awards Council Meeting, Jillian discussed how unique the Long Island Sound is as an ecosystem, different threats that it faces and what Audubon New York is doing to address those threats. Check out the slide show to see more about what she presented to the Awards Council.

For more information on the Long Island Sound, please visit
Audubon New York Birds & Science IBA News