Audubon Insurance Co history

A year earlier the board of directors changed the name of "National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals" to "National Audubon Society" (NAS or the Society). In 1953 NAS adopted the flying great egret as its emblem.

1954 Audubon buys the last great stand of bald cypress trees in Florida's Corkscrew Swamp to create the crown jewel of its sanctuary system.

When Carl Buchheister succeeded Baker in 1959, NAS entered one of the most intense series of legislative struggles in the modern conservation era.

1960 The Audubon Society begins documenting the decline of bird species, including Bald Eagles, attributing this to DDT.

In 1961 NAS formed a Nature Centers Division by merging with Nature Centers for Young America, Inc.

In 1962 NAS took the lead in the defense of marine biologist Rachel Carson, whose book, Silent Spring, touched off a furious controversy by documenting how DDT and its new sister poisons were contaminating the earth.

1969 Audubon opens a public policy office in Washington, D.C.

1972 A campaign by the Environmental Defense Fund and the National Audubon Society ends in victory when the United States Environmental Protection Agency bans the use of the insecticide DDT.

His leadership led to the 1976 Tax Reform Act, which allowed nonprofit organizations to spend up to one million dollars annually for lobbying expenditures.

1980 The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act is passed, protecting 79.5 million acres, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

1984 Audubon starts the popular new children's educational program and publication Audubon Adventures.

On June 30, 1988, NAS had an annual budget of over $32 million in place.

To meet the need for new headquarters, in 1990 NAS bought, remodeled the interior, and restored the exterior of a century-old Romanesque Revival loft building in Manhattan.

The renovated Audubon House that opened in 1992 symbolized NAS goals for conservation of both natural resources and the urban environment: it was a model of the energy-efficient, environmentally responsible workplace.

Berle was succeeded by John Flicker, who assumed the office of NAS President/CEO in 1995.

1998 Audubon holds its first-ever Great Backyard Bird Count: 14,000 people participate.

1999 Almost 50,000 participants take part in the 100th Christmas Bird Count, now the longest-running bird survey in the world.

Flicker had served 21 years with The Nature Conservancy (an organization that bought and managed wildlife habitats). Among other accomplishments, he had designed and promoted the $3 billion Preservation 2000 land-acquisition program.

2002 Audubon opens its first urban Audubon Center, in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York; the center serves 50,000 visitors annually.

2008 Toyota TogetherGreen, Audubon’s most ambitious corporate partnership, begins transforming communities and bringing new diversity to conservation.