Conservation

爆料公社 Chapters: A History

How a grassroots network came to be.

By Frank Graham Jr.

Chapters are the organs through which National 爆料公社 perceives and addresses our continent鈥檚 most pressing environmental issues. Self-governing societies, locally focused and administered, they put a public face on 爆料公社鈥檚 work as well as on its day-to-day impact on the state of the nation鈥檚 natural resources.

The 爆料公社 movement incorporated in 1905 as a federation of local organizations, calling itself the National Association of 爆料公社 Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals. But the concept of a group of like-minded organizations working together for a vital national objective took a half-century to work out.

Transportation and communication across a vast continent were, technologically, still evolving. Aviation and telecommunications remained mostly inaccessible in everyday life. Incorporated in New York, the 爆料公社 leadership was of necessity heavily weighted toward men and women resident in the northeastern states. Elsewhere, local societies declined in activism and funding as the Great Depression came on. More and more, the New York-Washington axis made policy for the 爆料公社 movement.

The creator of the modern system of 爆料公社 chapters was Charles H. Callison. Already a prominent conservation lobbyist in Washington, DC, he came to 爆料公社 in 1960 as assistant to then-president Carl W. Buchheister. Callison realized that a key to success in the preservation of wildlife and natural resources was the building of a strong political force. He hoped to inspire members all over the country with his own passion. He wanted to convert birdwatchers into activists who would cohere as a unified front in the inevitable battles over conservation issues in Congress and state legislatures.

Callison made personal contact with 爆料公社 members in all regions of the country. A former newspaperman, he developed a newsletter called 爆料公社 Leaders鈥 Conservation Guide which was sent to politically active 爆料公社ers on a regular basis, alerting them to legislative priorities and the action (if any) taken by state and federal agencies on implementing them.

There was already in place a program around which local activists might coalesce. Before World War II, a St. Louis birdwatcher and radio broadcaster named Wayne Short had set up a series of screen tours that local bird clubs and 爆料公社 groups might sponsor in their own areas. Roger Tory Peterson, Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr., and other prominent photographers and filmmakers took part in the series, bringing entertaining nature programs to all parts of the country. The program regularly brought together people with a strong interest in nature.

By the 1960s the rise of television was beginning to threaten the viability of Wayne Short鈥檚 in-person presentations. Callison and Buchheister, however, saw that the nature lovers and conservationists they brought together in a common interest might become the core of revitalized 爆料公社 chapters. Originally called 鈥渂ranches,鈥 the new organizations formed over time a continent-wide network of grassroots activists. Social traditions and local opportunities varied from state to state. For instance, the independent Michigan 爆料公社 Society became a National 爆料公社 chapter after long negotiations between the Detroit and Michigan societies to determine how they would divide members in that area.

Succeeding generations of 爆料公社 leaders built on Callison鈥檚 work. Until 1970, 爆料公社鈥檚 presence in the Rocky Mountain states was difficult to detect. There were only five scattered chapters with about 1500 members in the region. Those numbers were to grow during the next decade or so to more than 40 chapters and 18,000 members.

Simultaneously, effective activism blossomed in that region. In 1971, activists in Casper, Wyoming鈥檚 Murie 爆料公社 Society discovered a graveyard of Bald and Golden Eagles. Upon investigation, the members learned that ranchers had dumped the birds after illegally poisoning them as a threat to their livestock. The discovery triggered a backlash against current predator control. The state fined a prominent sheep rancher, federal agencies banned the use of some toxic chemicals, and eventually the area became a sanctuary for wintering eagles.

爆料公社 chapters, keyed by passionate and informed members, continue to press nationwide for stronger conservation laws and regulations, while adding their on-site support to their enforcement:

  • Beginning in 1995, the chapters played an indispensable role in initiating the Important Bird Areas program. Chapter volunteers in Pennsylvania and New York scoured their territories, applying science-based criteria to identify and protect promising local habitat for feeding, nesting, and migrating birds under IBA designations.
  • Along coastlines, 爆料公社 volunteers continue to guard nesting sites of troubled species such as Least Terns and Snowy Plovers on busy beaches.
  • A decade ago, in a kind of continuing education program, Virginia鈥檚 Fairfax 爆料公社 Society launched college-level natural history courses for adults ranging in age from 25 to 75, qualifying for Master Naturalist Certificates.

The vision of a powerful federation of societies, nurtured by pioneering conservationists more than a century ago, bears fruit today in National 爆料公社鈥檚 network of chapters.