Audubon Society of Portland
Encyclopedia
The Audubon Society of Portland is a non-profit environmental organization
dedicated to wildlife conservancy in Portland
, Oregon
, U.S.
Founded in 1902 and incorporated in 1909, it is one of the oldest such organizations in the world.
It is named in honor of John James Audubon
, an ornithologist and naturalist who painted, cataloged, and described birds of North America in Birds of America
published in sections between 1827 and 1838.
The society
owns 150 acre (0.607029 km²) of woodland adjacent to Forest Park
, managed as a nature sanctuary and features indigenous vegetation and fauna, including a small stand of old growth timber. The sanctuary is open to the public for free.
Much of the sanctuary surrounds Balch Creek
near its headwaters and contains more than 4.5 miles (7.2 km) of hiking trails which connect to Forest Park's extensive trail system.
Within the sanctuary is a nature center containing classrooms, retail store, wildlife taxidermy exhibits, auditorium, and a wildlife care center. The care center treats injured and orphaned native wildlife utilizing professional staff and more than one hundred volunteers. More than 3,500 animals are brought to the center each year.
Displays of live educational birds are adjacent to the care center. Approximately seven birds are on display, having injuries too severe for them to live in the wild.
Currently there is a Peregrine Falcon
, Northern Spotted Owl
, American Kestrel
, Common Raven
, Great Horned Owl
, Turkey Vulture
, and a Red-tailed Hawk
.
In 2007, there were 21,615 hours volunteered to the society's efforts, including visitor reception, trail maintenance, tour guides, nature store attendant, clerical, conservation activists, and wildlife caretakers. It is one of the most highly rated charities of its kind, based on operational and organizational efficiency.
The society is frequently referred to for expertise related to practical wildlife questions
and wildlife management practices.
.
The society has long conducted letter writing campaigns to influence legislation.
They helped pass the Model Bird Law in 1903, protecting native birds from being shot and sold.
A 1925 letter writing campaign to President Calvin Coolidge successfully led to creation of Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge.
The society takes credit for helping to establish several national refuges, including William L. Finley NWR
, Three Arch Rocks NWR
, Klamath NWR
, Ankeny NWR
, Baskett Slough NWR
, and Malheur NWR
.
Environmental organization
An environmental organization is an organization that seeks to protect, analyze or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation or lobby for these goals....
dedicated to wildlife conservancy in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, U.S.
Founded in 1902 and incorporated in 1909, it is one of the oldest such organizations in the world.
It is named in honor of John James Audubon
John James Audubon
John James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats...
, an ornithologist and naturalist who painted, cataloged, and described birds of North America in Birds of America
Birds of America (book)
The Birds of America is a book by naturalist and painter John James Audubon, containing illustrations of a wide variety of birds of the United States. It was first published as a series of sections between 1827 and 1838, in Edinburgh and London....
published in sections between 1827 and 1838.
The society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
owns 150 acre (0.607029 km²) of woodland adjacent to Forest Park
Forest Park (Portland)
Forest Park is a public municipal park in the Tualatin Mountains west of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Stretching for more than on hillsides overlooking the Willamette River, it is one of the country's largest urban forest reserves...
, managed as a nature sanctuary and features indigenous vegetation and fauna, including a small stand of old growth timber. The sanctuary is open to the public for free.
Much of the sanctuary surrounds Balch Creek
Balch Creek
Balch Creek is a tributary of the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Beginning at the crest of the Tualatin Mountains , the creek flows generally east down a canyon along Northwest Cornell Road in unincorporated Multnomah County and through the Macleay Park section of Forest Park, a...
near its headwaters and contains more than 4.5 miles (7.2 km) of hiking trails which connect to Forest Park's extensive trail system.
Within the sanctuary is a nature center containing classrooms, retail store, wildlife taxidermy exhibits, auditorium, and a wildlife care center. The care center treats injured and orphaned native wildlife utilizing professional staff and more than one hundred volunteers. More than 3,500 animals are brought to the center each year.
Displays of live educational birds are adjacent to the care center. Approximately seven birds are on display, having injuries too severe for them to live in the wild.
Currently there is a Peregrine Falcon
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
, Northern Spotted Owl
Northern Spotted Owl
The Northern Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis caurina, is one of three Spotted Owl subspecies. A Western North American bird in the family Strigidae, genus Strix, it is a medium-sized dark brown owl sixteen to nineteen inches in length and one to one and one sixth pounds. Females are larger than males...
, American Kestrel
American Kestrel
The American Kestrel , sometimes colloquially known as the Sparrow Hawk, is a small falcon, and the only kestrel found in the Americas. It is the most common falcon in North America, and is found in a wide variety of habitats. At long, it is also the smallest falcon in North America...
, Common Raven
Common Raven
The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...
, Great Horned Owl
Great Horned Owl
The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...
, Turkey Vulture
Turkey Vulture
The Turkey Vulture is a bird found throughout most of the Americas. It is also known in some North American regions as the Turkey Buzzard , and in some areas of the Caribbean as the John Crow or Carrion Crow...
, and a Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...
.
In 2007, there were 21,615 hours volunteered to the society's efforts, including visitor reception, trail maintenance, tour guides, nature store attendant, clerical, conservation activists, and wildlife caretakers. It is one of the most highly rated charities of its kind, based on operational and organizational efficiency.
The society is frequently referred to for expertise related to practical wildlife questions
and wildlife management practices.
History
Portland birders created the John Burroughs Club in 1898. In 1901, birders in Astoria—Oregon's second largest city at the time—formed the Oregon Audubon Society. In 1902 the Portland group merged with them as Oregon Audubon Society. The named changed to Audubon Society of Portland in 1966 when members agreed to affiliate with the National Audubon SocietyNational Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and uses science, education and grassroots advocacy to advance its conservation mission...
.
The society has long conducted letter writing campaigns to influence legislation.
They helped pass the Model Bird Law in 1903, protecting native birds from being shot and sold.
A 1925 letter writing campaign to President Calvin Coolidge successfully led to creation of Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge.
The society takes credit for helping to establish several national refuges, including William L. Finley NWR
William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge
William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge is a natural area in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, United States. It was created to provide wintering habitat for Dusky Canada Geese. Unlike other Canada Geese, Dusky Canada Geese have limited summer and winter ranges. They nest on Alaska's Copper River...
, Three Arch Rocks NWR
Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge
Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge off the northern Oregon Coast. It is located on the central coast of Tillamook County, in the northwestern part of Oregon. It is one of six National Wildlife Refuges within the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex...
, Klamath NWR
Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges Complex
The Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex is a wildlife preserve operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service located in the Klamath Basin of southern Oregon and northern California near Klamath Falls, Oregon...
, Ankeny NWR
Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge
Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge is located in the fertile Willamette Valley of northwestern Oregon, 12 miles south of Salem. The valley was once a rich mix of wildlife habitats. Valley wetlands were once extensive, with meandering stream channels and vast seasonal marshes...
, Baskett Slough NWR
Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge
Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge is located in northwestern Oregon, 10 miles west of Salem in Polk County. Situated in open farmland near the eastern foothills of the Oregon Coast Range with the broad Willamette Valley and the Cascade Range to the east, elevations range from 185 to...
, and Malheur NWR
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is located roughly south of the town of Burns, Oregon. The refuge area is roughly T shaped with the southernmost base at Frenchglen, the left top at Malheur Lake and the right top at Harney Lake....
.
See also
- List of Oregon birds
- Chapman SwiftsChapman SwiftsChapman Swifts are a flock of Vaux's Swift, a small migratory bird, that roost in the chimney at Chapman Elementary School in Portland, Oregon, U.S. It is North America's largest concentration of Vaux's Swift....
, a migratory flock which roosts each autumn in a grade school chimney maintained by the Audubon Society of Portland