Hurricane Sandy has presented both a devastating challange and a unique opportunity. As the lead organization looking out for wildlife in the city, NYC Audubon is mobilizing a response to Sandy’s impact on birds and their habitat. And we are seizing a renewed opportunity to preserve coastal ecosystems that buffer shoreline neighborhoods. As an Audubon supporter, you know that safeguarding the City’s wild places not only protects birds, but enriches our lives by creating oases in the City for birds and people alike. I hope you will make a generous year-end donation to NYC Audubon so we can respond to the storm and advocate for restoration that addresses long-term needs for wildlife and people. With your support, we will:

Speak out to make sure that repairs at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge put the needs of birds first. That could mean rebuilding the West Pond or adapting to the storm changes with improved habitat and better wildlife-watching access. Either way, it will take concerted advocacy from people like you, who care about wildlife, to make this happen.

Organize volunteers to clear debris washed and blown onto critical shorebird habitat on Jamaica Bay, so that horseshoe crabs will be able to come ashore to spawn in the spring. The eggs crabs lay are an essential food for shorebirds migrating to their Arctic nesting grounds. Already, there has been an alarming decline in the numbers of shorebirds visiting Jamaica Bay in recent years, our research shows. And other coastal sites provide critical habitat for beach-nesting shorebirds like the endangered piping plover.

Pressure government agencies, on your behalf, to clean up a deluge of oil and chemical contamination not seen in decades and mitigate its damage to wildlife. 

Undertake a study on the effects of the storm-related pollution on waterbirds. We will be able to compare the results against the baseline developed from our ongoing research on toxic contamination in American oystercatchers in the harbor. 

 

 

To make your tax-deductible donation, please visit our secure website. If you would like to make a contribution by phone, please call 212-691-7483.