Audubon Society of Portland: A Century of Protecting Native Birds
Protecting wild birds from wanton destruction is a cause that reaches back to Audubon Society of Portland’s founding more than a century ago. The Articles of Incorporation for the Oregon Audubon Society (now Audubon Society of Portland) stated that the purpose of the Society was “To use any and all means for the protection of the wild birds and animals of the State of Oregon and elsewhere….” The first major undertaking of Oregon Audubon Society after is founding in 1902, was the passage of the Oregon Model Bird Protection Act. The Act, passed by the Oregon legislature in 1903, had as its primary objective the protection of non-game birds and ending trade in bird feathers and plumes, a mainstay of woman’s fashion at that time which was decimating many species of wild birds including most notably the great egret.
Early Audubon education efforts focused primarily on promoting the Model Bird Act. In 1907, Oregon Audubon sent every woman listed in “Portland’s Blue Book” a pamphlet describing how the plumes commonly found on their hats and clothing were gathered in “bloody destruction of whole bird colonies, with fledglings left to starve in the nest.” In 1909, Oregon Audubon President, William Finley was awarded $46 for reporting Portland millinery firms for selling egret plumes. Oregon Audubon also began outreach programs to agricultural interests to promote the important role that birds play in controlling insect and rodent populations.
At the same time, Oregon Audubon played a pivotal role in promoting enforcement of the Model Bird Act. In 1904 Oregon Audubon raised $150 to pay the wages of two state game wardens sent to patrol Klamath area (prior to its establishment as a National Wildlife Refuge) nesting colonies. After both Klamath and Malheur were designated as National Wildlife Refuges in 1908, Oregon Audubon teamed up with the National Audubon Society to fund wardens at both refuges and to purchase a patrol boat for the Klamath named “Grebe.” These efforts showed quick results. In 1910, Finley reported that market and plume hunting has ceased in the lake basins of Southeast Oregon and only a single arrest was made in Portland for exhibiting illegally collected egret plumes. In 1912, Finley reported that after “searching for a number of years” he had located the lone egret colony in the Klamath Basin to survive the ravages of the plume hunters. In 1918 the Society’s efforts to protect wildlife were extended beyond birds when it offered a $500 rewards to stop the illegal poaching of antelope which by that time had been reduced to a few remnant herds in Oregon.
In the second decade of the 20th Century, Federal Laws began to catch up with efforts to protect birds at the state level. In 1913, Oregon Senators George Chamberlain and Harry Lane introduced and guided the passage of a tariff measure that prohibited the importation of wild bird plumage and skins into the United States. In 1918, Oregon Audubon hailed the passage of the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act which established Federal protections for hundreds of wild bird species as “The most important single act in the protection of birds.”
Today we build upon this legacy of bird protection. In 1996, we established a Migratory Bird Protection Fund to offer rewards to individuals reporting violations of bird protection laws in the Portland Metro Area. This past year we expanded this program to encompass the entire State of Oregon. More recently we have focused in on increasing State and Federal penalties associated with illegal killing of protected bird species (see accompanying article). For more than a century the members of Portland Audubon and its predecessor, Oregon Audubon, have led the charge to protect wild birds—With your help we will continue to ensure that birds are adequately protected and bird killers are brought to justice.
Adapted from “Audubon Society of Portland: Our First 50 Years 1902-1952 by Tom McAllister.
