The Audubon Council of New York State, composed of 27 NY chapters, met for their spring meeting in Glens Falls at the end of April. Twenty-five chapters were in attendance for the weekend-long meetings, including guests from Pennsylvania and Vermont Audubon chapters, making it one of our largest Council meetings in recent years. It was also a wonderful opportunity to honor some special awardees.

We capped off a busy Saturday of speakers and field trips with our Annual Awards Dinner, where we were extremely honored to give the much deserved Norm Stotz Award to our own June Summers of Genesee Valley Audubon Society, for her tireless work with Audubon over the years. Ruth Lundin of Audubon Community Nature Center in Jamestown, our worthy 2017 recipient, was able to belatedly receive her award in person this year. Congratulations to June and Ruth for all they do toward the Audubon mission!

The awards portion of the event was keynoted by this year’s Hoyt Award Honoree, Senator Tom O’Mara, for his commitment to NY’s environment, most notably his work to fully fund the Environmental Protection Fund and establish the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act. Read more about O’Mara and this recognition here.

Thank you to the Audubon chapter leaders from around our network who share their passion for birds and wildlife through their work and participation in the Audubon Council for NYS. To find your local Audubon chapter, follow this link.