by: Agung Putra

In May 2024, I joined a yearlong fellowship with Audubon Mid-Atlantic as the Delaware River Watershed Policy Fellow. The essential functions of the fellowship focused on two major components: outreach with diverse stakeholders, and extensive policy research. Throughout the course of the fellowship, I assisted in advancing Audubon Mid-Atlantic’s policy agenda through representing Audubon in various settings/forums and by contributing to state and federal legislative projects. The fellowship taught me plenty about the importance of the Delaware River Watershed and how policy is an important tool to ensure the watershed’s conservation.  

The Delaware River Watershed includes the states of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. The watershed provides clean water to 13.3 million people and serves as an economic engine for thousands in the region. It grosses more than $25 billion annually in economic activity, $21 billion annually in goods and services, and contributes to 600,000 jobs totaling $10 billion in annual wages. A healthy and thriving watershed creates robust economic activity that includes many industries such as forestry, agriculture, tourism, and outdoor recreational business. The challenges facing the Delaware River Watershed range from pollution, flooding, extreme weather patterns, and overfishing. It is important to note that these challenges vary from the upper to lower watershed.  

The parameters of the fellowship were guided by the Flight Plan. The Flight Plan lays out Audubon’s guiding vision and mission for the entire organization across the hemisphere and includes metrics on how to achieve those goals. The pillars of the Flight Plan include habitat conservation, climate action, policy, and community building. The watershed and climate work that I engaged in will help Audubon meet met these goals. Examples include leveraging public investment to create an ecosystem that promotes healthy watersheds, meeting with coalition partners to develop advocacy strategy, and taking on climate action such as elevating appropriately sited renewable energy sources which are in the best interest for birds.  

Environmental and conservation organizations like Audubon Mid-Atlantic are vital to preserving the watershed for generation to come because of the advocacy work these organizations engage in. Audubon Mid-Atlantic enjoys a broad, diverse membership in its networks that can engage in issues-based advocacy and actions to notify lawmakers on issues such as heathy and bird friendly forestry practice and renewable energy policy. Members also can participate in events hosted by Audubon such as bird outing, habitat plantings, and Birds & Brews, an event focused on informing local members on different policy impacting birds in the region coupled with tasty drinks supporting local businesses in the area. On some occasions, I would provide state and federal policy updates to our members. I attended numerous events on behalf of Audubon where I got to learn more about the local hands-on work people are doing for bird habitat, as well as the movement to influence various areas of policy like energy and conservation.  

The daily tasks and operations of the fellowship varied weekly. Frequent tasks included drafting letters to government officials, crafting factsheets on upcoming Audubon priority legislation in Harrisburg, reviewing budget/appropriations requests, collaborating with different teams on legislative projects, and attending various events including representing Audubon Mid-Atlantic at regional watershed conferences. Notable events that I attended are Clean Water Education Day in Harrisburg, Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed Annual Forum in Bethlehem, and National Audubon’s Fly-In Day in Washington D.C. Representing Audubon Mid-Atlantic in numerous settings promotes visibility which helps advance the national Flight Plan and local watershed priorities. One tangible accomplishment I am proud of is initiating and maintaining a database that includes the information of Pennsylvania state elected officials representing the Delaware River Watershed. The database is current as it is updated after elections, and contains party affiliation, district number, and the counties that are represented in the district. Representing Audubon as well as constantly engaging on projects such as these is important for advocacy and influence in policy.  

Fellowships are a great entry-level opportunity for individuals to gain insight into a specific industry. I was fortunate enough to be chosen as the first Delaware River Watershed Policy Fellow at Audubon Mid-Atlantic. It was interesting to see how this pilot fellowship can best align the mission of the National Audubon Society and its priorities, as well as, observing how Audubon Mid-Atlantic's local and regional work supports the larger hemispheric goals laid out the National Audubon Society’s Flight Plan. I learned plenty from this fellowship, and I look forward to using the skills and knowledge I gained and applying them to future career endeavors.  

Spring has arrived, and with it comes the return of millions of migratory birds to the Mid-Atlantic region. Over the next several weeks, these birds will journey back to their seasonal homes as part of the annual spring migration. However, this awe-inspiring natural phenomenon comes with challenges - especially in urban areas, where human-made infrastructure poses serious threats. 

Each migration season, tens of millions of birds fly over the Mid-Atlantic. Tragically, many are killed when they become disoriented by artificial lights at night or collide with glass surfaces they can't see. Reflective or transparent building materials can confuse birds, causing them to mistake glass surfaces for real habitats, especially when combined with trees or indoor greenery. Many migratory birds also travel at night and are especially vulnerable to artificial lighting. Bright lights from buildings can disorient them, pulling them off course and away from their natural migratory paths. 

To help reduce these risks, volunteer-led initiatives like Lights Out Philly, Lights Out Baltimore, and Lights Out DC urge property owners and businesses to turn off or shield both exterior and interior lights during peak migration season, from April 1st through May 31st. 

The impact of these efforts is substantial. In Philadelphia alone, up to 1,000 bird-building collisions can occur each year within just a four-square-block area. But simple changes such turning off lights from midnight to 6:00 a.m. during the spring migration can significantly reduce bird fatalities. In a study done on one monitored building where artificial light has been reduced the most (Atrium building in the courtyard of the BNY Mellon Center, 1735 Market St.), collisions have declined by 70% since 2020. These measures don’t just save birds - they also lower energy costs and help reduce the emission of atmospheric pollutants, providing both environmental and economic benefits. 

Want to learn more? Check out this U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service case study featuring Audubon Mid-Atlantic’s Keith Russell, which highlights the power of turning off artificial lights to prevent deadly collisions and to protect migratory birds. 

Audubon Mid-Atlantic spoke recently with Calvin Norman, who has completed the Audubon Forester Training and Endorsement Program. Calvin works with NexGen Forestry, LLC, and covers forested area in central Pennsylvania. His work encompasses 33 counties within the state, although he travels occasionally to other regions of Pennsylvania.   

What lead you to become interested in forestry?  

My interest in the field started in college, where I dual-majored in forestry. I’ve always loved working with trees, and many of our terrestrial animals rely on forested space.  

Where did your interest in bird-friendly forestry come from, and why is it important? 

Birds are charismatic, which often results in people developing close associations with birds and bird watching. Many forest-dwelling birds require dense and brushy habitat, and that this habitat can be created and maintained by foresters. This gives us an achievable goal from a forestry perspective – this work feels and looks good, and encourages people to get out into nature.  

How did you benefit from the endorsement process? Any key takeaways about wildlife management?  

The forester endorsement training helped me to meet people’s objectives with healthy forestry, and helped me to determine what will “click” for private landowners.  

How did the training influence your work? 

My work requires data to be collected on forest-dwelling birds, and the training process was straightforward and aligned with that work. I recommend the program for potentially interested foresters - the included webinars are very informative, and the process and knowledge gained during the training is very rewarding!”    

Thinking about becoming involved with the Audubon Forester Training and Endorsement Program? Read more about the program on our website and contact our Forest Program Associate, Joshua Rittenhouse (joshua.rittenhouse@audubon.org), to get started today!   

The National Audubon Society recently received a $2 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service to support the expansion of the Bird-Friendly Maple program. The investment is part of $145 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding to connect landowners to emerging climate markets. Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Maple program is a market-based approach that incentivizes maple producers to manage their sugarbushes (forests that are used to produce maple syrup) in ways that provide forest bird habitat and increase forest sustanability through unique product labeling and marketing opportunities. Biologically and structurally diverse sugarbushes offer great places for birds to forage, find cover, and raise their young. They are also likely to have better long-term sap production, fewer forest health problems, and are better able to adapt to the stresses of climate change.   

Pennsylvania is the 6th largest maple-producing state in the country. This grant enables Audubon’s Forest Program in the Mid-Atlantic to roll out Bird-friendly Maple for maple producers in our region to provide technical and habitat management expertise. Through these market-based incentives, Audubon can help maple syrup producers not only provide important habitat for declining forest birds but also provide the public with bird-friendly syrup! You can read more about the grant and the maple program here.