Dear Members and Friends,

Throughout its long and proud history, New Jersey Audubon has experienced tremendous and exciting growth, as it endeavors to conserve ecological diversity. In 2009, as our five-year Master Plan was winding to a close, New Jersey Audubon’s Board of Directors mandated a new strategic planning process that would guide the organization toward its next threshold. Months of self-assessment combined with input from members, volunteers and conservation partners helped define our goals of protecting natural systems, engaging and reconnecting people with nature, exemplifying sound conservation principles, and fostering nature as a means to enhance the quality of life for all New Jersey residents. Objectives and strategies to achieve these goals were set in place, and a new, more simplified vision statement for our organization emerged: New Jersey Audubon is working to Make New Jersey a Better Place for People and Wildlife since 1897.

As you will discover in the pages of the 2009 Annual Report, the groundwork for implementing the directives of our plan are well underway. We continue to stand up for what New Jersey residents believe in, supporting an open space referendum question that allowed voters to invest in the preservation of our environmental heritage. Throughout 2009, we advocated for laws that encourage the protection of our native forests, penalize those who would intentionally damage sensitive lands in the Pine Barrens, and expand and enhance preserved natural areas in our state. Years of conservation leadership culminated in 2009 with the preservation 360-acre farm our new Wattles Stewardship Center in Warren County.

Working to increase environmental literacy among New Jersey residents and visitors is a fundamental focus of our strategic plan. Center activities, outreach programs and ecotourism all shape attitudes, fostering responsible human behavior toward natural systems and inspiring conservation leadership. New Jersey Audubon’s education efforts touch all citizens, from school children, teachers, scouts and other civic groups to farmers, legislators, corporate leaders and conservation colleagues.   

A global perspective is increasingly important in New Jersey Audubon’s wildlife research, providing a deeper understanding of the continued decline of migratory shorebirds and their connection to Delaware Bay. Early in 2009, our team focused its efforts in Suriname and French Guiana, conducting surveys that will guide shorebird conservation in both North and South America. Back home, our radar studies provided insightful data on migratory bird and bat collisions with tall structures, such as wind turbines and communication towers. We continued our research at civilian and military airbases, working to develop sound land management practices that will reduce avian collisions with aircrafts while improving conditions for breeding grassland birds. And we continued investigating the significance of wetlands in avian ecology, conducting surveys in the uniquely rich and diverse urban landscape of the Hackensack Meadowlands.

The conservation, education and research core of New Jersey Audubon’s mission remains stronger than ever. Our staff is both inspired and reinvigorated by the directives and goals of a strategic plan that each member has had a hand in crafting. In essence, the collective vision of some of our state’s brightest and most impassioned conservation advocates now serves as a blueprint for the future of this organization. As always, our success is a reflection of the unified commitment and financial investment of our members and friends. Thank you for your continued support.

Thomas J. Gilmore
President and CEO