“The Board of Directors of the National Audubon Society (NAS) today announced that it has decided to retain the name of the organization… North America has lost three billion birds since 1970. Birds act as early-warning systems about the health of our planet, and they are telling us that birds—and our planet—are in crisis. Based on the critical threats to birds that NAS must urgently address and the need to remain a non-partisan force for conservation, the Board determined that retaining the name would enable NAS to direct key resources and focus towards enacting the organization’s mission.”

Dr. Elizabeth Gray, CEO of the National Audubon Society, commented, “We are at a pivotal moment as an organization and as a conservation movement. The urgency of our climate and biodiversity crises compels us to marshal our resources toward the areas of greatest impact for birds and people. This means centering equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging values into our programmatic work, as well as our internal operations, and implementing our new five-year Strategic Plan. Regardless of the name we use, this organization must and will address the inequalities and injustices that have historically existed within the conservation movement. I am confident that, like birds, the Audubon of tomorrow can be a powerful unifier and force for conservation.”

The Seattle chapter stated: “We are shocked, confused, and deeply disappointed by today’s announcement from the National Audubon Society that their organizational namesake will continue to elevate an enslaver who committed scientific fraud and plagiarism, and desecrated Indigenous burial sites in service to racist pseudoscience.’Its members tweeted that Gray told them in a staff Zoom call that three board members resigned immediately after the board’s decision. The society didn’t release the board members’ names but by Thursday, three directors had been removed from its leadership website: Sara Fuentes, Erin Geise and Stephen Tan, a board vice chair.The union of society employees changed its name in February from “Audubon for All,” to “The Bird Union.”