The Audubon Ark: A History of the National Audubon Society

One of the Audubon Society's great achievements was the passage of the Migratory Bird Bill in 1913, giving the federal government responsibility for regulating the hunting of game birds and protecting other migratory species. Organized in 1886 as a small coterie opposed to the indiscriminate slaughter of birds (especially to serve the millinery trade), today the Society has more than half a million members and is a powerful lobby on environmental matters. Field editor of Audubon and author of Since Silent Spring, Graham chronicles growth and changes in the Society as he profiles its leaders and their legacies. The Audubon Society initiated the warden and sanctuary system and programs of nature education for schoolchildren; it has promoted political action and a close working relationship with federal biologists. Graham notes that Audubon became a recognized national organization in the 1940s and was a force for pesticide reform in the '60s. More than a history of the Society, this admirable book traces the expanding environmental movement in the U.S. Photos not seen by PW. (Sept.)