Sound science forms the foundation of all we do at Audubon Vermont. Whether we are educating the next generation of conservationists at the Green Mountain Audubon Center, managing the Common Terns on our sanctuaries on Lake Champlain or providing testimony to the state legislature as they deliberate on an environmental bill, we strive to use the best available science to protect our great natural heritage.

Throughout our 100-years, Audubon members and volunteers have used their skills to participate in our community science programs to gather the data that can inform our programs and positions. Today, you can participate in the Christmas Bird Count that provided Rachel Carson with the evidence she needed to write Silent Spring opening our eyes to the loss of songbirds due to the indiscriminate use of pesticides. More recently, the addition of the internet-based Great Backyard Bird Count connects people with nature and helps us gather valuable information on bird population trends.

Vermont is a special place for songbirds, water birds, raptors and other wildlife. Our forests, fields, rivers, wetlands and lakes provide habitat that host some of the highest concentration of breeding birds in the United States. Working in partnership with BirdLife International, Audubon's Important Bird Area Program is identifying the most important bird habitat and working with our chapters and partners to monitor and conserve these places.

Vermont's forests combined with our neighboring states are globally important for neo-tropical migratory songbirds. Our Forest Bird Initiative and Champlain Valley Bird Initiative are working with our Audubon partners in Maine, New Hampshire and New York to develop regional strategies tied to on-the-ground conservation activities that will maintain our forested landscape as a neotropical migratory bird nursery.