Red Knots and shorebirds along the Atlantic coast. Video: Shutterstock
Protecting Coastal Habitats
Audubon’s coastal work focuses on the most threatened and iconic bird species that rely on coastal habitats—estuaries, islands, beaches, and the marine environment—throughout the hemisphere.
What We’ll Do; Who We’ll Reach
We have a clear idea of what milestones we’ll need to reach to effectively protect shorelines and coastal habitats. Here’s a snapshot.
- 10,000 Volunteers enlisted to support conservation at 500 priority sites
- 300,000 Acres of coastal wetlands and marshes where we will implement and influence climate adaptation strategies
- $18-20 million Annual budget range to reach full potential
An Audubon volunteer collects trash at North Carolina’s Wrightsville Beach. Photo: Bonnie-Jeanne
Deploying Volunteers to Protect Coasts
Audubon will mobilize our network to advocate for increased protections for seabirds, shorebirds, and coastal habitats, as well as funding for coastal conservation.
Oil encroaching on a Brown Pelican rookery during breeding season in Barataria Bay, Louisiana. Photo: J Henry Fair
Crafting Policies to Keep Coasts Resilient
Audubon will strengthen coastal safeguards and land-management policies to protect and promote resilient, high-quality coastal habitats. We will also advance public policies to better manage coastal forage fisheries that are critically important food sources to coastal birds. And we will push for policies that reduce threats to seabirds and shorebirds from oil and gas development and shipping accidents on the Arctic coast and in adjacent marine waters.
Piping Plover. Photo: Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark
Using Technology to Expand Our Knowledge
Invest in expanding our partnerships with top bird science organizations and experts. Strategic partnerships allow us to focus our time on opportunities that have the highest impact, while also extending our scientific expertise and influence in specialized topics and state-of-the-art methodologies.
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Piping Plover
Charadrius melodus
- 10 Percent of Atlantic Piping Plovers that winter in Joulter Cays, the Bahamas
- 75 Piping Plover pairs nesting on the Great Lakes
- 100,000+ Acres in the newly designated Joulter Cays National Park
Scientists scan the intertidal area of the beach in Joulter Cays, Bahamas. Photo: Camilla Cerea/Audubon
Bahamas
Protecting Shorebird Habitat Throughout Their Lifecycles
In the Bahamas, Audubon is securing critical migration and wintering sites for the Piping Plover and other endangered shorebirds from the United States and Canada through science, policy, and community economic development.
Protect Birds Beyond National Boundaries
Our recent work together will protect wintering grounds in the Bahamas for Piping Plovers. We are also revolutionizing bird and nature tourism in the Bahamas—so far we’ve trained 70 bird guides, which empowers local people.
