Date: 1/27/26 5:03 pm From: Dan Oko <danoko40...> Subject: Re: Name Change
I don't live in Arkansas and don't know the history very well, but here in
Houston we have a Houston Audubon which is not affiliated with the National
Audubon Society, and it's very confusing. There is also a Texas chapter of
National Audubon, and in the East where my father lives and works, they had
both a Connecticut Audubon and Audubon Connecticut. One was like our
Houston Audubon, entirely independent of the national group,, and the other
was eventually folded into the Tri-State Audubon Chapter. There is also
Audubon International which remains distinct from NAS. Meanwhile, after
some discussion about changing the name to make it more inclusive, since JJ
Audubon himself had some problematic views, National Audubon has kept the
name, But ultimately I think you all can see how confusing this has gotten.
Figuring out how to name independent groups and distinguish them from
national chapters I think is worthy for those working in the field, who
want to be properly credited and raise funds without all the baggage and
confusion that comes from being associated with national and regional
groups -- some of whom play well together, and some of whom are rivals when
it comes to fundraising and regional priorities.
On Tue, Jan 27, 2026 at 6:11 PM Sandy Berger <sndbrgr...> wrote:
> Historically of all these groups using the Audubon name, which entity was
> first to use it in Arkansas? This “confusion” really began when Audubon
> Arkansas came to town, if I recall correctly. I joined the Arkansas Audubon
> Society back in the 90’s. Became a life member of the Arkansas Audubon
> Society a couple of years ago. I’ve been proud to be a member of the
> Arkansas Audubon Society. And now, because of this “confusion”, all of a
> sudden it is felt that a change in name needs to be made. Honestly, I’m
> very disappointed.
> Are we really changing the name because of “confusion”, or does it have to
> do with the controversy surrounding Mr. Audubon?
>
> Thank you,
> Sandy Berger
>
> On Tue, Jan 27, 2026 at 1:02 PM Ragupathy Kannan <
> <0000013b0ad14faf-dmarc-request...> wrote:
>
>> Not really, Sandy. It is to avoid the eternal confusion between National
>> Audubon Society, Arkansas Audubon Society, Audubon Arkansas, Audubon
>> Delta, Central Arkansas Audubon Society, Northwest Arkansas Audubon
>> Society, etc etc., and everything in between!
>>
>> On Tuesday, 27 January 2026 at 12:43:21 pm GMT-6, Sandy Berger <
>> <sndbrgr...> wrote:
>>
>>
>> So basically the officers think that the Arkansas Audubon Society needs a
>> name change to get rid of the word Audubon. Is that correct?
>>
>> Sandy Berger
>>
>>
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