President's Letter, December 2024

Wow, this has really been a fall to forget! Two hurricanes that were headed straight to Tampa veered and side-swiped us. The effects of the near-misses were bad enough, including devastation of the coastal areas, flooding streams, river banks, and neighborhoods, downed trees everywhere crashing into homes and businesses, and days of power outages. Many people, families with children, the elderly, and the poor greatly impacted. Our community workers, the electrical companies, and our friends and neighbors helped us. But it’s been hard.

And then add the trauma of the presidential and other political office elections. Double wow. Leading up to the day, we were bombarded by ugly and misleading ads and disturbing news. Anxiety was so high. And then came the result.

Now we must find a way to cope with a new order that does not consider some things valuable to us Audubon-type, conservation-type thinkers.

How do we do that? I have been struggling to find a way myself. Here are some of my early thoughts.

We must rely on ourselves. We will trust in science-based information. We shall persist in our thoughtful and generous approach, finding positive common-sense solutions to common problems. We will not be overtaken by conspiracy nonsense. We will seek credible information and base our responses on best practices.

I have always believed that Americans are basically an exceedingly good and giving people. And as Audubon members, we have self-identified as particularly on the side of the birds and wildlife, for open spaces, green fields, healthy forests, clean water and air, naturally flowing rivers and streams, fish-filled lakes and ponds, and beautiful coasts and bays. We are so lucky to live in Hillsborough County, where we have a very special combination of ecosystems and significant wildlife populations living with us.

When we count our blessings – and now is a particularly good time to do that! – we can also include that we have a Tampa Audubon Society to speak for these natural features of our area, to provide us with meetings and field trips with fellow Audubon folks, and to give us some activities that make a difference to protect the spaces and places and birds and animals that we love.

So come to our meetings, join us as we seek birds on field trips, and participate in our conservation and education activities. Because it’s fun, it’s mentally healthful, and together we can do a lot for our region’s future.

Thanks for being part of this Tampa Audubon recovery plan – my personal one and perhaps yours as well!