Image: Mallards, John James Audubon

Frequently Asked Questions about the Name Change

Why did we change our name to Northern Virginia Bird Alliance?

We now have a name that we feel better communicates our mission and our focus on birds! The name feels welcoming and inviting and is free of the negative associations the Audubon name raises for some people. The new name identifies people and partnerships as essential to our work. It delineates our geographic reach. And it aligns us with a nationwide network of organizations which also are adopting the Bird Alliance name. Read more about this in Libby Lyons’s August 2024 President’s Corner.

Is NVBA still a chapter of the National Audubon Society? 

Yes, we remain a chapter of the National Audubon Society. Our work alongside the 600 other organizations in the network will continue, and we will support the work of the national organization to maximize successes for birds and habitat. The problems that birds, other wildlife, and our environment face are too important for any one chapter to take on. We will continue to work together as we have since 1984, when we were incorporated as the Fairfax Audubon Society.

What other chapters of the National Audubon Society have changed their names to include “Bird Alliance”?

NVBA has adopted “Bird Alliance” as part of its new name because a substantial number of other chapters have done the same, and we want to make it clear that we are part of a national group of chapters dedicated to protecting birds and the environment. Other chapters that have adopted “Bird Alliance” include DC Bird Alliance, New York City Bird Alliance, Bird Alliance of Oregon, Golden Gate Bird Alliance, Chicago Bird Alliance, Detroit Bird Alliance, Tahoma Bird Alliance, and seven other smaller chapters.

Have NVBA’s mission and objectives changed?

Our name change does not have any impact on our organization’s mission, which is to engage all Northern Virginia communities in enjoying, conserving, and restoring nature for the benefit of birds, other wildlife, and people. To help clarify the scope of our activities, we have adopted a new motto: “Conserving and Enjoying Nature.”

Am I still a member or do I need to rejoin? 

Your membership in ASNV rolls over into NVBA. When the time comes to renew, we hope you renew on our website so that your funds go to help local issues.

You do not need to be a member to participate in our programs or events! But we do hope you will join us. Members get discounts on our program and our membership numbers help us influence local politics, raise funds, and collect higher contributions from National Audubon.

What are NVBA’s website and email address?

Our new website is nvbirdalliance.org.

Our email address is info@nvbirdalliance.org.

Will the ASNV website and email addresses still work?

Yes, the former website, audubonva.org, and the former email address, info@audubonva.org, will still work. When people log on to the former website or send an email to the former address, they will automatically be forwarded to the new website and email address.

When will new hats and totes be available?

We are working on them now and hope to have them for sale at our fall Alliance Afternoon on September 22.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Audubon Name

Who was John James Audubon?

John James Audubon was a 19th-century artist and naturalist who achieved fame for his series of paintings of North American bird species. His large-format paintings, which were printed and published in the United States and Europe between 1827 and 1838 as The Birds of America, revolutionized the ways birds were depicted in the era before photography. While Audubon did not identify as a conservationist in the modern sense of the word, he did make important contributions to the early conservation movement. Audubon lamented the destruction of wildlife and declining bird populations, noting during a trip to Labrador: “Nature herself seems perishing. . . . When no more fish, no more game, no more birds exist on her hills, along her coasts, and in her rivers, then she will be abandoned and deserted like a worn-out field.” Audubon advocated for the creation of the country’s first natural history museum and the establishment of bird sanctuaries that could provide safe spaces for birds to breed and thrive.

How did the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia get its name?

In 1896, Harriet Hemenway and Minna B. Hall founded the Massachusetts Audubon Society, dedicated to stopping the killing of birds for their plumage, which was used in women’s hats. By 1898, sixteen states had established Audubon Societies. The National Association of Audubon Societies (now the National Audubon Society) was founded in 1905. Most chapters of the National Audubon Society adopted variants of the name that reflected their location. 

What are the concerns about continuing to use “Audubon” in the names of Audubon chapters?

Despite his enormous contributions to ornithology, John James Audubon was a complex and troubling figure. He enslaved Black people. He collected human remains and sent the skulls to a colleague who used them in now-discredited research asserting that White people were superior to non-Whites. Audubon committed both scientific fraud and plagiarism by painting a bird that does not exist based on another artist’s painting and using it to stimulate interest in his The Birds of America portfolio. While these details of Audubon’s life were not well-known in the past, they have become widely-known in the past few years and have tarnished his legacy.

Although National Audubon as an institution has wide-spread recognition as an organization to conserve birds, it has become increasingly clear that many people do not know who John James Audubon was or why conservation organizations use “Audubon” in their names. As a result, the Audubon name may become less important to our mission than it has been.

Why Did NVBA change its name?

We recognize that continuing to honor John James Audubon in our chapter’s name might create a barrier for some people to engage with and join our organization. Influential Black birders and conservationists have written movingly of their struggle to deal with Audubon’s history and legacy and have advocated a change of name to remove the taint of racism from the study of birds and conservation. 

In recent years we have increased our efforts to reach out to all communities in our chapter territory through our diversity and inclusion initiatives. We believe that broadening our reach is critical to our ability to accomplish our mission of engaging all northern Virginia communities in enjoying, conserving, and restoring nature for the benefit of birds, other wildlife, and people. 

At the same time, we recognize that for many people the name “Audubon” is still synonymous with conservation. We want to acknowledge the good work many people have done in organizations across the country under the name “Audubon.”

Wasn’t Audubon just a person of his time?

Many people in the South still owned slaves when Audubon owned them, but he lived during a time when the abolitionist movement was becoming increasingly powerful. Many people and religious groups denounced slavery on moral grounds from the seventeenth century onward. All the northern states had passed legislation to abolish slavery by 1820. Britain, where Audubon traveled to promote and sell his book of paintings, abolished the slave trade in 1807 and freed all slaves in the British Empire in 1838. Audubon nonetheless made a conscious choice to own enslaved people. 

Audubon’s collection of human skulls is more difficult to evaluate. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many naturalists collected skulls as part of their scientific work. While it is now recognized that it is unethical to collect human remains without permission, many museums, including the Smithsonian Institution, have been slow to return or repatriate human remains that were collected without permission. 

Of course, Audubon’s plagiarism of another artist’s painting and his painting and promotion of a bird that did not exist were reprehensible when he was alive. 

Isn’t it better to acknowledge past wrong-doings rather than erase history?

It’s not our intent to “cancel” John James Audubon or erase history. Audubon’s The Birds of America will continue to be a vitally important part of the history of ornithology regardless of the fact that we have changed our chapters name. Our decision on whether to change our name was based on our evaluation of the best way to fulfill our mission now and in years to come.

How did NVBA decide to change its name?

The issue of whether to change our name is complex, and whatever we decide will have implications for our chapter for years to come. To help us make that decision, we sought the views of our members, donors, volunteers, community members, partners, and other organizations in the area we serve through an online survey. We closed the survey on October 15. We engaged in dialogue with community organizations throughout our chapter service area. Our Board of Directors voted to change the name. On June 9, they proposed the name Northern Virginia Bird Alliance to the membership, who approved it.

Where can I learn more?

Check out these resources to learn more about John James Audubon and the name change issue:

View our full lineup of classes, events, bird walks and more on our calendar.