CT State of the Birds 2020 to Look In-depth at How the Pandemic is Affecting Conservation

November 25, 2020 — We are set to release our annual Connecticut State of the Birds report on Thursday, December 3. The 2020 report is titled “Pandemic: Conservationists scramble in the field, the lab, and the legislature.”

It is the first in-depth look at how the coronavirus lockdown has affected conservation in the state.

Bird conservation and research didn’t stop when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March. But they were affected in ways big and small, usually for the worse but in some cases creating opportunities for conservationists to adapt and make the best of a bad situation.

Connecticut Audubon reached out to a diverse group of experts in conservation, ornithological research, government relations, and habitat management. The result is a Connecticut State of the Birds 2020 report that examines how the pandemic affected work in the field, in the research arena, and in the halls of government.

This year’s report features articles by Scott Kruitbosch of the Roger Tory Peterson Research Institute; Sam Apgar and Eliza Grames, UConn Ph.D., candidates; Professor Chris Elphick of UConn’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Tykee James, National Audubon’s coordinator of government affairs; Amy Paterson, executive director of the Connecticut Land Conservation Council; and Jim Arrigoni, a member of Connecticut Audubon’s habitat management staff.

Connecticut Audubon members should be receiving theirs in the mail any day now.

This annual release event/news conference will be at 7 p.m., Thursday, December 3, via Zoom this year. You’re welcome to log on and hear directly from the authors.