National Audubon Society’s local chapter changes name after membership vote. Here’s why

New Hope Audubon, the Triangle chapter of the National Audubon Society bird conservation group, changed its name Thursday after a majority membership vote.

Its new name is the New Hope Bird Alliance.

The name better reflects the group’s focus: “birds, their protection and the joy they bring,” group president Carol Hamilton said in a press release. The group has already revised its logo and updated its website with its new name (though its web address is still newhopeaudubon.com as of Friday).

This name change distances the group from its namesake naturalist, a slaveholder who opposed emancipation and desecrated Native American graves.

Across the country, 25 local chapters have voted to change their name, and 13 of which chose to include Bird Alliance, according to New Hope.

How the Triangle birding group changed its name

The group asked its members to consider the name change last month, even though the National Audubon Society announced last year it would keep its century-old name despite its racist origins. (The group did commit to a $25 million fund to expand diversity, equity and inclusion work both within the organization and in its conservation efforts.)

A sub-committee of the Board of Directors has been meeting for the past year to organize this effort, agree on a new name, plan a vote and formulate a rebranding strategy.

The New Hope Bird Alliance is, so far, the only local organization in North Carolina to change its name, the group says. Local chapters in Washington DC, Chicago and Detroit have also removed “Audubon” from their groups’ names.

The Triangle’s local chapter will still be affiliated and receive the same support and connectivity with the National Audubon Society and Audubon North Carolina as they did before their name change, the organization’s press release says.

For frequently asked questions about New Hope’s name change proposal and decision, visit newhopeaudubon.org/blog.

Next steps for NC birding group to change name

Here’s what lies ahead in the group’s rebranding efforts, communications chair Theresa Rizzuto told The N&O:

• Communicate vote results to members via email and social media

• Update and submit our articles of incorporation (resides with the secretary of state)

• Notify all of the partner organizations we work with and the broader community

• Update IRS 501(c)(3)

• Purchase a new domain name and route all direct website traffic to the new URL

• Update our logo across all brand collateral, including brochures, pamphlets and signage

• Begin work with a designer to create a new logo and merchandise

The group will “look back in six months to take note of how the new name has bolstered growth within the organization and how it’s strengthened partnerships,” along with any reflections on the journey, Rizzuto said.

What NC bird group members say

The New Hope Bird Alliance posted eight quotes from the Triangle’s conservation community on their Facebook page in April after proposing the group’s name change.

Here are some of the quotes featured in that post:

▪ “This action is such an honorable and embracing way to acknowledge the dimensions of exclusion and pains that so many have experienced throughout the history of our country. We support the need for change. Nature is so nurturing, the sounds of birds evoke peace and to be in their presence is healing,” said Delphine Sellars, Executive Director of Urban Community AgriNomics

▪ “The collective desire for an inclusive and safe space for all people to connect with nature, birds and each other is only growing. There’s no better time than now to make this change,” said Morgan Reisinger, co-founder of the Feminist Bird Club Durham

▪ “The rebranding ... reflects the priority that this organization holds in creating a more inclusive space for all who enjoy nature and birds,” said Lauren D. Pharr, co-founder of Field Inclusive Inc.

NC bird name changing efforts

The New Hope Bird Alliance’s name change comes in the midst of other birding and conservation groups rethinking their naming methods.

The American Ornithological Society, the worldwide birding organization that standardizes bird names across the Americas, announced in January it will rename all species of birds that have been named after people.

This will impact at least 10 species of birds that spend all or part of their year in North Carolina, AOS spokesperson David Ringer told The N&O earlier this year.

This decision stemmed from an AOS committee formed in 2021 to determine harmful English bird names and consider how to rename the birds with lasting impact.

AOS highlighted the bird now known as the Thick-billed Longspur, formerly called the McCown’s Longspur. The group changed this bird’s name in 2020. McCown served as a general in the Confederate Army and “is perceived today by many as a symbol of slavery and racism,” AOS wrote.

Staff reporter Josh Shaffer contributed to this story.

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