This year the Connecticut State Legislature is meeting in a “long session”. Audubon has several areas in which legislation is sought to protect birds and the places they need. Among these are legislation regarding:

• Regulating neonicotinoids for non-agricultural use

• Expanding nature based solutions

• Protecting vulnerable communities from climate change by supporting urban forestry and community interest in tree planting and maintenance, parks, and/or community gardens in densely populated areas

x us as we host Robert LaFrance, Director of Policy for Audubon Connecticut, for a discussion of these and other legislative initiatives and learn what you can do to help getting them passed. Before joining Audubon, Rob had a long career with DEEP as its legislative liaison and brings long relationships with legislators to Audubon.

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In the last 50 years, 2.9 billion breeding adult birds have been lost from the United States and Canada. To put it another way, we've lost more than a quarter of our birdlife since 1970. These findings were reported in the world's leading scientific journal, Science.

Grassland birds are hard hit, with a 53% reduction in population — more than 720 million birds. In the Northeast some species no longer breed. This decline is largely due to hayfield mowing during the weeks that species such as Savannah Sparrows, Bobolinks, and Eastern Meadowlarks are actively nesting. New England's working farmers, in particular, face financial pressures that force them to mow earlier and more frequently. To protect these grassland birds we must develop new strategies.

Margaret Fowle will discuss grassland bird ecology and some of the challenges these species face in the Northeastern US. She will present some strategies such as the Bobolink Project designed to mitigate and potentially reverse the population declines of this important suite of species.

Margaret Fowle is a conservation biologist and Program Manager with Audubon Vermont's Priority Bird and Working Lands Initiatives. Prior to coming to Audubon in 2009, Margaret coordinated Peregrine Falcon and Bald Eagle recovery efforts in Vermont. Margaret obtained her Master's degree in wildlife biology from the University of Vermont.

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