On this day in Arlington history, November 22, 1922, The Audubon Society of Glencarlyn met at Curtis Hall (now known as the Glencarlyn Community Center). The society chapter met to advocate for protective legislation for birds in Virginia.
According to the Washington Times, the meeting was called to order by the Glencarlyn Chapter President, John B. Henderson, Jr. The press reported that Mr. Henderson along with neighborhood founder General [Samuel] Burdett and both urged that the state pass legislation that would protect local and migratory bird populations.
Dr. Harry C. Oberholzer of the Washington Audubon Society spoke about John James Audubon, the ornithologist who inspired the society with his realistic drawings of birds and nature. The Audubon Society had only been established a few years before in 1896. In 1901, state-level Audubon groups joined together and helped establish the Audubon Model Law to protect water birds from plume hunting—often used for fashionable ladies hats. John James Audubon’s elegant portraits of America’s birds in their natural habitats made people appreciate birds in new ways and to be concerned about them. By the 1880s, a major conservation movement had begun to take shape under his name. In 1900, the group launched the first Christmas Bird Count – an all-volunteer holiday census of bird populations.
Audubon clubs like this one in Glencarlyn began to gain support in state and federal legislatures to regulate the feather trade. It also influenced President Theodore Roosevelt to establish the first federal wildlife refuge in 1903. By 1905, the National Association of Audubon Societies was organized. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which was the strongest law to date protecting wild North American birds.
This group of Arlingtonians would likely be pleased to know that Glencarlyn is home to the Long Branch Nature Center and Park that protects and teaches students of all ages about native birds and wildlife.
