Safina, Audubon's Vice President for Marine Conservation and founder of Audubon Living Oceans, has dedicated his life to elevating the public profile of marine and fisheries issues. He is the author of the acclaimed Song for the Blue Ocean, and a regular contributor to Audubon magazine. Carl has received generous support for his work from the country's leading foundations, among them the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts. He is currently working on a book about albatrosses. Not only did Christmas Bird Count celebrate its 100th year, but it also converted 100 years of data into an electronic format readily available online through BirdSource.
Users can now access historical trend data on any bird species anywhere on the continent.
Other recent initiatives include a new partnership with BirdStudies Canada to increase the number of participants in Canada, and expansion of the BirdSource database to include the entire Western Hemisphere. Among this year's major achievements were the naming of Audubon as the official US Partner Designate of BirdLife International, the organization that initiated the first IBA programs in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and the development and implementation of innovative web-based communications vehicles. A key element of Audubon's Bird Conservation Program, Important Bird Areas are one of the world's top bird conservation tools. The online IBA Site Directory provides a summary of the site information for each IBA through the BirdSource database. This directory allows rapid publishing and updating of IBA information, development of IBA monitoring methods, and comparison of IBAs across the United States.