Portland Audubon is dropping the “Audubon.”
The local branch of the National Audubon Society announced Tuesday that it will follow a growing movement within the organization to create distance from its namesake, John James Audubon, an American naturalist who enslaved people and was an avowed supporter of slavery.
Stuart Wells, executive director of Portland Audubon, said that the organization is committed to racial equity and that a name change will allow them to fully embrace their values.
“John James Audubon’s name may mean ‘birds’ to some, but to others it means ignoring a legacy of systemic racism,” Wells said in the announcement Tuesday. “By moving away from the name, we can reduce harm and find a name that reflects the kind of environmental movement we can be proud to be a part of.”
Wells was named executive director of the organization last May, and said he would be looking at new ways to get more people into birding. He said Portland Audubon would be embarking on its own “equity and inclusion journey” as part of that process.
The organization said it will wait for the National Audubon Society to decide whether it will change its name, allowing all 450 chapters to rebrand together. Otherwise, the Portland organization will launch a renaming process of its own. The national organization has been mulling a change since 2022, when the Seattle chapter became the first to announce it was dropping “Audubon.”
Portland Audubon said its board voted on the decision in January, following a discussion with staff and other Audubon chapters.
Stuart Wells, who became the new executive director of Portland Audubon in 2022, stands in the organization’s wildlife sanctuary in Portland’s Forest Park. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
A raven perches inside an enclosure at the Portland Audubon Sanctuary, found just off the Wildwood Trail in Forest Park.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian
Dedicated to the conservation of bird populations in the U.S., the National Audubon Society was formed in 1905 as a collaboration between existing state and local Audubon organizations. The conservation movement first began in 1896, when two Massachusetts women organized teas to argue against wearing hats with bird feathers.
Audubon earned national recognition in the 19th century with his “Birds of America,” a four-volume compendium known for its vibrant, detailed illustrations of birds, as well “Ornithological Biography,” a five-volume companion piece. Audubon was born in 1785 on a sugarcane plantation in Haiti that enslaved Africans. Originally named Jean-Jacques Rabin, he moved to France as a child, where he was raised. At 18, he immigrated to America and changed his name.
As an adult, Audubon enslaved people while living in Kentucky and Mississippi. He also actively stood against the abolitionist movement, according to a history by the National Audubon Society, and never acknowledged the help he got from Black and Indigenous people in compiling his research.
Portland Audubon was founded in 1902 by William Finley, a local wildlife photographer and conservationist. Today, the organization operates out of their 172-acre bird sanctuary on the edge of Forest Park.
In an FAQ linked to the announcement Tuesday, the organization attempted to get ahead of any potential accusations of “cancel culture” with a one-line response: “We can value John James Audubon’s contributions as an artist and naturalist without bearing his name as part of our organizational identity.”
— Jamie Hale
503-294-4077; jhale@oregonian.com; @HaleJamesB
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