Legislating is for the Birds
6/11/20262 min
In American democracy, elected officials work for the people. That means you can be a voice for birds by reaching out to your representatives at every level of government. On the Bring Birds Back podcast, Hardy Kern explains how the American Bird Conservancy is taking legislative action for birds. Listen to the full episode in season 8 of Bring Birds Back.
Support for BirdNote is provided by Sarah Merner and Craig McKibben from Seattle, Washington, and generous listeners around the world.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJones Franklin· Host0:00
This is BirdNote. [birds chirping] In American democracy, elected officials work for the people. With the non-profit American Bird Conservancy, Hardy Kern takes action for birds by helping people reach out to lawmakers at every level of government.
Hardy Kern· Soundbite0:15
They can only act on the information that they are given by the people that they represent. So if they're not hearing anything from their constituents about how important bird conservation is, or the Endangered Species Act, or habitat preservation, then they don't know what they need to do. They don't know that that's something that their constituents care about.
Jones Franklin· Host0:36
[birds chirping] Hardy says just a few minutes of effort can go a long way.
Hardy Kern· Soundbite0:44
It only takes five or 10 calls for something to be flagged for them as important, and for a staffer to start running it up the chain and say, "This is something that we're hearing about." Even if you pick just one thing every month, even just one thing a year, and say, "This is important to me. I'm gonna speak up about it. I'm gonna send an email. I'm gonna make a call," that is going to make a difference because wildlife can't speak for itself. It's up to us to do that.
Jones Franklin· Host1:12
[birds chirping] Learn more about legislative actions that support bird conservation in season eight of our long form show, Bring Birds Back, available in your favorite podcast app and on our website, birdnote.org. I'm