THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 
Published Quarterly by the 
ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 
Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Ill. 60605 
imber 154 
June 1970 
lintl= 
PRG Eesti D:ENifees 
PAGE 
by RAYMOND MOSTEK 
r eight years now, we have contributed to this quarterly journal. We have 
mmented on the environment, on conservation issues and problems, and 
» have rendered some judgment on our progress or lack of it as a society 
d as a civilization. For eight years we have sought to give this society a 
sorous, bold and dynamic leadership, while responding to the almost 75 
ars of our heritage. 
At our annual meeting in Ed- 
wrdsville, I not only stepped down 
ym the post I have held since 
62, but I stepped down from the 
ard of directors, where I have 
Id a seat since 1951. 
As we move into a new decade, 
d new IAS leadership, it is well 
look back and see where we 
ve been. When I first joined the 
ciety in 1948, we had a total mem- 
rship of but 225. It had been over 
00 in the early 1920s but de- 
essions, wars and further urban- 
ition of the land changed the sit- 
tion. When I assumed the presi- 
ney, our membership had grown 
545, and now as I leave, it is at 
2,000 mark. We trust that the 
xt president can double that fig- 
e. I have always been convinced 
that our Audubon “market” is a 
great one; if only we try harder to 
bring our story to the people, we 
can easily increase our member- 
ship rolls, especially now that there 
is greater concern over the environ- 
ment. 
The early 1950s saw the re-birth 
of the Audubon movement in the 
state. In 1951, Leroy Tunstall organ- 
ized the DuPage Audubon Society, 
andsin. 19025 Mrs, Cok. sRussell sof 
Decatur organized a new Audubon 
club in her home town. I was asked 
in 1953, by the late chairman of the 
Chicago Conservation Council, Dr. 
R. M. Strong, if I would organize a 
state coalition of conservation clubs. 
This we did in 1954, and the Nat- 
ural Resources Council of Illinois 
was born. It exists to this day, and 
