'The Age of the Environment 
Is Only Now Beginning’ 
It is with joy that | join the Illinois Audubon Society as its first 
Executive Director. 
A few words on my purposes are in order. 
First, | am hopelessly addicted to nature. My desire to ex- 
perience and learn about the natural world is insatiable. | appre- 
ciate and seek the beauty of wild birds and hope ito contribuie 
to their preservation in Illinois. 
Secondly, | want to deepen my personal involvement in con- 
servation. If environmental awareness is a fad, all | can say is “some 
fad.” | believe that the age of the environment is only now begin- 
ning, and that we have a terribly long way to travel in Illinois 
before we can say that we are living in harmony with our land. 
Finally, | am convinced that the Illinois Audubon Society has 
a unique opportunity to become our state’s leading conservation 
organization: We have the necessary resources, the solid state-wide 
membership, and the integrity that comes with seventy-five years of 
work in this area. 
What we must do now is to freshen our programs and sub- 
stantially increase membership. We especially need to reach young 
people in our programs. 
As a birder, | see our problem as one of preserving habitat— 
but this means saving not only bird preserves and wildlife sanctu- 
aries, but also open-space everywhere in our state. | look upon the 
disappearance of natural land as our primary conservation problem. 
| worry and fume about pollution, but | believe that as dan- 
gerous as it is, we eventually can lick it through science and 
technology. 
The elimination of open land is another matter. Once gone, it 
will be almost impossible to recreate. We can consiruct many won- 
derful things in our laboratories and factories—but not life and the 
delicate ecosystems that life has developed on our land. Our task 
will largely be accomplished through education, outdoor activities, 
public participation, and, to steal a phrase from theology, “witness.” 
By this | mean “witness” to the doctrine that our land is holy but 
fragile, and that we must become its steward, so that future 
Illinoisians have something left of the natural world to love and 
enjoy in their time. 
—WARREN R. DEWALT 
624 Wellner Rd. 
Naperville 60540 
