News Release 2005 June 3

June 3, 2005 -- Little Rock, AR. Kay Kelley Arnold, vice president of Public Affairs for Entergy Corporation, was awarded the National Audubon Society’s Rachel Carson Award at the Second Annual “Women in Conservation” awards ceremony in New York held June 1 at the Metropolitan Club. The luncheon was attended by more than 300 supporters, and hosted by Carol Browner, National Audubon Society’s Board Chairwoman and John Flicker, President of the National Audubon Society.

Mrs. Arnold was cited for dedicating her personal and professional life to advancing community-based conservation and environmental education.

As a young lawyer, Mrs. Arnold, as a member of then-Governor Bill Clinton’s cabinet, worked to protect endangered species and habitats for the state of Arkansas. In the 1990s, she assumed national responsibility when she was appointed to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Board by Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt.

As Vice President of Public Affairs for Entergy, Mrs. Arnold manages a corporate giving program and charitable foundation that last year awarded environmental grants to 23 organizations nationwide, as well as numerous smaller grants through state giving programs. In addition, Mrs. Arnold oversees employee volunteer efforts, which last year, represented over 14,000 hours of work. Entergy is one of only three utilities in the United States named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

Mrs. Arnold sets a stellar personal example too. Her expansive volunteer work has earned her induction into the Outdoor Hall of Fame, as well as the President’s Public Service Award. She has given much of her time to many conservation organizations including: the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation; The Nature Conservancy’s Arkansas Field Office; the Delta Land Trust; Keep Arkansas Beautiful; the Arkansas Museum of Science and History; the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission; and, the National Wildlife Federation’s President’s Council.

In the 1980s, Mrs. Arnold began the effort that acquired and protected the bottomland hardwood forests surrounding the Cache River in Arkansas. From the first deal that acquired a 380-acre parcel, today the refuge holds 55,000 acres and something far more valuable still – the Ivory-billed Woodpecker!

Other recipients of the National Audubon Society’s Rachel Carson Awards who were honored include: Bernadette Castro, Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, state of New York; Dr. Mae Jemison, founder of the Jemison Group, Inc., which has been involved in projects to harness solar energy for electricity in West Africa since 1993; and Margaret Wittenberg, vice-president of Marketing and Public Affairs, Whole Foods Market and a nationally recognized expert on sustainable, organic agriculture and the environment.

History of the Founding of the Rachel Carson Awards
In 2004, Carol Browner, the first woman to head the EPA became the first woman to chair the board of the National Audubon Society. The same year Audubon established the Rachel Carson Awards to honor women’s roles in conservation.

The Audubon Society was founded by Harriet Hemenway of Boston who in 1896 enlisted her friends to put a stop to the slaughter of birds in the name of fashion. Bird plumes, and even entire birds, were adorning women’s hats across the country. Mrs. Hemenway and her friends recruited their husbands and influential acquaintances to take up the cause. A year later, these ladies had built a groundswell of opposition to the wearing of bird plumes, and had founded the fledgling Audubon Society. By 1910, what had begun with a ladies’ tea had transformed into an organization that had helped to outlaw the slaughter of birds.

A half-century later Rachel Carson sparked the modern environmental movement with the publication of her landmark book “Silent Spring” in 1962. Carson opened the world’s eyes to the damage being inflicted on life by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. She revealed how DDT specifically, was affecting more than its intended targets, by working its way up the food chain where it was decimating bird populations in particular. Even as a highly respected scientist and best-selling author, Carson’s findings were castigated in certain quarters. Carson stood her ground however, and her findings were vindicated. Rachel Carson did not live to see the banning of DDT. But her legacy and that of Mrs. Hemenway live on in the four women honored by the National Audubon Society.

Today, the National Audubon Society is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. Our growing network of community based Audubon Centers, grass-roots science programs for bird enthusiasts, and advocacy on behalf of ecosystems sustaining important bird populations engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in positive conservation experiences. Audubon Arkansas was established in 2001 as the 25th state field office of the National Audubon Society. Audubon in Arkansas is supported by 3,400 members and nine affiliated chapters state wide.

The Audubon Mission: To conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity.