WHEREAS,  2018 has been designated the Year of the Bird by National Geographic, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society and more than 100 other organizations; and

WHEREAS,  the Year of the Bird marks the centennial of the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the most powerful and important bird protection law ever passed; and

WHEREAS,  migrant bird species play an important economic role in our State, controlling insect pests and generating millions in recreational dollars statewide; and

WHEREAS,  the Stanton Bird Club of the Lewiston-Auburn area has been devoted to stimulating an interest in birds, maintaining Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary, a 450-acre sanctuary in Lewiston, and inculcating a love of nature and science through its outreach to school children and adults alike; and

WHEREAS,  the Auburn Public Library has been a resource for the City of Auburn and the surrounding communities for over 125 years with a mission of engaging, enlightening and enriching the community; and

WHEREAS,  the Auburn Public Library in partnership with the Stanton Bird Club is celebrating the Year of the Bird with programs designed to focus public awareness on the importance of migratory bird conservation and habitat protection as well as on the need to take steps to mitigate environmental threats along migratory bird routes and to their summer and winter homes; now, therefore, be it