When: Thursday, November 2, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Where: Virtual
Members: $10
Non-members: $15
Join us for an author event and learn about the man behind the ground-breaking, 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It’s one of the country’s first and most important conservation laws and has saved billions of birds.
Will McLean Greeley will provide an overview of his new biography, A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington: Senator George P. McLean, Birdman of the Senate. This is the story of how Connecticut’s George P. McLean helped establish lasting legal protections for birds, overseeing passage of the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act, landmark conservation legislation that is still in effect today. Greeley, McLean’s great-great-nephew, puts McLean’s victory for birds in the context of his distinguished forty-five-year career marked by many acts of reform during a time of widespread corruption and political instability.
David Allen Sibley, author and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds, writes of the book: “On one level this is a fascinating, and thoroughly researched, glimpse into the workings of US politics in the early twentieth century. On another level it’s an inspiring story of one man’s determination and steadfast commitment to securing legal protections for birds. I am glad to know more about George McLean.” A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington was published by the Rochester Institute of Technology Press in March 2023.