The generosity of the Cullman Foundation continues to allow Northern New York Audubon to distribute monies to fund projects occurring in the Adirondack, Champlain or St. Lawrence region of Northern New York or be beneficial to bird species that occur in that region. Eligibility includes, but is not limited to, environmental organizations, teachers, graduate students, and research project managers.
Joseph & Joan Cullman Conservation Grants
Who Are Joseph and Joan Cullman?
Joseph and Joan Cullman owned the Kildare Club just north of Tupper Lake and loved the Adirondacks with a respect bordering on reverence. The chairman of Phillip Morris, Inc. from 1957-1970, Joseph F. Cullman 3rd believed that a capitalistic, democratic society depends in many ways on its citizens’ dedication to philanthropy. An admirer of Teddy Roosevelt, Joseph Cullman took great pride in his work as a conservationist. The range and magnitude of his generosity to conservation causes boggles the mind. He helped start the World Wildlife Fund and The Atlantic Salmon Federation. A hunter who went on an African safari nearly every year, he co-founded Conservation Force, an organization in Tanzania that has built 26 schools, 6 medical dispensaries and operates anti-poaching teams to protect elephants and other wildlife. He endowed the Joseph F. Cullman Library of Natural History at the Smithsonian as well as the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Professorship in Wildlife, Ecology and Biodiversity at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He contributed handsomely to The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of Art, The Jewish Museum, American Public Television, New York City Council on the Environment, The Committee to Protect Journalists, Women’s’ Sports Foundation, New York City Audubon Society, The Neurosciences Institute at Rockefeller University, the New York Restoration, The New 42nd Street — the list goes on and on.
Cullman Grant Recipients
| Year | Title | Recipients | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | AIC Bird Feeding Station Enhancements | Adirondack Interpretive Center | $700 |
| 2021 | Native Trees and Shrubs to Enhance Songbird Habitat on the Ausable River | Ausable River Association | $2500 |
| 2021 | An Investigation into the Vulnerability of Stream/Riparian Communities to Road-Salt Pollution Within the Adirondack Park | Jesse Rock/ Paul Smith’s College | $2416 |
| 2021 | Understanding Mechanisms of Avian Community Change around Residential Development | Wildlife Conservation Society | $1250 |
| 2021 | Feeling Blue: The Impact of Nest Parasites on Eastern Bluebird Fitness | Dr. Alyssa Gleichsner/ SUNY Plattsburgh | $2500 |
| 2021 | Understanding Mechanisms of Avian Community Change around Residential Development | Adirondack Watershed Insitute | $1250 |
| 2021 | Avian Surveys, Habitat Enhancement, and Improving Public Awareness of Birds at the Hart’s Falls Preserve in Canton, NY | St. Lawrence Land Trust | $2300 |
| 2021 | Love Your Lake: Drivers of Change, Loons and Fish in Protected Watersheds | SUNY ESF Adirondack Ecological Center | $2500 |
| 2020 | Assessing the Impact of Prey Abundance and Composition on Dichotomous Mating Strategies in the White-throated Sparrow | Nicholas Gabry: Indiana State University | $2450 |
| 2020 | Advancing Riparian Restoration in the Ausable River Watershed | Carrianne Pershyn: Ausable River Association | $2500 |
| 2020 | Planting Natives for Birds and Community | Lake Placid Land Conservancy | $2475 |
| 2020 | Project Bobolink: Grassland Bird Conservation at Heaven Hill Farm | Michale Glennon | $2500 |
| 2020 | Developing Capacity for Boreal Bird Monitoring at Shingle Shanty | Stephen Langdon | $2500 |
| 2020 | Lakes for Loons - A Loon-Friendly Lake Certification Program for the Adirondacks | Nina Schoch | $2500 |
| 2020 | Early Morning Birding on Wild Walk | The Wild Center | $1350 |
| 2019 | Avian Behavioral and Spatial Patterns in a Disease-Impacted Adirondack Forest | Ravyn Neville | $2,340 |
| 2019 | Adirondack Fishing Line Recycling Program | Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation | $2,500 |
| 2019 | Habitat Change vs Human Behavior: Understanding Mechanisms of Avian Community Change around Residential Development | Dr. M. Glennon/Adirondack Watershed Institute | $2,500 |
| 2019 | Adirondack Wildlife Internship | Adirondack Wildlife, Inc. | $1,250 |
| 2019 | Integrating automated acoustic monitoring devices into long‐term boreal‐bird monitoring | Steven Langdon | $1,700 |
| 2019 | Birding and Orienteering Equipment Request | Northern Forest Institute | $1,000 |
| 2019 | Wild Watch! Birding on Wild Walk | The Wild Center | $1,000 |
| 2018 | Advancement of Paul Smith’s College Educational Wildlife Collection and Museum | Benjamin Wrazen | $1,000 |
| 2018 | Birdsbesafe: Is a novel cat collar more effective at stopping cats from killing birds at high latitudes? | Dr. Susan Willson | $1,200 |
| 2018 | Birdsafe Adirondacks, Phase I | Jorie Favreau | $2,500 |
| 2018 | Spatial Habitat Use and Behavior of Birds in Forests Infected with Beech Bark Disease | Ravyn Neville | $2,400 |
| 2018 | Keynote Lecture Series at the Great Adirondack Birding Celebration | Paul Smith's College VIC | $1,500 |
| 2018 | Alpine plants as indicators of climate change | Adirondack Mountain Club | $1,900 |
| 2017 | Adirondack Pollinator Project | The Wild Center | $2,000 |
| 2017 | Boreal Bird Point Count Training Program for surveys at Shingle Shanty Preserve | Steven Langdon | $2,900 |
| 2017 | Survey of Moth Diversity at the Paul Smith's College VIC | Janet Mihoc | $1,075 |
| 2017 | Summer Naturalist Educators | Adirondack Mountain Club | $2,050 |
| 2017 | Design and Fabrication of a permanent exhibit about Common Loons for the Audubon Loon Center | Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation | $2,000 |
| 2017 | Golden-winged warbler population survey | Dr. Tom Langen | $2,500 |
| 2017 | Paul Smith's College VIC Great Adirondack Birding Festival Keynote Speaker--Phillip Hoose | Paul Smith's College VIC | $1,500 |
| 2016 | Boreal Studies Award--Long-term study of polymorphic supergene in the white-throated sparrow | Dr. E.M. Tuttle & Dr. Rusty A. Gosner | $1,900 |
| 2016 | Avian Outreach Award--Birds of the Champlain Hills Survey | Dr. M. Glennon/Wildlife Conservation Society | $1,977 |
| 2016 | Boreal Montane Studies Award--Boreal Bird Monitoring @ Shingle Shanty Preserve/Research Station | Steven Langdon | $800 |
| 2016 | Great Adirondack Birding Celebration Annual Lecture/Workshop | Dr. Jeremy Kirchman | $1,300 |
| 2016 | Hamilton County Birding Festival Annual Lecture | Dr. Nina Schoch/Biodiversity Research Institute | $1,000 |
| 2016 | Avian Education Award | Adirondack Interpretive Center/ESF | $1,074 |
| 2016 | Wildlife Management & Education Award | Tommy Mingoia/Adirondack Wildlife Refuge | $2,500 |
| 2016 | Beginning Birder Award/Binocular Subsidy | Adirondack Mountain Club | $500 |
| 2015 | Boreal Studies Award/Prevalence of amphibian chytid fungus in Adirondack streams, ponds and lakes | Charles W. Robinson | $1,916 |
| 2015 | Avian Outreach Award/The Wild Center-- Take Flight Festival/Adirondack Raptors/Wildlife Rehabilitation | The Wild Center | $1,977 |
| 2015 | Boreal/Montane Species Award/Monitoring Boreal Species, i.e. Bicknell's thrush, Boreal Chickadee in ADKs | Mountain Birdwatch 2.0 | $2,250 |
| 2015 | Endangered Species Award/Point Counts of Boreal Species in Moose River Plains--16 locations | Gary Lee/Wildlife Conservation Society | $2,000 |
| 2015 | Great Adirondack Celebration Annual Workshop/Lecture--Bicknell's Thrush: Conserving a Bird or Two Worlds | Chris Rimmer/Vermont Center for Ecostudies | $2,000 |
| 2015 | Hamilton County Birding FestivalAnnual Lecture/Workshop--Lecture/Demonstration about Hawks & Owls | Wendy Hall/Adirondack Wildlife Refuge | $1,000 |
| 2014 | Avian Outreeach Award--Intern for Biodiversity Research Institute's Education/Cirriculum Program | Biodiversiity Research Instute | $2,500 |
| 2014 | Boreal Studies Award--Impact of Noise on Boreal Wetland Birds/Acoustics SM2 + Digital recordings | Samouel J. Begin, Master's Candidate SUNY ESF | $2,190 |
| 2014 | Boreal/Montane Studies Award--Study of Phenological Changes in Boreal Birds Species in the Adirondacks | Madeleine Rubenstein/Wildlife Conservation Society | $2,000 |
| 2014 | Great Adirondack Birding Celebration Annual Lecture/Workshop--The Surprising Lives of Birds | Noah Stryker, author of The Thing With Feathers | $2,000 |
| 2014 | Endangered Species Research Award--67 boreal bird point location/20 intensive vegetative assessments | Steven Langdon | $1,000 |
| 2014 | Public health Award--A Study of the Ecology of Range Limits for Lyme Disease in the Adirondacks | Center for Adirondack Biodiversity/Paul Smiths College | $800 |
| 2014 | Hamilton County Birding Festival Annual Lecture/Adirondack Boreal Bird Species | Joan Collins | $500 |
| 2013 | Avian Research Award-- The State of the Adirondack Boreal/Composition & Geography/Changes & Threats | Jerry Jenkins/Wildlife Conservation Society | $2,000 |
| 2013 | Boreal Studies Award--Genotyping of Bicknell's thrushes by DNA sequencing/mitochondrial ND2 gene | Dr. Jeremy Kirchman/New York State Museum | $1,100 |
| 2013 | Boreal/Montane Studies Awad-- Impacts of Exurban Residential Development on Ovenbirds | Dr. Chad L. Seewagen | $1,200 |
| 2013 | Endangered Species Award-- Breeding Golden-winged Warbler Population Size and Opportunities | Dr. Tom Langen | $2,150 |
| 2013 | Avian Outreach Award--Study of Loons during the critical nesting period to assess threats, i.e. predation | BRI's Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation | $1,225 |
| 2013 | GABC Annual Lecture--WCS's ongoing studies of a suite of boreal birds & exurban development | Dr. M. Glennon/Wildlife Conservation Society | $750 |
| 2013 | Wildlife Rehabilitation Grant--Underwrote half the salary of a Rehabilitation Intern at AWR&RC | Adirondack Wildlife Refuge & Rehabilitation Center | $1,250 |
| 2013 | Audubon Publishing Award--Threatened Birds in the Adirondack & Northern Forest Regions | Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies | $500 |
| 2012 | Avian Research Award- -Effects of Exurban Development on Passerine and Piciform bird populations in Adk | Dr. Chad Seewagen/ Wildlife Conservation Society | $3,000 |
| 2012 | GABC Annual Lecture--Richard Crosley Lecture on the Development of His Unique New Field Guide | Richard Crosley/ The Crosley ID Guide | $750 |
| 2012 | Hamilton County Festival Lecture-- Birds of Papual New Guinea & The Adirondacks | Dr. Bruce Beehler | $750 |
| 2012 | Boreal Bird Studies Award-- Rusty Blackbird Populations in the Adirondacks; Massaweepie, Shingle Shanty etc | Stacy McNulty/ Adirondack Ecological Center | $1,500 |
| 2012 | Boreal/Montane Studies Award- -Development of 2 new routes for Mountain Birdwatch Surveys | Vermont Center for Ecostudies | $2,250 |
| 2012 | Climatology Research Grant-- Effects of Climate Change on White-throated Sparrows/immune responses | Dr. Elaina M. Tuttle | $1,000 |
| 2012 | Citizen Science Grant-- Educational Materials for the All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory in the Adirondacks | All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory Group | $500 |
| 2012 | Education Grant--Implementation of the Living Bird Exhibit, Phase Two--8 new feeders, reflective tape, etc. | SUNY ESF Adirondack Intrepretive Center | $500 |
| 2011 | Avian Research Award-- Effects of Acidic Deposition of Songbird Abundance in the Adirondacks | Jennifer Yantachka- -SUNY ESF | $3,769 |
| 2011 | GABC Annual Lecture-- Controbutions Made to Ornithlogy by Women | Scott Weidensaul | $1,500 |
| 2011 | Boreal/Montane Studies Grant--Approaches to Better Understand Stressors to Birds in the Adirondacks | Wildliefe Conservation Society | $3,500 |
| 2011 | Boreal Bird Studies Award-- 40 ten minute Point Counts at Shingle Shanty Preserve | Steven Langdon | $1,100 |
| 2011 | Education Grant-- Purchase of Seed for Adirondack Interpretativd Center Feeders | Adirondack Interpretive Center | $161 |
| 2010 | Summer Intern Grant-- Half The Salary of a Summer Intern at The Wild Center | Katie Christman--The Wild Center | $5,000 |
| 2010 | Avian Research Award-- Salary of a Fiel Assistant for a Study of Rusty Blackbirds in the Adirondacks | Melanie McCormack | $1,200 |
| 2010 | GABC Annual Lecture-- Science in the Urban Jungle: Neighborhood Nestwatch | Dr. Peter Marra | $1,500 |
| 2010 | Lepidopteran Grant-- A Survey of the Giant Silkmouths of Northern New York | Dr. Janet Mihuc | $500 |
| 2010 | Boreal/Montane Studies Grant-- Study of Bicknell's Thrush & Other High-Elevation Species on Whiteface Mt. | Wildlife Conservation Society | $3,200 |
| 2009 | Summer Intern Grant- -Half the Salary of a Summer Inern at The Wild Center | April Costa--The Wild Cwnter | $4,500 |
| 2009 | Avian Research Award-- Study of Boreal Bird Populations in the Spring Pond Bog Comples | Wildlife Conseervation Society | $2,000 |
| 2009 | GABC Annual Lecture-- Study of Migratory Routes Using Geolocators onPurple Martins and Wood Thrushes | Dr. Bridget Stuchberry | $1,500 |
| 2009 | Migratory Banding Award-- Purchase of Two Nets for the Crown Point Banding Association | Crown Point Bird Banding Association | $300 |
| 2009 | Education Grant- -Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship | Kelly Hoffman--Smitty Creek Bird Banding Station | $1,200 |
| 2009 | Spruce Grouse Grant-- Evaluating Spruce Grouse Management in Lowland Boreal Forest in the Adirondacks | Angelina Ross | $5,000 |
| 2008 | Summer Intern Grant-- Half The Salary of a Summer Intern at The Wild Center | Elizabeth Rogers- -The Wild Center | $4,500 |
| 2008 | Avian Research Award-- Boreal Bird Initiative and Adirondack Loon Program | Nina Schoch-- Wildlife Conservation Society | $5,000 |
| 2008 | GABC Annual Lecture-- Bird Recordings Made in the Adirondacks | Lang Elliot | $1,500 |
| 2008 | Wildlife Rehabilitation Grant-- New York Wildlife Rehabilitation Council Meeting Subsidy for Two Students | New York Wildlife Rehabilitation Council | $1,500 |
| 2008 | Education Grant-- Purchase of Binoculares for Indian Creek Nature Center/Equipment for Science Class | Indian Creek Nature Center/Becky Bosley | $1,500 |
| 2008 | Education Grant-- Interactive Guide to Birding Hotspots in the Adirondacks | Adirondack Interpretative Center | $1,000 |
| 2007 | Ornithology Scholarship-- Sent a Student to the New York State Ornithological Society's Annual Meeting | Kevin Jablonski | $500 |
| 2007 | Wildlife Rehabilitation Scholarship-- Travel Expenses for Two Rehabilitators to Training Sessions | Camille Burns & S.E.H. Burns | $250 |
| 2007 | Summer Intern Award-- Half the Salary for a Summer Intern at The Wild Center | The Wild Center | $4,500 |
| 2007 | GABC Annual Lecture-- American Kestrels | Dr. David Bird | $1,500 |
| 2007 | Research Grant-- Salary of a Field Researcher @ Tupper Lake/Massaweepie Area | Wildlife Conservation Society | $2,000 |
| 2007 | Avian Research Award-- Effects of Mercury on Reproductive Success of Adirondack Loons | Dr. Nina Schoch--Wildlife Conservation Society | $500 |
| 2007 | Student Research Scholarship Award--Funds for A Grad Student & An Intermediate School Student birder | SUNY ESF/Saranac Middle School | $750 |