AUBURN — The Auburn Public Library and the Stanton Bird Club recently received a joint resolution from the Maine State Legislature recognizing 2018 as the International Year of the Bird and the centennial of the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

With this designation by National Geographic and the National Audubon Society, the Year of the Bird marks importance of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, called the most powerful bird protection law ever passed.

By the early 1900s, the United States saw the extinction of several species of birds leading to calls for regulation and the establishment of the Act in 1918, which forbade the killing of many native birds, disturbing any egg or nest, or capturing and transporting birds over state lines.

The library and the Stanton Bird Club will offer programs throughout September and October as a part of the club’s yearlong celebration of its own centennial. Programs will include films and lectures on conservation and bird habitat protection. 

For more information visit www.auburnpubliclibrary.org.