STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Peter A.A. Berle, a former president of the National Audubon Society who sought to broaden the environmental agenda of the venerable group and show that it was, he said, “no longer just for the birds,” died Nov. 1. He was 69.
Berle died of injuries from an accident in August, when the roof of a barn on his farm collapsed as he was dismantling it, his family said.
A pioneering environmental lawyer and former New York state conservation commissioner, Berle (pronounced “Burly”) led the National Audubon Society from 1985 to 1995, when financial problems underscored a need for the group to re-examine its goals and public identity.
Convinced that Audubon should expand its base beyond bird-watchers, he launched a reorganization, helping Audubon grow in its role as an advocate for the environment, as concerned with the habitat of humans as of birds.
An early champion of “green” architecture, Berle spearheaded the renovation of a century-old Manhattan brownstone into an eco-friendly showcase to house Audubon’s staff. Called Audubon House, it was ahead of its time when it opened in 1992, featuring nontoxic building materials, sensors that automatically turned off lights, deskside recycling chutes and compost heaps on a rooftop garden.
To Berle and the 10,000 Audubon members who helped underwrite its $24 million cost, the building made a statement that Audubon had widened its scope.
“Today, we can’t protect birds by building bird feeders and acquiring sanctuaries alone,” Berle said in 1992. “They are threatened by larger-scale dilemmas related to the way we use land and resources on a global basis.”
Described as a charismatic and vigorous man with a crushing handshake, Berle channeled resources into fighting global warming and lobbied for efforts to toughen the Endangered Species Act. He fought for the preservation of wetlands in California, promoted educational jaunts in the Everglades for inner-city children and opposed oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
A fearless outdoorsman despite late-onset diabetes, he awed much younger colleagues with his physical prowess.
“Nobody could keep up with him,” said John Flicker, who succeeded Berle as Audubon president. “Whether out hiking or bird-walking, he would start earlier, do it faster and do it longer than anybody, always with great enthusiasm.”
