The Hernando Audubon Society was established in 1959. It is a nonprofit organization and a Florida chapter of the National Audubon Society. We serve members in Hernando and south Sumter counties.

Our History
Hernando Audubon was established in February 1959 as a chapter of the Florida Audubon Society. At that time, Hernando County had fewer than 12,000 year-round residents. Wellman Tucker, a forward-thinking conservationist, was the first president and Lisa Von Borowsky, who later established Audubon of Florida's Ahhochee Hill Sanctuary, became treasurer. Steve Fickett, a biologist with the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission (now the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) was the society's first field trip chair. The scholarship offered annually by Hernando Audubon is named in his honor.

In 1971, Hernando Audubon was incorporated as a nonprofit organization, clearing the way for the society to accept major gifts. In 1974, Lisa Von Borowsky donated 20 acres of land to the chapter for sale to raise money for a nature center on land recently acquired by the Fish and Game Commission. Hernando Audubon eventually contributed approximately one-third of the funds needed to build what is now the Chinsegut Conservation Center, completed in 1986.