Founded with the mission to protect and preserve birds and their ecosystems, the Audubon Society focused their conservation efforts strongly on the species of waterbirds--such as egrets, terns, and herons--whose feathers were most employed by the millinery trade. The society is named after naturalist artist John James Audubon, who catalogued and painted over 1,000 species of birds and compiled them into an encyclopedia. Still in existence today, the Audubon Society fights for legislation to protect birds and their environments, such as the Endangered Species and Clean Air acts.