GMAS pays tribute to John Merchant who passed away on January 14, 2006. John and his wife, Eloise, were founders of Green Mountain Audubon Society and John was a president of the organization.
By influencing Christine Hires to donate her property to GMAS, John and Eloise were instrumental in establishing the Green Mountain Audubon Center in Huntington. John helped build the clubhouse at the Center where both he and Eloise were active volunteers. Many summers, he brought his racing pigeons to the Audubon Center for campers to learn about and enjoy. He and Eloise were founding members of the Haunted Forest and for twenty years, it was a fall fund-raising event held at Audubon, entertaining thousands of Vermonters. He was a great lover of birds and will be remembered by many for his “Bird Notes” program on WCAX television’s “Across the Fence”. His leadership and dedication will be an ongoing inspiration to us. SJ
