Ivory Billed Woodpecker citing!

Quest for Lost Bird Is Worth It, Officials Say

(an article from the New York Times)

Federal wildlife officials say it is worth millions of dollars to research the suspected habitat of the ivory-billed woodpecker, despite conflicting views on whether the el

usive bird even exists in the swamps of eastern Arkansas.

“There’s enough out there that we’ve got to keep searching,” said Jeff Fleming, a spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service. “It’d be irresponsible not to.”

The agency this week released a 185-page draft plan intended to prevent the bird’s extinction. The draft, which is open for public comment until Oct. 22, recommends spending more than $27 million on recovery efforts for the woodpecker.

“The opportunity to recover this icon of the ornithological world cannot and should not be passed over,” said Sam Hamilton, regional director for the service’s Southeast Region and leader of the recovery team.

Much of the recovery work has been in Arkansas, but projects are also under way in Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas, Mr. Fleming said.

The plan outlines habitat needs and future conservation efforts intended to protect the woodpecker. The plan was drafted by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the University of Georgia, Florida Gulf Coast University, the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Arkansas Natural Heritage Foundation.

The ivory-billed woodpecker was thought to be extinct when it was reportedly spotted by Cornell University researchers in 2004 in an eastern Arkansas swamp. Researchers and birders have since converged on the Cache River Wildlife Management Area hoping to spot the huge bird and hear its distinct double-rapping.

Researchers have also reported spotting an ivory-billed woodpecker in a northwest Florida swamp.

My thoughts:

It's about time they spent some decent money on science in this country.  I think it is wonderful that they are trying to bring back a species that is thought to be extinct, especially since the human race is probably what drove this bird to extinction in the first place.  You go Fish and Wildlife Service!!