Woodpecker Plan Has Big Price Tag

by purplesofa 6 Replies latest social current

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  purplesofa

  The Ivory-billed woodpecker has thought to be extinct. A supposed siting(I am sure is on youtube) perked the interest of wildlife people all over the world. As the article points out, over a 5 year time span 27 million dollars is proposed to keep this bird from extinction AGAIN! The video footage cannot fully determine if indeed it is the bird, and has not been spotted since the video was taken even though there have been people staked out there.

  What do you think about spending that kind of money for this project?

  Woodpecker Plan Has Big Price Tag

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  http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=51761

  A plan by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for preventing the extinction of the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker could cost more than $27 million over five years.
  
  The agency has released a draft of the recovery and is taking public comment until October 22nd. The plan would be funded by Fish and Wildlife money.
  
  The 185-page plan outlines habitat needs and future conservation efforts aimed at protecting the woodpecker.
  
  The woodpecker was thought to already be extinct but 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.

  (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

  Robert Bell, Executive Producer Created: 8/23/2007 1:25:29 PM Updated: 8/23/2007 1:25:44 PM
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  funkyderek

  purplesofa:

  What do you think about spending that kind of money for this project?

  It shouldn't be necessary. Unfortunately, its environment has been destroyed by those seeking a quick profit, knowing they were dooming the bird to extinction. I think it's worth spending this relatively tiny amount of money on a rare chance of redemption. There's a possibility that one more beautiful and unique species doesn't have to be added to the shameful list of those wiped out by human greed and stupidity.

  And if you're more concerned about greenbacks than ivory bills, then you'll be pleased to know that tourist spending in east Arkansas is already up 30% on the strength of the sightings. And of course, if you can take the long-term view, the value to future generations is incalculable.
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  purplesofa

  then you'll be pleased to know that tourist spending in east Arkansas is already up 30% on the strength of the sightings. And of course, if you can take the long-term view, the value to future generations is incalculable.

  FunkyDerek,

  How do you know about the goings on of southeast Arkansas, Amazing as I thought you lived in the Uk. It certainly has boosted the economy around there, and with write-ups in mags such as Time, and even a postage stamp. It has a huge interest. There is a doc I work for that is just living for the day when he can go there and know he will see the bird.

  
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  Gregor

  Gov't funded bureaucracies from NASA to Fish and Game all need stuff like this to keep the budgets increasing. Too bad they don't have a program to help the Barrel Chested Tit Suckers, some of us could use it.
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  Seeker4

  Where I live, in Vermont, outdoor related activities like hiking, backpacking, birdwatching and hunting and fishing are a huge amount of the economy. The purchase of hunting and fishing licenses pays a good portion of the Fish and Wildlife budget and conservation efforts up here.
  
  So, something like this, though it might seem a lot of money, could very well pay for itself in tourist dollars.
  
  Interestingly, up here we have a bird, the pileaeted woodpecker, that is very large and quite similar the Ivory Billed. They are awesome to see in the wild.
  
  S4
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  snowbird

  	Bird Guide Species Accounts Video Gallery		Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus Order PICIFORMES - Family PICIDAE For complete Life History Information on this species, visit Birds of North America Online. Pileated Woodpecker, male About the photographs range map Play sound from this species Pileated Woodpecker, female Menu Cool Facts Description Similar Species Sound Range Habitat Food Behavior Reproduction Conservation Status Other Names Nearly as large as a crow, the Pileated Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in most of North America. Its loud ringing calls and huge, rectangular excavations in dead trees announce its presence in forests across the continent. Cool Facts The Pileated Woodpecker digs characteristically rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so broad and deep that they can cause small trees to break in half. A Pileated Woodpecker pair stays together on its territory all year round. It will defend the territory in all seasons, but will tolerate floaters during the winter. The feeding excavations of a Pileated Woodpecker are so extensive that they often attract other birds. Other woodpeckers, as well as House Wrens, may come and feed there. The Pileated Woodpecker prefers large trees for nesting. In young forests, it will use any large trees remaining from before the forest was cut. Because these trees are larger than the rest of the forest, they present a lightning hazard to the nesting birds. Description top Size: 40-49 cm (16-19 in) Wingspan: 66-75 cm (26-30 in) Weight: 250-350 g (8.83-12.36 ounces) Large woodpecker. Red crest on head. Black body. White in wings, at base of primaries, and underwing linings. White conspicuous in flight; at rest shows only as small white spot at front of wing. Black and white stripes on face. White stripe extending from base of bill down neck. White stripe above eye and below crown. Throat white. Bill thick and silvery gray. Yellowish feathers over nostrils. Legs and feet grayish black. Eyes yellow. Sex Differences Sexes similar, male has red crown and forehead and red in black mustache stripe. Female has gray to yellow-brown forehead and no red in mustache stripe. Immature Juvenile similar to adult, but has shorter crest and brown eyes. Similar Species No other living North American woodpecker is large and black with a red crest. The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is similar but even larger. It has a large pale white bill, a black throat, a black crown, a white line down the neck extending onto the back, and very large white patches in the wings. In flight, the trailing edge of the wing is black in Pileated Woodpecker and is white in Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Calls of pileated resemble those of Northern Flicker, but are louder and more ringing. Sound Call a loud, ringing "kuk-kuk-kuk." Drumming loud and resonant. »listen to songs of this species top Range Range Map © 2003 Cornell Lab of Ornithology About the map Summer Range Resident throughout southern Canada, Midwest, and East, westward to eastern North Dakota and eastern Texas. In western United States found along Pacific Coast and northern Rockies. Habitat Found in deciduous or coniferous forests with large trees. Food Insects, primarily carpenter ants and wood-boring beetle larvae, fruits, and nuts. Behavior Foraging Gleans from branches, trunks, and logs. Makes deep rectangular excavations in trees and logs. Pries off long slivers of wood to expose ants. Reproduction Nest Type Cavity in tree, usually dead tree. Cavity unlined except for wood chips. Egg Description White. Clutch Size Usually 4 eggs. Range: 1-6. Condition at Hatching Naked and helpless. top Conservation Status Pileated Woodpecker populations declined greatly with the clearing of the eastern forests. The species rebounded in the middle 20th century, and has been increasing slowly but steadily in most of its range. Only in Arkansas do numbers seem to be going down. Other Names Grand pic (French) Sources used to construct this page: top Bull, E. L., and J. A. Jackson. 1995. Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus). In The Birds of North America, No. 148 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. Summary species account »
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  BrentR

  What does the meat taste like?

  But seriousely the most efficient way to keep an animal from extinction is to create a market for it. Has anyone seen a wild cow herd lately? A flock of wild chickens? If we did not have a taste for beef and chicken these critters would have gone extinct long before any wildlife foundations existed to save them.