Search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Begins this Year in Arkansas

Contacts:
Tom MacKenzie, USFWS (404) 679-7291
Connie Bruce, Cornell Lab of Ornithology (607) 254-2491
Karen Foerstel, The Nature Conservancy (703) 841-2491
Keith Stephens, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (501) 223-6342

With the arrival of volunteer searchers, the 2005-2006 Ivory-billed Woodpecker Research Project is now fully staffed and going full steam ahead. The current field season continues through April, 2006. The search is being led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, The Nature Conservancy, and Audubon Arkansas, with the support and cooperation of other members the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Recovery Team.

“This is an exciting opportunity to better document the existence and learn more about this magnificent bird,” said Sam D. Hamilton, Southeast Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Now that the leaves have fallen, conditions are much improved for seeing and hearing the birds. Finding birds is a critical part of the recovery process and we’re hoping for some exciting news.”

Twenty-two search team leaders, coordinators, supervisors, and field technicians have been working in eastern Arkansas since November 1. More than 100 volunteers will now be joining the search, and will be deployed in groups of 14 for two week periods through the remainder of the field season. The goal is to find an ivory-bill roost hole or nest hole and get additional video documentation of the bird or birds—all in the hope of learning more about the species to bring the ivory-bill back from near-extinction.

“Since the ivory-bill’s rediscovery, The Nature Conservancy has acquired for protection some 18,500 acres of critical habitat and worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to add 1,440 acres to the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge – where the bird was first spotted,” said Scott Simon, director of The Nature Conservancy’s Arkansas chapter. “The more data gathered about the number and location of ivory bills living in Arkansas, the more we can do to protect this fragile habitat and make sure this incredible bird survives for generations to come. Because of the great cooperation of many agencies and organizations focusing on habitat conservation, we have a chance to recover the ivory bill.”

Searches in Arkansas are planned for White River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Cache River NWR, Dagmar Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Black Swamp WMA, Wattensaw WMA, and Benson Creek Natural Area. Other teams are starting to organize scouting trips to follow-up on Ivory-billed woodpecker sightings from across the southern United States in the former range of the bird. This may involve work in South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas, but will depend on a review of what is believed to be the best habitat, along with credible recent sightings.

“The restoration of the entire corridor of the Cache River is extremely important to the habitat of many wildlife species, not only the Ivory-billed Woodpecker,” said Arkansas Game and Fish Commission director Scott Henderson.

Searchers will use traditional tools, such as binoculars and digital cameras, as well as high-tech methods that include Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs), sophisticated sound-analysis software, time-lapse video systems, and remote cameras. Human searchers will make their way through the bayous by canoe and on foot, looking for promising tree cavities. They will also be conducting transect searches with the aid of GPS units. At other times they will be sitting quietly in blinds, observing. Scouts will be looking for suitable ivory-bill habitat, assisted by NASA satellite photos that will help them focus on promising areas more quickly.

“The volunteers are vital to the search effort,” says Dr. John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “Without them there’s no way we could scour such a large area for ivory-bills. These folks are field biologists and avid birders—all of them giving up their time to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime recovery project.”

Key to the recovery of the ivory-bill is preservation of habitat. Thanks to the efforts of local hunters and fishers, the ivory-bill, and many other species was able to survive in the depths of the Big Woods. More than 75 percent of the habitat at Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, location of the March 2004, Ivory-billed Woodpecker sighting, was purchased with $41 million in revenue generated from the sale of Duck Stamps. Hunters, birders and other lovers of the outdoors are encouraged to buy stamps to save habitat, which not only benefits the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, but wildlife everywhere. Ducks Stamps sell for $15 at the United States Postal Service 1-800 STAMP-24 (1-800-782-6724), and at most major sporting goods stores that sell hunting and fishing licenses.

http://www.fws.gov/ivorybill/
http://www.agfc.state.ar.us/ivorybilled/comparison.pdf
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory
http://nature.org/
http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps/

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million- acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices, and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American Tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to State fish and wildlife.

The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology is a non-profit membership institution with the mission to interpret and conserve the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. From its headquarters at the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity in Ithaca New York , the Lab leads international efforts in bird monitoring and conservation and fosters the ability of enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels to make a difference.

The Nature Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy has been responsible for protecting more than 15 million acres in the United States and more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Since The Conservancy’s Arkansas office opened in 1982, it has worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission as well as private citizens, corporations, and foundations, to bring into conservation management more than 120,000 acres in the Arkansas delta.