[obol] Re: Re: Ivory Billed Woodpeckers? Cast your vote

[Cindy Ashy]

I have to vote yes since I'm still convinced I saw one in SW Louisiana...at
least something that matched exactly the clear illustrations in one of my old
field guides complete with arrows on what to look for...

The current Ivory Billed Woodpecker story reminds me of the sea otters
re-discovered near the Bixby Bridge in Big Sur California...I've heard many
versions of this story...including from some old-timers who were around when
they were re-discovered (I heard these stories in the 80's)...but basically
they were discovered by someone who wasn't a scientist and it took a while to
convince the scientists to even check it out....when reported, the scientists
insisted it couldn't be sea otters...and then they basically had to eat
crow...here's one online article about it:

http://www.seaotters.org/Otters/index.cfm?DocID=8

The sea otter re-discovery story can remind us that species CAN elude us and
then be found again...

...and the positive things that can happen once the species IS re-discovered
and efforts are made to protect it...I think preventing current Ivory Billed
habitat from further fragmentation should be a top priority...and even the
search for this species can be used as a bargaining tool for this position...

Cindy Ashy



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