Ivory-billed woodpecker found "cached away"

They don't call it the Cache River National Wildlife protection for nothing! In this case, the precious cargo "cached away" was a species lengthy thought to be extinct. The rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker (Campepbilus principalis) in Arkansas, announced April 28 2005 is single of the most memorable facts in the history of the National Wildlife protection System and North American ornithology. As John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, deposit it, "This is really the greatest in quantity spectacular creature we could imagine rediscovering" (Lemoine 2005)

The ivory-billed woodpecker is the largest woodpecker species north of Mexico and the third largest in the world. It stands nearly 20 inches (50 centimeters) tall and has a wingspan of 30 inches (76 cm) This woodpecker has a lifespan approaching 15 years.

The ivory-bill was a natural denizen of old-growth forests in the southeastern United States and Cuba. It used its large bill to strip the bark from tree that had freshly died, exposing the beetle larvae that serv as its dietary staple. freshly dead trees are usually not ground in high densities, so the somewhat nomadic woodpecker required extensive stands of old-growth forest.

The ivory-billed woodpecker was listed in 1967 as endangered. by means of then, it was already considered extirpated from the wild, omit possibly in Cuba. The last confirmed sighting in the U had been in 1944 in an area that is now part of the Tensas River National Wildlife shelter in northeast Louisiana, about 175 miles (280 kilometers) southern of the Cache River basin.

The rife population of ivory-billed woodpeckers is unknown. Dennis Widner, manager of the Central Arkansas National Wildlife security Complex (which includes Bald Knob, Big Lake, and Wapanocca national wildlife protections in addition to Cache River), was the original manager at Cache River, beginning in 1987 Dennis hazards a gues that perhaps as many as 20 pairs possess the bottomland hardwoods from Cache River southerly to (and probably including) the White River National Wildlife safety which encompasses almost 90 miles (145 km) of the White River in Arkansas down to the Mississippi River.

The Cache River protection currently consists of 61,000 acres (24690 hectares), while the White River protection consists of 157,000 acres (63538 ha). the two refuges, along with several state wildlife management areas, constitute a drawn out habitat lifeline that Dennis describes as "the best of the best" of bottomland hardwoods remaining in the southerly Nuttall oak (Quercus nuttallii) and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) look to be the key ingredients of the woodpecker's habitat. on their death, these trees harbor the beetles that nourish the woodpecker Further into the decay proces oaks, sweetgum, and other big bottomland tree provide the cavities that be subservient to as woodpecker nesting sites.

The reasons for the woodpecker's decline are fairly straightforward. In the 19th hundred their ample white beaks made them a favorite in the display cases of wealthy collectors. Toward the extreme point of the century, these birds and many others with fabulous feathers were killed for their plumage, which went to festoon the hats of high-fashion ladies.

on the other hand the major cause of the woodpecker's decline, as with thus many endangered species, was habitat los In the early part of the 20th hundred the logging industry turned from the Midwest to the bald cypres and hardwood bottomlands of the southerly Eventually, the conversion of these forests to agricultural production took a heavy toll upon the ivory-billed woodpecker.

The history of the National Wildlife shelter System is one of protecting remaining habitats and, when possible, restoring missing habitats. The refuges of central Arkansas are a classic example. The White River and Cache River protections were established in 1935 and 1986 respectively, primarily for migratory birds. However, the mission of the security System has evolved to include the maintenance and restoration of ecological integrity, including biodiversity conservation. The Cache River protection balances its traditional purposes with the evolving mission of the security System. The bottomland hardwoods have always been outstanding wintering areas for mallards, copse ducks, and other waterfowl prized by the agency of hunters, as well as a entertainer of other migratory birds that continue to collection to the central Arkansas protections Fortunately, Dennis Widner and his colleagues have been managing the safetys in a manner conducive to the woodpecker's survival by the agency of maintaining uneven-aged, old-growth forests and through restoring old agricultural lands to bottomland hardwood habitat. Now, with a fresh lease on the woodpecker's life, they can continue with renewed vigor and broad-based support.

The authorized acquisition boundary for Cache River protection encompasses 176,000 acres (71,230 ha), which means that 115000 acres (46540 ha), in addition to those acres already acquired, are approved for acquisition pending the landowners' willingness to vend It is reasonable to assume that the protection of these lands will be gain novel emphasis if we are to bring this great bird back from the brink of extinction.