Once-Thought Extinct Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Found on the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge
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Colorized digital image of ivory-billed woodpecker at nest.
Photo Credit:
© George M. Sutton/Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Courtesy David Allen
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For more than 60 years the Ivory-billed woodpecker has been considered extinct in the United States. However, conservationists and birders can now celebrate confirmed sightings of the nation's largest woodpecker on the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Arkansas.
The Ivory-billed woodpecker stands more than 19 inches tall and has distinct black and white markings. It is surpassed in size only by the Imperial woodpecker of Mexico. The male has a striking red crest while the female has a black head and crest. The Ivory-billed woodpecker prefers thick hardwood swamps and pine forests with abundant dead trees like those found on the 54,000-acre Cache River NWR.
The Cache River NWR was established in 1986 and, like the other 544 national wildlife refuges, maintains an active habitat management program. While the refuge was established to conserve wetlands for migratory waterfowl, its habitat management programs provide prime conditions for the stately woodpeckers. The Cache River NWR includes more than 40,000 acres of bottomland forest and 8,000 acres of reforested land. The bottomland forest is the primary habitat for the Ivory-billed woodpecker.
The Ivory-billed woodpecker was rediscovered through the cooperative efforts of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the Nature Conservancy, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and other members of the Big Woods Conservation Partnership. The Big Woods of Arkansas ecosystem, an area that also includes the 160,000-acre White River NWR, will be the focus of efforts to conserve the woodpecker in the future.
According to Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, "This is a rare second chance to preserve through cooperative conservation what was once thought lost forever."
Recognizing the opportunity to conserve such a rare bird, Secretary Norton committed substantial resources to future conservation efforts. "Decisive conservation action and continued progress through partnerships are now required. I will appoint the best talent in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local citizens to develop a Corridor of Hope Cooperative Conservation Plan to save the Ivory-billed woodpecker," Norton said.
The Department of the Interior, along with the Department of Agriculture, has proposed more than $10 million in federal funds be committed to protect the bird. This amount would supplement $10 million already committed to research and habitat protection efforts by private sector groups and citizens, an amount expected to grow once news of the rediscovery spreads. Federal funds will be used for research and monitoring, recovery planning and public education. In addition, the funds will be used to enhance law enforcement and conserve habitat through conservation easements, safe-harbor agreements and conservation reserves.
While conservation plans are developed, staff at the Cache River NWR are bracing for an influx of birders from across the nation and beyond. According to Cache River Refuge Manager Dennis Widener, the best viewing opportunities are available on the adjacent Dagmar Wildlife Management Area, managed by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. The best viewing areas are designated on the map found at http://www.fws.gov/cacheriver. Additional viewing sites will be established in early May.
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