Hello all, Thanks everyone for sharing comments and concerns about the IBW. I, too, am of the mind that wild places should be left alone. Ecotourism is my least favorite oxymoron. What would Aldo Leopold or John Muir or Edward Abbey or Sigurd Olsen have said about ecotourism if the word had been coined during their generations? Once a wild place has a road built through it, or built even to provide tourist access, it is no longer a wild place. I sincerely hope that birders who are truly concerned about the future of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, which I hope includes all of us here in ND and MN, will stay away from the sighting area. The chances of seeing the bird are so remote I have trouble even mentioning it. It took several years of concerted effort just to get a brief video. For now, I think this situation is best left in the hands of the state and federal agencies on the scene.
It is nothing short of miraculous that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker has been rediscovered after 60 years. It brings to my mind several questions. Perhaps the biggest is how many breeding pairs are left? Basic population dynamics models for other species suggest that there must be a minimum of 5 breeding pairs to maintain a stable (albeit very small) population. Anything less and extinction will eventually occur. This may or may not be the case with the IBW, but I think to answer this question more intensive searching conducted by professional biologists is needed, not only in Arkansas but in other likely tracts of bottomland forest in other states. The worst case scenario is that this indeed is the last bird, and if so I think Dave Lambeth is right there will be pressure to obtain DNA from the bird for possible cloning. This raises a whole new set of questions ethical and biological. Is it right for us to attempt such a rescue? What are the chances of survival of a population made up of cloned birds? Indeed, Im not sure a female can be cloned from a male. Hopefully, there are breeding pairs still left. If there are, and they are located, should we begin a captive breeding program like we did with the California condor and black-footed ferret? Obviously, much work needs to be done. The fact that we have now a ray of hope for the IBW is a great tribute to the tireless efforts of past and present conservationists. But we still have a tough road in front of us. One needs only to look to the ANWR in Alaska to see that. Threats to other ecosystems and other rare species exist almost everywhere humans inhabit the planet and in many places we dont. We share this planet with 1.5 million other species, and what we do as a species affects ecosystems in ways we still do not fully understand. What sort of legacy will we leave for our children? Please, continue to support conservation organizations like The Nature Conservancy, and write to your congressmen and senators expressing your views and concerns on environmental issues. Sincerely, Pat Beauzay Patrick Beauzay Department of Entomology 217 Hultz Hall, Bolley Drive North Dakota State University Fargo, ND 58105 701-231-9491 [email protected]
