Fast Facts --
In the early 1900s, conservationists warned of the impending extinction of the Ivory-billed woodpecker.
From 1937 to 1939, James Tanner, a young doctoral student at Cornell University, researched the Ivory-billed woodpeckers of the Singer Tract.
Prior to the 2004 discovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker at Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas, this was the last authenticated sighting of the bird in the United States.
Much of the information comes from “Hope Is The Thing With Feathers: A Personal Chronicle of Vanished Birds” by Christopher Cokinos.
Recovery Plan
The recovery planning process is well underway. The initial formation of the team occurred in early Summer, 2004 and was launched with the first meeting of the Executive Committee in Brinkley, Arkansas June 21 and 22. Terms of Reference for the Recovery Team were approved and the various working groups were directed to begin drafting a recovery plan.
Subsequently, the Biology and Habitat Conservation and Management Working Groups met in Ferndale, Arkansas in August, 2004 to kick off formal plan preparation with writing assignments for various portions of the plan. There have been several technical meetings, and initial work is focused on gathering information to be used in writing the recovery plan.
The Recovery Team has also acted as a coordinating body for the many activities underway in the field. The search effort has intensified and began in earnest in late November, 2005 with plans to continue through to the Spring, 2006.
The first draft of Recovery Plan sections is scheduled to be received in April, 2006, with a technical agency draft available for public review in September, 2006. The public review is expected to last for at least 60 days and will be followed by an agency review of comments and preparation of a final plan by June, 2007. (updated December, 2005)
Recovery Outline
A recovery outline lays out a preliminary course of action to recover a species. The recovery outline document is the first step toward a comprehensive draft recovery plan, and provides interim guidance to direct recovery efforts and consultation on permit activities until a draft recovery plan is complete.
