Ivory-billed Woodpecker | Southeast Region

Recovery Team

Under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must establish a recovery team that will prepare a comprehensive recovery plan for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The team will advise agencies, stakeholders, and the public on conservation actions proposed for the species.

Organizational Chart of the Recovery Team
Recovery Team Executive Committee
Steering Committee
Biology Working Group -- focuses on research, including natural history investigations, population viability, and survey techniques
Habitat and Management Working Group -- will identify, inventory, and describe current and potential habitat and provide recommendations and advice on forest management.
Recovery Team Members

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.

Last updated: March 11, 2010