[mou] Ivory-billed Woodpecker

[Laura Erickson]

This was kept secret until the information could be verified and until The
Nature Conservancy could purchase a lot more land in the area--I'm sure
prices are going up today even as we speak, as the news spreads abroad.

I think they dealt with this issue extremely well.  You're right that it
wasn't a "birding" or even a scientific decision.  It was a conservation
decision, keeping the best interests of the bird, not of hobbyists and
profiteers who sell photos and videos, at center.


Laura Erickson
Duluth, MN

Staff Ornithologist
Binoculars.com
www.birderblog.com

There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. 
There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of
nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the
winter.

			--Rachel Carson


> Hello all,
>
> Let me know if this is too off-topic for the MN list, but I was wondering
> what
> other's thoughts are on the release of this info.  What bothers me is how
> secret this was kept -- why?  Why are there well-made videos available on
> the
> same day of the release?  Why wasn't the info released as it was found?
> It
> all feels more political than scientific or birder-like to me.
>
> Don't get me wrong, I'm really excited about this -- the IBW has intrigued
> me
> greatly ever since I was about 8 years old.  What wonderful news!
>
> BTW, I've finally put up a real website!  To see a lot of my bird photos,
> use
> the access code "MOU".  There are 70 species there now and many more to
> come.
> Since it's new, let me know if you encounter problems.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Elijah Parker
> Saint Paul, MN
> http://www.elijahparker.com
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