[mou] IBW comments

[patrick.beauzay@ndsu.edu]

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, I’m 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 don’t.  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
Patrick.Beauzay@ndsu.nodak.edu