Well, general hub-bub (sp?) is that the issue seems to be increasingly
focused on money and less on conservation or science.  One rumor even
suggests that Cornell and TNC took out a $10 million loan from an
anonymous lender, justifying the need for the loan with the Ivory-bill
work.  This is in addition to the millions received through donations
and federal funding.  I've not seen this rumor confirmed yet.

Various folks I have spoken to have raised some rather intriguing
questions about Cornell's work in the area.

For example one biologist asked a question about why is the field season
only November to April?  Yes, visibility is best during that time but if
we were really interested in learning as much as we can about
Ivory-bills to help preserve and conserve them then wouldn't we be down
there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year?  Remember,
Tanner's thesis is the only in-depth treatment of this species and it
was based on a limited number of encounters.

Additionally, it seems that this debate is starting to, disappointingly,
take on a very personal tone.  For example I ran into Martjan Lammertink
while I was in Brinkley in the Ivory-bill gift shop, 'The Ivory-bill's
Nest' (I had to really force myself not to crack jokes about the gift
shop being the only guaranteed place for a Cornell researcher to find
Ivory-bills in Arkansas).  I kept a low profile while I was in the shop
and Martjan was accompanied by his parents and a female friend.  The
shop owner was talking to Lammertink about the Ivory-bill fest that was
scheduled for Brinkley the following weekend and listed some of the
various items she had made sure to order for the fest, including
Jackson's book, 'In Search of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker'.  At that
point Lammertink rolled his eyes and told her not to bother selling it,
or some disparaging comment, and how Jackson was "just making enemies
for himself."  So I asked what were the problems with the book, and
Lammertink said that there were inaccuracies in it like incorrect names
and dates (which were probably more of a fault of the editor as opposed
to Jackson's), and then recommended Gallagher's book instead.  I asked
why Gallagher's since it seemed like Jackson's was a more technical
book, and Lammertink only answered that it was a more accurate story,
and then started complaining about another item in the shop that
exhibited an Ivory-bill with a zygodactyl toe arrangement instead of
having the outermost foreward-facing toe directed outward.

One of the things that is most interesting about the upcoming Sibley et
al. paper is that Sibley is a big advocate and supporter of the National
Wildlife Refuge system, and the Ivory-bill work is heavily centered on
two National Wildlife Refuges in Arkansas.  So it's interesting to see
him potentially taking a position counter to the work being done for the
NWR systems.

I think beyond the Ivory-bill debate itself there are some huge issues
at hand.  If more people jump on the bandwagon of opinion that there is
no Ivory-bill, and that the evidence that started all of these efforts
were questionable, then all of the "work" that Cornell has done will be
for naught.  Additionally, it could have repercussions for years for the
ornithology program at Cornell, which for years has stood as a bastion
for ground-breaking research in the fields of ornithology and birding.
It may affect their funding, not to mention the credibility of their
information and the research techniques they use.

Additionally, there will be lots of additional fall-out for quite a few
other individuals (think about what happened to John Dennis(?) when he
brought the photo of the Ivory-bill to the AOU meeting and was
professionally ruined back in the 1960's as related in Gallagher's
book).  Unfortunately, there are a lot of egos and reputations at stake
over this issue.  Not to mention fall-out for a number of different
organizations and agencies.

As a whole it may even set back a lot of bird conservation efforts in a
trickle-down effect (think Cerulean Warblers).

So, I share Mike's feeling of numbness about this whole debate, but am
more intrigued by its ramifications for the future of bird conservation.

Casey

P.S.

If you want to read something that is intriguining, non Ivory-bill
related, and is a good overview of the work that Cornell is involved in
check out Miyoko Chu's book "Songbird Journeys".  I've been reading this
for the past couple of days and I'm finding it to be a really
fascinating read that takes you through a year in the life of a
neotropical migrant.  Chu does a nice job of using interesting research
to tell a story.  It's a quick and interesting read and definitely
appropriate as spring draws near.

**********************************************************************
From: MU Ornithology Listserv (ZOO 408)
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mike Busam
Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2006 12:51 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Woodpecker behavior

I found Kenn Kaufman's posting to Ohio-birds interesting, but
inscrutable. 
What does he mean by "Now, about these freakishly elusive,
supernaturally 
un-photographable birds
in Arkansas... Once you look at the only 'proof,' the famous four-second
video, and realize that it actually shows a Pileated Woodpecker, you
have to
wonder: What's really going on there?"

I don't know. What *is* going on? Is this a rhetorical question, a la
Marvin 
Gaye; or is it a loaded question, pointing to some sort of mischief?
Beats 
me.

The debate over the debates on this Ivory-billed issue is becoming very 
strange, I think. It makes one feel a bit like Batman in the classic
campy 
'60s T.V. series as he and Robin The Boy Wonder are slowly overcome by
some 
strange gaseous substance delivered by the Joker: "Must . . . stay . . .

conscious . . ."

Only when it comes to this issue, more and more, I'm willing to be 
blissfully *un*conscious. Meanwhile, my understanding is that large
stands 
of the bottomland forests in the Arkansas-Louisiana area are potentially

under the gavel or likely to come up for sale soon, as paper companies 
unload their holdings in the region. Is there still interest in
conserving 
these lands? Will it be possible if the Ivory-billed's resurrection
turns 
out to be a myth? Will anyone care?

"What's going on?" indeed!

Take care,
---Mike Busam
West Chester, OH