In an unexpected announcement by federal wildlife officials on Monday, the highly anticipated decision surrounding the existence of the ivory-billed woodpecker has been delayed. This unexpected development came on the heel of ambiguous photos and videos, their quality questionable, that seemingly captured the elusive bird in a Louisiana forest.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service appeared prepped to declare the majestic creature, often referred to as the Lord God Bird, extinct last year. Decision-making was backed by comprehensive assessment of the most reliable scientific and commercial data at hand, leading to the initial conclusion of extinction. Among 23 species set to be stripped off the endangered species list, the ivory-billed woodpecker ranked high.
However, Monday saw Fish and Wildlife announcing the extinction of 21 of those species, with the iconic bird noticeably absent from the list. Stating in a press release, the agency declared their move to continue investigating and evaluating data before finalizing the decision to delist the bird.
Last known acknwoeldged sighting of this fascinating, red-crowned avian species was traced back to April 1944, courtesy of artist and passionate birder, Don Eckelberry.
Following the preliminary announcement to remove the bird’s endangered status, the agency received a deluge of public comments. Accomplished biologists, bird enthusiasts and even communities such as the Cherokee Nation, for whom the bird is revered as a symbolic figure, voiced their conviction on the bird’s existence.
In response to the surge of public input, the wildlife service encouraged additional commentary while postponing the vote on the bird’s status, pushing it into 2023. Now, the vital decision to delist this bird has been adjourned once more.
John Fitzpatrick, a distinguished ornithologist and a former director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, openly appreciated the postponement, acknowledging the uncertainty in the scientific community over the status of the woodpecker.
Furthermore, since the 1944 sighting, the next significant evidence came in the form of a 2005 study by Fitzpatrick and his team, claiming sightings of the ivory bill in Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, Eastern Arkansas.
A species is removed from the endangered and threatened species list for three reasons: recovery, new information indicating the species is not endangered, or extinction. In regard to stewardship of conservation resources, removal is deemed beneficial.
A 2022 quest by CNN to find the bird in Louisiana’s Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge, where it was last officially sighted, coincided with an initiative by Project Principalis – a group named after the bird’s scientific name – collating relevant evidence over a decade.
Project Principalis recently published peer-reviewed research. Included in their submissions to the feds were possibly epochal drone videos shot in October 2022, showcasing two ivory bills alighting on a tree branch swiftly.
Going forward, Project Principalis aims to focus on the conservation of the bird species and its habitat, given the reliance of other species on the same. Steve Latta of the National Aviary, confident of the continued existence of the bird he asserts to have seen in 2019, insists, “Keeping the Ivory-billed Woodpecker on the endangered species list brings us one step closer to that goal.”
