Subject: From FWS e-Bulletin
Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 21:49:20 +0000

Cache River National Wildlife Refuge Soars into the Spotlight

So far, the influx of birders to the Cache River Refuge in Arkansas in the wake of confirmed sightings of the Ivory-billed woodpecker has not materialized. According to Refuge Manager Dennis Widner, "We have not had the influx of birders we thought we would. We expected to be overrun, and it did not occur. The birding community took ownership of the Ivory-billed and said, 'Let's not all go out there and jeopardize the existence of this bird.'" The Ivory-billed feeds on insects found in the dying trees of the 61,000-acre refuge's thick hardwood swamps and bottomland hardwoods. Staff at the Cache River Refuge were bracing for an influx of birders from across the nation and beyond.

Access to 5,000 acre portion of the wildlife refuge where the Ivory-billed was spotted is restricted to researchers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. However, refuge staff and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission have provided public viewing opportunities adjacent to the wildlife refuge.

According to Widner, sites on the state-managed Dagmar Wildlife Management Area offer excellent views into the forest canopy. Additional viewing sites and access points are becoming available as water from the White and Cache rivers recedes, allowing access to the remaining 55,000 acres of the refuge where public use activities are still allowed.

The Cache River Refuge was established in 1986 and hunters and birders have
funded nearly 75 percent of the land acquisition through the purchase of the Federal Duck Stamp. The Ivory-billed woodpecker was rediscovered after 61 years through the cooperative efforts of the Department of the Interior, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission,
The Nature Conservancy, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and other members of the
Big Woods Conservation Partnership.

The Departments of the Interior and Agriculture are developing a $10.2 million funding package to support the recovery and management of the Ivory-billed. The Department of the Interior is contributing $2 million for habitat partnership grants, $1.3 million for recovery planning, $1.2 million for partnerships with landowners and waterfowl clubs, $300,000 for law enforcement and $200,000 for public education. For more information, visit the Cache River Refuge Web site at http://www.fws.gov/cacheriver/.

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Tom Schooley
bucephalaATcomcast.net
Olympia, WA