Tuesday, January 17, 2006

-- Silence Ain't Golden --

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This Arkansas Gazette update on the search basically says there is no significant news to date (secret or otherwise) to report from the Big Woods thus far. While it's not wholly unexpected that there would be little positive news coming out of Arkansas a couple months into the search... it IS disturbing how little of ANY news (positive, negative, OR neutral) has come out of the Big Woods area despite promises otherwise! Cornell's website has several pages which more-or-less pledged "frequent" or "regular" updates that simply have NOT transpired. Similarly, The Nature Conservancy site promised updates that have been scarce to this point, and finally the US Fish & Wildlife site which began with weekly updates, before going to bi-weekly entries, has not been updated since last September!! (there was originally an Oct. entry which was deleted). Some 'updates' that have appeared have been little more than warmed-over rehashes of info already out there for quite awhile. It would be wonderful to surmise that the available news is SO gooood, SO positive, and SO secret, that it can't be released in any detail just yet (the above article states unequivocally otherwise); BUT it is just as surmiseable that there is such a complete dearth of anything to report that pessimism is precluding anyone from even bothering to post basic information which might easily be disclosed and be of interest (without jeopardizing the ongoing effort). Maybe if enough folks grumble about the lack of communication some of these official agencies will be more forthcoming (...or just maybe, with my usual reverse Midas touch, by playing up the lack-of-news, something will break sooner than later).
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the most telling statement is " I don't think we have too many secrets this year" must mean they have one or two.
Besides, if Rosenberg is the PR person he will be the last to know.
What if they do have a picture or video, but it might give away the local then what.
I want to know badly, just not at the expense of the bird. We don't need to know we all just want to.

Anonymous said...

This is an amazing admission by
Cornell - I was expecting a
number of "firm sighting"
reports this winter, even
if no photos or videos were
obtained. I am also dismayed
by the lack of postings by
the various information outlets;
the ones that promised "regular
updates". It's like they're under a gag order not to release any negative news and, apparently, there is no positive news to report.

Bill Pulliam said...

They say in that article that they would probably not release just plain sightings. And that photos and such would be released after all the other agencies were told first, etc. etc.