U.S. Fish & Wildlife has issued a brief summary report of the status of Ivory-bill searching to this point:
http://www.fws.gov/ivorybill/QA-2006-2007search-season-12-21-2006.pdf
One of the more heartening statements reads as follows:
"Q: What if the 2006/2007 search season still yields no conclusive evidence?So many of the short-sighted skeptical or even fence-sitting sorts are grousing that if no definitive documentation is found this season then the searching ought to end. The real searching has barely begun --- it should end when it is completed, however many years it takes to cover the widely disparate territory from which credible reports emanate... and not a moment beforehand. Glad to see the USF&W may actually stick to it's guns on this one.
A: The Service still deems it imperative to continue with searches until conclusive evidence is gathered. Enough credible information has surfaced that leads our agency to believe that isolated populations of the species may still exist. It is our responsibility to ensure that we are making the appropriate decisions with regard to habitat management."
Hope to have more to say about the Jim Stevenson article within a few days, but for now (assuming Jim hasn't snapped under the threat of a jail sentence for killing a feral cat) the feedback I'm getting is leaning toward the authenticity of his account --- subject to change though as I continue trying to clear up several things troubling to me. Yet one more bizarre episode in the ever bizarre saga of the Ivory-bill!
Have a Ho, Ho, Ho day...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment