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1) In just 6 more months the blog celebrates its 20th anniversary (…if it makes it that long), and I’ll probably depart regular posting at that point (almost have already!) given the political darkness I expect to befall the country well before then.😕 With so few searchers, sporadically searching so few areas in any rigorous systematic way and with limited resources, it’s hard to imagine a positive or definitive outcome over that time period, when a species has already proven itself so capable of evading human encounters (if it persists at all).
I always remember asking Bill Pulliam about IBWO prospects in a certain area and him casually saying that if they existed there they deserved to be left alone -- if they had made it this far along, they could continue to do so (…until perhaps their numbers might rise to a point of being more easily detectable). Make no mistake, the problem of actually protecting this species (from human hordes), if ever found, may indeed be just as great a problem as locating them has been for 80+ years. In short, conclusively documenting the species, while cause for some celebration, would really just be the start of yet the bigger issue/debate over what to do next???... perhaps just as acrimonious a squabble as what we’ve already been through.
Anyway, always hoping for the best, or at least some sort of surprise, but realistically, have very low expectations for the next 6 months.
2) About a year ago I inquired of Dr. Chris Haney if his wonderful volume (that we all love), "Woody's Last Laugh" would have a second edition, and he said that he didn't oppose it but there were no current plans for doing so. So I inquired again recently and haven't heard back, but assume the answer is the same. I'd actually like to see a different publishing house take the book over, do better editing, and add an index at the end (but I don't know what, if any, contractual obligations Chris may be under). Moreover, at a minimum, Chris would probably need to include material on the USFWS hearings and on some of the Latta-group Louisiana claims.... as well as any number of other claims/storylines from the last couple years he might want to add to a new edition -- i.e., a second edition wouldn't necessarily be an easy/simple task for Dr. Haney depending on his own time constraints. In any event if you want to write the original publisher encouraging them to do a new edition, feel free (in case it has any influence). Their website, with a contact link, is here:
https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/changemakers-books/
The original volume was already almost 500 pages though, and there's a limit to how many pages the mass market will bear, so again, considerable editing would be crucial. Unless or until Chuck Hunter produces an Ivory-bill volume, Haney's is the most comprehensive one we have, with prolific footnotes almost as vital as the main text.
[UPDATE: just today (1/7) I heard from Dr. Haney that, lo-and-behold, a recent meeting with the publisher to discuss a new edition WAS in fact scheduled but missed due to weather/travel issues, and he's not sure when it will be re-scheduled (the individual travels internationally). So sounds like something is in the works, hooray!]
3) Speaking of.... In the last month, Chuck Hunter has posted further occasional long Ivory-bill history posts on a couple of the IBWO Facebook accounts (from Dwight Norris and Fred Virrazzi). I won't link here (just trying to minimize historical material), but I do hope most of you catch his detailed, informative postings, which take care to indicate what is established 'fact' and what is more speculative or debatable in our Ivory-bill knowledge.
4) About every other year I link once to Sufjan Stevens' haunting ballad to the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and since I didn't link in 2024 may as well start this melancholy year off with it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-GDRP8eAtg
Enough for now.... (maybe another post before end of month, IF my head doesn't explode on Inauguration Day).
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