At one point in Stephen Lyn Bales' recent book he writes of James Tanner's concern over frequent inquiries from Louisiana locals about the monetary value Ivory-billed Woodpecker specimens might have. Indeed, through much of their decline their dollar value increased substantially as their numbers decreased. Hunting of Ivory-bills was no doubt routine throughout their North American existence, including even in the 30's when laws may have been more stringent (but hardly enforceable in backwoods swamps).
In his work (with 2 other authors), "The Travails of Two Woodpeckers," Noel Snyder writes openly that significant restrictions to human activity, especially hunting, would be needed to insure any conservation chances for Ivory-bills IF they were ever confirmed in a tract of habitat (not because hunters, in general, are irresponsible or law-breaking individuals, but because it only takes a couple of bad apples to have a devastating effect on such a small species population). Yet, few in an official capacity want to voice that concern out loud; just not terribly PC to do so.
Indeed, agencies in charge, seem intent on saying they can work with hunters and other recreationalists to maintain freedom of access and use of land, while also protecting any birds in question. Uhhh, sure....
Ivory-bills, if ever found in numbers in a locale frequented by the public will almost certainly, on occasion, be poached, and even strict access restrictions could only diminish such law-breaking, not end it, given this bird's allure. That is the world we live in, where a dead, stuffed IBWO, in certain circles, holds more value than a living, breathing one. Indeed, one wonders how many may already sit atop mantelpieces or in attics of out-of-the-way ramshackled domiciles of the rural south... such is the acquisitive instinct simmering deep within humans.
For a whole school of reasons I've already heard before, many will lambast any suggestion that public land holding Ivory-bills (if ever found) ought be cordoned off from most human activity, as best as physically possible; yet anything short of that is likely just a hopeless spinning-of-wheels and pretend IBWO conservation. Still, realistically neither political correctness nor practicality will likely ever allow it to happen --- the hunting community and its cohorts aren't to be meddled with by their tepid and weakly-empowered counterparts/accommodationists in conservation (in fact, attempts to control such human activity/behavior probably only lead to fiercer backlash against such controls). Instead, most likely, we will cordially dance around the elephant... while it stomps out remaining birds.
In closing, I'll quote these passages from the Snyder volume:
"Focusing on the values of preventing habitat loss and encouraging the public to believe that successful conservation of ivory-bills can be achieved without significant sacrifice of hunting privileges on lands where ivory-bills occur may be politically attractive because these policies minimize immediate opposition to conservation efforts. But efforts limited to such policies may well be too timid to be effective in conserving the species... for a reasonable chance of success with ivory-bill or imperial woodpecker recovery, it appears essential that the needs of remnant populations for safety from shooting be recognized and accommodated in a truly effective manner....
"We submit that until ivory-bill and imperial populations are truly out of extreme endangerment, no losses to shooting and other depredations should be tolerated in recovery efforts, and this does indeed mean exclusion of shooting activities from confirmed use areas by whatever means may be feasible. The reserves at Aransas in Texas and Red Rock Lakes in Montana that appear to have been crucial in allowing recovery of the whooping crane and the trumpeter swan, respectively, were established specifically to conserve these species by protecting them from shooting, rather than to promote traditional hunting activities. It is only prudent to assume that such protection would be essential for any ivory-bill or imperial population unambiguously rediscovered today."
....of course the operating phrase above is "unambiguously rediscovered" --- for now, this entire post is moot unless a confirmed room with Ivory-bills in it is actually found.
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