A local perspective

An Arkansas reader who wishes to remain anonymous emailed me this (the bold font is mine):

Tom, I would like to thank you for putting up this info on your site so the everyday layman has some source to see the otherside of the fence. I live right here in the very middle of the area of question for [many decades]. Never in my life have I seen so much knee jerk reactions take place with so little evidence to back it up. It seems that all info on this find has been put on a need to know basis and All the everyday people have been deemed in the Not need to know position.

Like I said, I & several others thank you for this info. I will tell you that your site is being observed by many & the info released on it has made several people in decision making positions move back & start to ask questions.

In an earlier post to your site you made a point of their being an abnormal Pileated Woodpecker find in the exact area of where these first sightings were suppose to have been made. That info has raised great attention in this area. Number 1, it was always thought by the locals that this is what they might have seen in the first place, Second, if this was what they found, everyone is wondering why they didn't release the info on the find of these birds? This is a very touchy item over here right now. It seems that when a person is ask about this info, they just act like they don't even know what you are talking about and avoid the issue completely.

It would be a great help if you had additional info on this subject & if you do could you post it to your site so ALL the uninformed public could see it. Not only are our eyes watch your site closely, but the powers that be are also. This info, of all that has been revealed has gained the most attention & it also is the one that has had the most attempt given to keep the fire put down out on.

Like I said, Thanks again. I, like most others here have no problem with the Bird being here if it is & protecting it if it is here, but it is starting to appear that things may not be as they seem & the powers that be are maybe using this deal to push other agendas that they want done & this has now got them the backing to do these! Without real proof one way or the other released I am afraid it will put two groups, the Birders & Hunters, in a position to become enemies over an issue where both have not been given all the real proof up front. That would be a terrible shame if this was to happen at the cost of someone else's private agenda!

He also wrote this followup email:

[Regarding abnormal Pileateds] It is rumor that has begun to be talked about around here. I first heard it about 3 weeks ago. I remembered reading about it on you site. It may not have any basis, but the subject of this has become a hot topic. It was also stated the other night on a local TV station that this was what some believed was the case. The origin of this info is not know, but when I seen the same type of info on TV, hear about it on the street & see it posted on your site I found it to much of a coincidence that you had came up with the very same idea & also had quotes on your site that the Birder group had confirmed seeing such a bird in the area in the past.

The overall affect of this finding was not a big deal at first, but as time has past & all these new regulations & restrictions have been placed on the local people that has banned them from using an area that they have been able to use for generation has not went over very well. We were told this would not happen, but yet it did & has to date not been changed. With this in mind of what has been done & that no positive ID has been made, it is starting to fester into some real issues I am afraid. These people have been raised in these swamps & know more about them than anyone alive. It is a problem for them to understand how something like this is suppose to be there & no one in the local area can ever recall seeing one. In this area little can go unnoticed completely to everyone forever by the ones that were raised here & used to be able to use it before they were banned from using an area they had used forever. It has become a sore subject with most of the locals that, as you said, thousands of man hours of searching & other methods have been used for some time & till this date, not one photo or confirmed sighting has been made till yet, but this issue has still be deemed to be the #1 issue & the local uses of the areas have been put to an end with no real proof to support such an action has been supplied to them till yet. A lot of us laymen have become Ivorybill experts just from researching the data available. One thing that has been a real question is why this bird or birds has became a bird that has done everything different from what was know of it from past studies that were done. In past studies it seems that the bird was not that shy of a bird, it was not that hard to find if there, it was a very vocal bird, & the bird stayed in the same basic area in the past data & studies of the bird. Now were have a bird that goes 180 degrees from all we have ever known about it. This bird has now become so shy that it can disappear at a moments notice, it seems to be impossible to find, it never says anything at all when people are listening, and it never stays in the same place more than once? The locals cannot understand why this bird is so hard to find. They have all been all over these areas. If they are looking for something they can find it when they look, if it is there & most have the attitude that if they cannot find it, it is because it most likely not there.

One need to understand this, This area is the Pebble Beach or Augusta Golf Course of these people. This is an area that they have used by them for generations & is some of the best areas that go along with what is these peoples version of a golf game is. Now look at what has happen when this bird has suppose to have been seen on their premiere golf course. They were locked out of it.

How does one think the people of Pebble Beach or Augusta Golf course would feel & react is this was to happen on their golf courses, the courses were closed, & they were banned from using them for an issue that had not been proved or backed up in any way, but yet the banned stayed anyway? Does one think they would also have issues from being locked out?

Hope this helps put a little light on this issue from a local perspective.