David Carruth, president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, one of the plaintiffs, said Thursday that despite the “naysayers” no one has proven that the bird doesn’t exist.2. "Descent into Madness"
“The debate will rage until the proverbial million-dollar shot is produced,” he said, referring to a still or moving photograph that will be indisputable.
3. "...Good News"
4. Gary Bogue weighs in:
Does this mean that we no longer need to have real animals? That we can just presume animals exist in a particular area?5. From The Baxter Bulletin:
Rep. Bobby Glover said he was concerned that the federal ruling would lead to work on other projects in the state being delayed.6. "Endangered Logic"
"Just one person would have to say they saw an ivory-billed woodpecker and that gets shut down," said Glover, D-Carlisle.
Sen. Jim Luker, D-Wynne, later defended the bird despite doubts of its existence.
"That woodpecker happens to be my constituent, so I have reason to take care of him," Luker said.
Posts
6 comments:
Well, the TB is getting worried. You know that I am a firm believer in all things Dr. Fitzpatrick. And you know that I believe that the Ivory-billed stll exists and was in fact rediscovered in Arkanasas in 2004.
But this Federal judge decision and this movie, Ghostbird, worry me. I fear my side may have wondered a bit too far in forcing the ESA down the Corps throat here. There are a number of enemies in Congress that lie in wait for a reason to reopen the ESA to rewriting. Does anyone believe that opening it to put in language that "everyone must agree that a bird exists" before the act takes effect will stop there?
And this movie, it hit me between the eyes as a Skeptic's movie not a True Believer's movie. Watch it again. Notice how you Skeptics are not unhappy after the trailer is over?
Signed,
The True Believer
One of the most bizarre aspects of this whole affair is that the CLO and allies fancy themselves as great conservationists, when they are actually doing great and perhaps irreparable damage to the already suspect scientific credibility of the ESA and validating the worst, formerly irrational fears of its opponents. The ultimate losers will be the many genuinely endangered birds in the USA and their habitats, such as the Hawaiian honeycreepers of Haleakala, and the scientists and other people who study and protect them. It frustrates me that even the most prominent skeptics among famous or professional ornithologists have in general validated, or at least tacitly accepted, the CLO's claim that saving the Big Woods is a high priority for bird conservation. I wish they would have suggested that ESA and other would be better spent elsewhere to recover or preserve birds that demonstrably exist, especially those that live in areas of endemism harboring numerous endangered non-avian species.
It would obviously be a good thing to preserve the Big Woods for a variety of reasons, but it is disingenuous and ultimately counterproductive to use recovery of unverifiable IBWOs or presence of attractive but relatively common and widespread birds such as the Swallow-tailed Kite as the reason. I implore ornithologists familiar with genuine patterns of bird endangerment, as documented in the IUCN Red Lists, to defend the scientific basis of bird conservation and to repudiate the CLO's arrogant approach and false belief that their righteous goal of saving the Big Woods justifies any amount of dubious science and biased press releases.
Dear Mudslinger
Thanks much for an important post. While this IBWO fiasco has been a diversion for many and profitable for a few, it has the potential of being very harmful to conservation in the long run. I enjoy and try to contribute to the humor posted here but realize many of us are simply looking for reasons to laugh just to stop ourselves from crying.
The apologists who say that this entire drama was good for conservation even if there was no IBWO are severely mistaken. Saying “No fowl? No harm!” makes it appear that all you need to get major funding for your favorite conservation issue is a delusional kayaker and an ornithologist at a declining East Coast university. But with the irrigation case and a movie that may be treating IBWO like Big Foot, I think a tipping point was reached this week. Soon the CLO crew and its cronies won’t be able to attract donors or paying crowds wanting to see bad video. Today’s conservation arena is a very crowded theater and someone in the court system will point out that you can’t cry fire in a crowded theater.
I had a dream last nite
It gave me quite a fright
In my underwear I was sittin’
Watching the tube as it was emittin’
The middle east war with all it’s action
With dyin’ not limited to any one faction
As I lay tossin’ and turnin’
And my throat dryin’ and burnin’
I must have realized
That I no longer idealized
The world of my youth
Had become so uncouth
So in the midst of this dreamin’
Emerged a voice that was screamin’
Screamin’ at the front of my house
I woke with a start and put on my blouse
Still in a daze and with a feelin’ of dread
I felt myself goin’ where even the devil wouldn’t tread
As the door opened there were two men
One held a letter written in red pen
I couldn’t decide
Whether to run or to hide
But the screamin’ had subsided
So I decided
To screw up my courage and do what mattered
Before my bravery took flight and soon scattered
It was then I realized I was still dreamin’
The war was back with all its blood streamin’
The two men turned out full officers
It’s as if Aliens had landed with saucers
For around them an aura did glow
In a color reminiscent of blood flow
One preceeded to read from his letter
From the first word it never got better
“I regret to inform you your Ivory Bill is dead
Or not so much dead, as probably fled
This world once filled with idealism
And now confronted by Bush realism”
A rush of relief over my body did spread
The feeling of angst and feeling of dread
Left my body as if all my worries had fled
It was an odd feeling , this feeling of relief
I had always been comforted in my belief
It’s not a nice world for humans or aliens
For Jesus Christ or many mammalians
You say the Ivory Bill is dead?
When exactly should I feel dread?
Whoever it is that's been advocating here in recent weeks that policy making be left to policy makers certainly is getting their way. First an uninformed judge, next it'll be the uniformed backlash from Congress.
But look at the bright side... nobody seems to be "badgering" scientists for their opinions on the matter. At least we have that.
I understand that Dr. Jackson, as a well-known skeptic, testified on behalf of the environemntal groups that were using IBWO to stop this project. Anyone know this for a fact and if so, what Dr. Jackson's testimony included?
Post a Comment