Conservation and Management

Negative impacts of humans on Ivory-billed Woodpeckers include killing the birds, destroying or fragmenting their habitat, and possibly disrupting their normal behavior patterns.

Human Disturbance

Opinions vary on the impacts of human activities: e.g., Brewster (Brewster 1881d Brewster, W. (1881d). With the birds on a Florida river. Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club 6:38-44. Close : 41) found the birds to be "very shy, taking good care to keep beyond gun range." Allen and Kellogg (Allen and Kellogg 1937 Allen, A. A. and P. P. Kellogg. (1937). Recent observations on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Auk 54:164-184. Close ) noted that the birds at one nest were not very wary, allowing observers to stand at the base of the nest tree as the parents brought food to nestlings, while other Ivory-billeds abandoned a nest after one visit and another after 4 visits by human observers. As with other species (e.g., Red-cockaded Woodpecker; Jackson 1994b Jackson, J. A. 1994. Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis). In The Birds of North America, No. 85 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union. Close ), susceptibility to disturbance likely varies with nature of the disturbance, novelty of the disturbance, timing of the nesting cycle, and past experience of the individual bird. Dennis (Dennis 1979 Dennis, J. V. (1979). The Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis). Avicultural Mag. 85:75-84. Close : 75) felt that the Ivory-billed could adapt to cutover forests, but that it needed "solitude" and could not coexist with "hunters, fishermen and vacationers."

Killing Of Birds

See Demography and populations: causes of mortality, above.

Habitat Destruction And Fragmentation

Clearly the prime cause of decline of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. A strong case can be made that the species has been the victim of technology and war (Jackson 2004 Jackson, J. A. (2004). In search of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Washington, D.C: Smithson. Inst. Press. Close ): Technology allowed humans to cut forests more quickly and completely and to move forest pro-ducts far from where produced; World Wars I and II (and more recent conflicts) brought increased demands for forest products, some legitimate, some "pork barrel politics," and stifling of conservation efforts if they could be perceived to impede war efforts.

The settling of Southern states by Europeans resulted in a gradual destruction and fragmentation of the virgin-forest habitats of the Ivory-billed over several centuries. Following the American Civil War, however, there was a dramatic increase in habitat losses. Wood was needed for railroads, utility lines, ships, homes, and fuel. By 1880s, virgin forests of the Great Lakes states had been cut and forest industry turned to the South. Thousands of hectares of virgin forest had been confiscated by the federal government following the Civil War, and Southern politicians wanted those lands on local tax rolls. A coalition of forest-industry interests and Southern politicians succeeded in getting the lands put up for sale. Special trains brought land buyers from Northern states, and the virgin forests sold for as little as $1.25 per acre. See Jackson 1988c Jackson, J. A. (1988c). "The southeastern pine forest ecosystem and its birds: past, present, and future." In Bird conservation 3., edited by J. A. Jackson, 119-159. Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Press. Close for a detailed review. The first great wave of habitat loss occurred during 1880-1910. During World War I, Northern industries were getting the bulk of money spent for the war effort, and Southern politicians demanded their share. A bill was passed to build 1,000 ships of southern pine, sounding the death knell for remaining virgin pine forests. It was considered patriotic to cut the forests, although only 320 ships were ever built and none saw war action (Jackson 1988c Jackson, J. A. (1988c). "The southeastern pine forest ecosystem and its birds: past, present, and future." In Bird conservation 3., edited by J. A. Jackson, 119-159. Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Press. Close ). World War II was the final blow. Again in response to war "needs" and under the banner of patriotism, many remaining old-growth southern forests were cut. Some of the wood was used for the decks of PT boats, other for pallets for shipping ammunition; much of it fueled the demands of industry. Ironically, German prisoners of war cut parts of the Singer Tract, home of the last Ivory-billeds documented in the U.S. (Jackson 2004 Jackson, J. A. (2004). In search of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Washington, D.C: Smithson. Inst. Press. Close ).

Conservation Status

Critically endangered by all criteria. Probably extinct.

Measures Proposed And Taken

United States. The Ivory-billed Woodpecker received legal protection in Florida through a law passed in 1901 to protect nongame birds, and the Lacey Act, passed by the federal government in 1900, provided a tool to stop interstate shipment of birds taken in violation of state law. In 1905, J. R. Jack, a commercial collector, was arrested and charged for shipping Ivory-billed Woodpecker skins out of Florida; the collector escaped prosecution on a technicality-it had been believed that Ivory-billeds were extinct in Florida, and therefore they could not be protected under the state law (Dutcher et al. 1905 Dutcher, W., A. H. Thayer, R. Hoffmann, Jr. Williams, R. W., F. M. Miller, F. Bond, F. M. Bailey, E. B. Clark, T. G. Pearson, L. M. Stephenson and A. W. Anthony. (1905). [Report of Am. Ornithol. Union Committee for the Protection of North American Birds.]. Auk 22:110-112. Close , Steinhart 1999 Steinhart, P. (1999). "A common possession." In The National Audubon Society. Speaking for nature. A century of conservation., edited by L. Line, 42-59. New York: Hugh Lauter Levin Assoc., Inc. Close ). Following "official" discovery of Ivory-billeds in the Singer Tract in Louisiana, state officials issued a moratorium on permits-even scientific permits-to take Ivory-billeds (Tanner 1942bb Tanner, J. T. (1942b). The Ivory-billed Woodpecker. National Audubon Society Research Report 1. National Audubon Society, New York, New York. Close ).

Major efforts were made to stop cutting of the forest in the Singer Tract and to secure the area as a refuge for the species. The National Association of Audubon Societies (Baker Baker 1942 Baker, J. H. (1942). The director reports to you. Audubon Magazine 44:367-376. Close , Baker 1944b Baker, J. H. (1944b). The director reports to you. Audubon Magazine 46:54-59. Close ; Steinhart 1999 Steinhart, P. (1999). "A common possession." In The National Audubon Society. Speaking for nature. A century of conservation., edited by L. Line, 42-59. New York: Hugh Lauter Levin Assoc., Inc. Close ) and the Am. Ornithol. Union (Cahalane et al. Cahalane et al. 1940 Cahalane, V. H., A. Leopold, W. L. Finley and C. Cottam. (1940). Report of the Committee on Bird Protection, 1939. Auk 57:279-291. Close , Cahalane et al. 1941 Cahalane, V. H., C. Cottam, W. L. Finley, and A. Leopold (1941). Report of the Committee on Bird Protection, 1940. The Auk 58:292–298. Close ) were among the voices pleading for the species before both government and industry leaders, although there were some that felt more could have been done (Edge 1943 Edge, R. (1943). "The Singer Tract and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker." In Conservation for victory, 22. New York: Publ. no 88, Emergency Conserv. Comm., Annu. Rep. 1942. Close ). All efforts failed. Jackson (Jackson 2004 Jackson, J. A. (2004). In search of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Washington, D.C: Smithson. Inst. Press. Close ) reviews this conservation struggle.

Ivory-billeds were reported in the Chipola River Swamp in the Florida Panhandle in 1950 by Whitney Eastman and Muriel Kelso (Eastman 1958 Eastman, W. (1958). Ten year search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Atl. Nat. 13:216-228. Close ), and also apparently from there by Crompton (Crompton 1950 Crompton, D. H. (1950). My search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Florida. Bull. Mass. Audubon Soc. 34 (6):235-237. Close ). Through the combined efforts of the National Audubon Society, the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, local landowners, the St. Joe Paper Company, and the Neal Lumber and Manufacturing Company, the 526-ha (1,300-acre) Chipola River Wildlife Sanctuary was established to protect them (Baker 1950 Baker, J. H. (1950). News of wildlife and conservation; Ivory-bills now have sanctuary. Audubon Magazine 52:391-392. Close ). In the absence of further sightings, the sanctuary status for the area was discontinued in 1952 (Dennis 1967b Dennis, J. V. (1967b). The Ivory-bill flies still. Audubon 69 (6):38-44. Close ).

Audubon's (Audubon 1842 Audubon, J. J. (1842). Birds of America. Vol. 4. J. B. Chevalier, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Close ) observation that Ivory-billeds were attracted to trees that had been girdled as settlers cleared their land could be put to practical use in both the search for and management of this species: One might girdle a few trees in areas where Ivory-billeds are suspected to occur and thus lure them in for con-firmation of their presence; once located, we could manage for Ivory-billeds by thus increasing potential foraging sites. Tanner (Tanner 1942bb Tanner, J. T. (1942b). The Ivory-billed Woodpecker. National Audubon Society Research Report 1. National Audubon Society, New York, New York. Close ) and L. Short (pers. comm.) have also suggested such efforts.

Cuba. Use of nest boxes was proposed to augment potential nest and roost sites for Ivory-billeds, and posters and pamphlets urging their protection were prepared for distribution in ne. Cuba, where Ivory-billeds were known (Lamb 1957 Lamb, G. R. (1957). The Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Cuba. Pan-American Section, Int. Comm. Bird Preserv., Res. Rep. 1. Close ). Since 1970s, conservation efforts for the species in Cuba have included considerable publicity soliciting assistance from local communities and the establishment of preserves. In Jul 1974, Luis S. Varona (pers. comm. in Dennis 1979 Dennis, J. V. (1979). The Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis). Avicultural Mag. 85:75-84. Close ) indicated that Ivory-billeds and their habitat were being protected by wardens at the Cupeyal and Jaguani reserves, which were set aside by the Cuban Academy of Sciences in Oriente Province.

Effectiveness Of Measures

No indication that nest boxes were ever constructed or, if constructed and installed, that they were ever used. Carefully designed artificial nest/roost sites have been successful with Red-cockaded Woodpecker (see references in Jackson 1994b Jackson, J. A. 1994. Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis). In The Birds of North America, No. 85 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union. Close ) and should be given serious consideration if Ivory-billeds are suspected to remain in any cutover forests. Education efforts have been effective to some extent in raising human awareness of the plight of the species, but ineffective in protecting and providing for habitat needs.