Tim Gallagher
Gallagher has been the editor-in-chief of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s Living Bird magazine since 1990. As one of the first three searchers to report seeing and identifying the species, he played an instrumental role in the 2004/2005 Arkansas reports of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. His book about the experience, The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was published in May 2005. His book, Falcon Fever, about his lifelong fascination with birds of prey, was released in May 2008. His most recent, published in April 2013, is Imperial Dreams: Tracking the Imperial Woodpecker Through the Wild Sierra Madre.
http://outofboundsradioshow.com/exc_audio_post/tim-gallagher-writer-wildlife-photographer-editor/
From 2013
Defeat of the ivorybill extinction proposal
Great news for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker! In an exciting and encouraging victory for science and conservation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has backed off its proposal to remove the Ivorybill from Endangered Species Act protection.
Of course, the USFWS is the greatest conservation institution on the planet. As an enormous admirer of the USFWS for over 50 years, it’s such a relief to know that the system and the organization worked. Instead of investing the time and effort to oppose delisting, Mission Ivorybill can finally turn its full attention to the tasks for which it was designed in the first place: educating about —and researching for— America’s most interesting bird, the magnificent and still-flying Ivory-billed Woodpecker.
Join us this Monday as we evaluate what happened. Much of the confusion over the last 18 months arose from misattribution of expertise. Bizarrely, people with literally ZERO experience and/or understanding of the Ivorybill led the discussion about the status of the bird. As the saying goes, you can’t really understand the game unless you know the players. Now that the dust has settled, we will evaluate some of the key institutions and people involved in the delisting battle.
Of course, the Ivorybill and its precious habitat are the biggest winners in the demise of the proposal. Who/what else were the big winners or big losers in this situation? We will express our opinions. What do YOU think? Should we re-examine our opinions about who should be considered leaders in conservation and in birding?
As always, all opinions, questions, comments, and challenges are welcome in this interactive format. This will be a lively and fun program. Best of all, we will take a moment to celebrate the death of the biggest threat to the Ivorybill.”
— Matt Courtman