Save the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

Report #1: Society for the Conservation of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

Thank you for your interest in the preserving the life of the Campephilus principalis. As you may already know, this woodpecker has only been sighted in Arkansas. This should help make the process of tracking one or two of them down, a bit easier than one might think. I understand that your group wants to help fund DNA-based research that might help save the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker; I believe that using DNA-fingerprinting is going to help prolong the life of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. The process of saving this woodpecker is going to have to start with a field study and learn how to better protect them by watching how they interact in their environment and each other. The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker is endangered because of the habitat loss. After the field study, we would then be able to take the DNA of this woodpecker and compare it to others in its family. Making it easier to alter its environment, hoping this will help get this beautiful bird off the endangered list, not only would we then be able to look at its environment and possibly change it. We could also alter the breeding process, allowing more birds to come into existence. I think that DNA-fingerprinting would definantly help this bird in its struggle for survival, although I do believe the main concern is not as much science as it is humans threatening their habitat.

Report # 2: Society for the Genetic Modification of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

First I would like to thank you in your interest for genetic modification to help save the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. Although I know that Ivory-Billed Woodpecker is endangered because of the lack of habitat, and this is not a science related problem. I think that the only way that genetic modification could help this endangered species is if there was some way that we could change the gene that tells them that the only way to survive is off the larvae of wood-boring beetles. Without the wood, also known as the dead and decaying trees they have nothing to feed on making it difficult for them to survive. I think that the only way genetic modification would help is if we could alter the genes that make them eat this beetles, from the dead trees. Without knowing what gene this is, is not going to help because as I already said the problem isn’t science it’s the humans cutting down our forests.

Sources :
Wikipedia. 2007. Ivory Billed Woodpecker. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_Billed_Woodpecker. Downloaded April 1, 2007.