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Ivory-billed Woodpecker Largest Woodpecker in North America during the history of Man Former range outlined in black dashed line Hold the phone, Gertie ! Most recent sightings Tensas River Basin Perhaps the first extinction due to man caused habitat fragmentation
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Largest Woodpecker in North America during the history of Man
Former range outlined in black dashed line Hold the phone, Gertie! Most recent sightings Tensas River Basin
Perhaps the first extinction due to man caused habitat fragmentation Habitat restricted to bottom land hard wood forests in the Southern U.S. And perhaps Mexico and Cuba Most commonly cypress swamps and oak forests associated with major river systems and other low-lying areas
Overcup Oak and Forester about to collapse in a sexual fantasy
Let’s use the Tensas River Basin in northeastern Louisiana as an example Before the arrival of European Man this area originally contained over one million hectares of flat, poorly drained forested land characteristic of the Mississippi River Flood Plain
These flood plain forests are among the most productive for fish and wildlife in the U.S. They support large populations of migratory and resident birds, among other unique species of plants and animals. The Tensas River basin has been fragmented by logging and conversion to agricultural fields for soybean, rice and cotton. By 1957 only 560,000 ha of forest remained, mostly in 2 large patches
By 1990, only 157,000 ha remained, in four patches ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 ha in size. The Tensas River Basin once supported Red wolves, Florida Panther and Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. Now all either endangered or extinct. Black bear declining. Hope for the system?