The New York Times published a follow-up on the announcement of impending criticism of the proofs for the re-discovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Arkansas. According to the Times both sides are putting on a public face that this is just normal scientific peer review. It is not clear whether the decorum will continue after the papers are published.
The critique will appear in the open access online science journal PLoS Biology. PLoS has an embargo policy which is why most of the principals are not talking (much).
I think we can expect the criticisms to center on the 4 seconds of video, which were alledgedly enhanced to bring out details of the images on them. It should be noted that no one is suggesting that any of this is an effort of pull a hoax, rather unbridled zeal and wishful thinking may be involved. Some of the more recent doubters are heavy hitters like David Sibley and Kenn Kaufman. One can postulate that at least some of their doubts come from inside information most of us would not have access to.
My concerns from the very beginning have always had less to do with Ivory-billed Woodpeckers and more to do with conservation dollars. When Gail Norton promised money to woodpecker protection, it wasn't new money. It was money pulled from other endangered species projects. The Bush administration continues to chip away at environmental protections, mostly through a process of blatant disregard for scientific data and deliberated disinformation campaigns.
The rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker could actually end up causing more extinctions....
Posted by mbalame at July 24, 2005 4:36 PM