FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Re: red-cockaded woodpecker in tennessee

[<cpnichol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mr. Peyton,
I can't speak for others, but I did not expect Alcoa to find RCWs during its 
relicensing studies.  My expectation, however, was not based on the reasons you 
suggest, and I strongly disagree with your characterization of Alcoa.  
 
My expectation was based on the many days of field work I conducted in the area 
between the late 1970s and late 1980s.  During this period, I observed RCWs on 
several occasions, found several cavity trees, and watched the deterioration of 
the bird's habitat and the evential disappearance of the RCWs.  So based on my 
personal knowledge of the potential for RCWs to occur in the area, I did not 
expect any to be found.
 
The Alcoa relicensing process involved the active participation of many 
agencies and organizations besides Alcoa and FERC.  Others involved included 
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife 
Service, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, North Carolina Wildlife Resources 
Commission, The Nature Conservance, Tennessee Valley Authority, fishing and 
white water boating groups, the Eastern Band of the Cherokees, and 
representatives of the local communities.  Various teams composed of 
representatives of the agencies and organizations were formed to address 
specific topics such as recreation, water quality, and wildlife and endangered 
species.  These teams had major roles in designing the various studies that 
were conducted, including the RCW survey.  Alcoa contracted with a neutral 
third party - the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and 
Mary (http://www.ccb-wm.org/index.html) - to carry out the study.  The CCB 
personnel who 
 conducted the study were well qualified and experienced in working with RCWs.  

The Alcoa relicensing effort also resulted in large, important benefits to 
natural resource conservation, including the addition of considerable acreage 
to the Great Smokies National Park, and the placement of conservation easements 
and other similar covenants on thousands of acres that Alcoa owns.  
 
You can research this stuff yourself at 
http://www.alcoa.com/tapoco/en/info_page/documents.asp
The RCW search study plan is available at 
http://www.alcoa.com/tapoco/en/pdf/documents/finalsurveyplan3101.pdf
The results of RCW study are available at 
http://www.alcoa.com/tapoco/en/pdf/events/rcwdraftreport.pdf

Chuck Nicholson
Norris, TN 

> 
> From: Beau Peyton <bpeyton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 2006/01/04 Wed AM 09:49:22 EST
> To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [TN-Bird] Re: red-cockaded woodpecker in tennessee
> 
> cpnichol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> 
> >> More recently, 3 or 4 years ago, Alcoa, through its Tapoco subsidiary 
> >> (since renamed), hired biologists to survey for RCWs in the same part 
> >> of the park where RCWs occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as on 
> >> nearby Tapoco lands.  This survey was conducted as part of Tapoco's 
> >> hydro plant relicensing effort to determine whether Tapoco's new 
> >> license needed to include specific requirements for managing RCWs.  
> >> The survey crew did not find any recent evidence of RCWs or good 
> >> quality habitat for RCWs.
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Did anyone really expect Alcoa to report it had located RCW?
> >
> > That's like asking the Mafia to search, find and report lost currency. 
> >
> > Beau Peyton
> > Germantown, TN
> >
> 
> 
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> _____________________________________________________________
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=================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER=====================

The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with
first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation.
You are also required to list the count in which the birds
you report were seen.  The actual date of observation should
appear in the first paragraph.
_____________________________________________________________
To post to this mailing list, simply send email to:
tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________________ 
To unsubscribe, send email to:
tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
______________________________________________________________
  TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society 
       Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s)
        endorse the views or opinions expressed
        by the members of this discussion group.
 
         Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
                 wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_____________________________________________________________
     Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
          web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp

_____________________________________________________________