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 > > > > > =================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 > > _____________________________________________________________ > > > =================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 _____________________________________________________________