Woodpecker Revenue "Flies Away"

The town of Brinkley became the center of the bird-watching universe, but things have changed.

Now there's word the search for the rare bird may be over. The Arkansas Nature Conservancy announced they have no plans to continue the search for the Ivory Billed Woodpecker.

Cornell University may abandon thier efforts to find the bird as well. It could mean the end of an era in Brinkley.

It's there for anyone on Interstate 40 to see, Brinkley is the home of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker.
The bird was last seen in the swamps of Louisiana in 1944. That is until a UALR professor, David Luneau shot some remarkable video near Brinkley.

"When she was a young girl the Ivory Billed Woodpecker was everywhere and it was called the by-golly bird, by golly look at that bird, "Mayor Barbara Skouras says her friends remember when the rare bird wasn't so rare. And she remembers when it was big business.

Mayor Skouras says, "We had tourist in here, birders. Our motels had people and our restaurants, and we made hamburger tax. And our sales tax for that month increased. The chamber of commerce had a birding festival, and we had people come in from all over the United States.

"My business jumped a third for two, two and a half years, "says Gene Depriest.

Down Main Street you'll find Gene's Bar-B-Que, sort of the woodpecker headquarters in Brinkley.

Gene Depriest still has the t-shirts and knick knacks he sold to bird watchers from all over the world who came trying to get their own picture of the elusive woodpecker.

He still has a customer or two ask to buy one of his menu's. But he says the big woodpecker frenzy appears to be over.

Depriest says, "The lady from the Houston Chronicle asked me did it help my business. I said what about yours. She said yeah if it hadn't been for the bird I wouldn't be in Bnnkley. So she got a free vacation out of it."

But the question remains--is the ivory billed woodpecker really extinct?
not long ago they found a nest in the woods near brinkley and cornell researchers determined it was authentic.
so all hope of finding the rare bird is apparently not lost.

In the last four years close to $11 million has been spent in the effort to find a living specimen of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker.