Hunters preserved ivory-bill habitat

Let's applaud hunters and fishing enthusiasts, shall we? Those groups in Arkansas preserved the Big Woods area by purchasing the federal Duck Stamp, said Scott Simon of The Nature Conservancy.

The annual stamp costs $15 and, over the years, generated $41 million, according to Simon. He said that money purchased most of the habitat favored by the Lord God Bird.

Have you and your birding companions purchased Duck Stamps lately? Mark S. Anderson painted the Hooded Merganser stamp above.

UPDATE: The hunter-angle story also received play on the bottom fold of CNN.com. Nice to see the Ivory-billed Woodpecker search getting coverage in the mainstream media and raising the issue of habitat conservation.