IVORY_BILLED WOODPECKER CONSERVATION STAMP TO RAISE FUNDS FOR RARE BIRD

    IVORY_BILLED WOODPECKER CONSERVATION STAMPS AND PRINTS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR RARE BIRD NOW ON SALE
Ivory-billed Woodpecker Stamp and prints to raise funds for rare bird

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER CONSERVATION STAMPS AND PRINTS TO RAISE FUNDS
FOR RARE BIRD NOW ON SALE

/24-7PressRelease/ - JONESBORO, AR, October 29, 2005 - New conservation stamps and limited edition prints to raise much-needed funds to save the recently rediscovered Ivory-billed Woodpecker have gone on sale. The deign came from the original oil painting "Elusive Ivory" by wildlife artist Larry Chandler of Hartselle, Alabama.

The Ivory-billed Woodpecker made headlines worldwide after a press conference on its rediscovery April 28, 2005 at the U.S. Department of the Interior Auditorium in Washington, D.C. The last confirmed sighting of the bird, was in 1944, almost 60 years earlier.

Most ornithologists who were skeptical after seeing the original scientific evidence presented, including a short and fuzzy video of the bird in flight, were convinced it exists after hearing new audio released to the public at the American Ornithologists Union meeting August 24, 2005.
This new audio evidence captured the bird's unique "kent" calls, which were documented in 1935.

The price range for all items offered by the Official Ivory-billed Woodpecker Conservation Stamp Print Program starts at $9.00 for a Cloisonne collector pin and go up to $315.00 for the special Search Team Edition print hand-signed by the artist and all 4 members of a search team who first observed the bird along the Cache River in what's called the Big Woods area of Eastern Arkansas.

Proceeds from the sale of conservation stamps and prints will be evenly divided between The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, The Nature Conservancy and the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation.

Because stamp collecting is considered to be among most popular hobbies all across the globe, publisher Larry Grisham said "I expect we could sell over 200,000 of these stamps, which would raise well over a million dollars to help protect this gravely endangered woodpecker species."

There is also a Governor's Edition print which will be hand-signed by the artist and Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and will also include the Official Arkansas State Seal. This edition is limited to only 500 prints and sells for $265.00, including a mint unsigned Ivory-bill stamp.

Many of the estimated 70 million bird watchers in the United States will want to visit Arkansas to see the bird. But, thanks to the Ivory-billed Woodpecker
Conservation Stamp Print Program, they can see one on their wall without leaving home and their purchase will help to ensure this rare bird will survive. The stamp print will be the perfect holiday gift for birders this year.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is the nation's most-respected rare bird research organization and provided most of the current evidence. The new audio evidence was recorded by 24 Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs) installed 153 times, in two main areas near the White River and Cache River National Wildlife Refuges in Arkansas.

The Nature Conservancy is America's foremost conservation organization focusing on purchasing land in the United States that is critical for wildlife habitat. The non-profit group bought thousands of acres of nearby land before word of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker's rediscovery got out to the press.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation is the non-profit arm of the state wildlife department in Arkansas which is called the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. They plan to use their portion of the proceeds for public education, which will be needed for long-term protection of the bird.

Wildlife artist Larry Chandler learned about the bird from his long-time friend Bobby Harrison, who along with Tim Gallagher, made the first confirmed sighting of the bird in almost 60 years. It was Harrison, Associate Professor at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, who told him he needed to do a painting of the bird. After being sworn to secrecy, "I had to be the hands of the eyes that had seen the vision", Chandler said.

For more information on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Conservation Stamp Print Program, visit theweb site for it at www.ivory-bill-woodpecker.com. It offers news, photos, video and much more.

About Larry Chandler Art
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker Stamp and Print Program is designed to help raise funds for savng habitat and to educate the public about the bird and its amazing return from the brink of exinction.

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