'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put off a decision about whether ivory-billed woodpeckers are extinct, announcing Wednesday that it's adding six months to review information, including a month of public comment.
"We are aware that there have been surveys or evidence collected recently," Amy Trahan, the agency's expert on the birds, said Wednesday. "This extra time allows them to submit their evidence to consider."
The bird, which also has been called the Lord God bird for the astounded exclamations by people who saw one, has or had a 30-inch (76-centimetre) wingspan, a high, nasal call and a distinctive double knock as it pecks for beetles.
It was among 23 animals the agency said in September 2021 it was planning to declare gone from the earth, removing them from the endangered list.
The agency is still reviewing evidence from two public comment periods about the woodpecker, Trahan said.
In the public comment period the agency is looking for photos or videos so clear that they "can be repeatedly interpreted the same way by independent observers."
Trahan would not comment about what has been submitted or who has made surveys or collected more evidence.
Ornithologist John Fitzpatrick, a former director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, said, "Nobody has gotten that cover-of-Time-magazine foldout that everybody wishes they could. But there is still legitimate believable evidence that these birds still exist in remote locations of Louisiana and Arkansas."
Fitzpatrick, who was lead author of a 2005 study that said the woodpecker had been found in eastern Arkansas, said a non-peer-reviewed paper by respected experts posted on a "preprint" site has some very interesting videos. One shows a group of three large woodpeckers pecking at branches high in a tree.
"The only woodpecker that foraged together in small groups was the ivorybill," he said.
The Wildlife and Fisheries Service announcement in September opened a 60-day period for public comment, and another comment period was opened with a virtual public meeting about the woodpecker in January.
Only one of nine speakers at that meeting supported the proposal to declare the bird extinct. Fitzpatrick was among experts who said the proposal was premature.
"For a species this iconic, this well-known, I think the right approach for them to take is caution," he said Wednesday. "And I think that's what they're doing."
The other 22 animals are still proposed for removal from the endangered list because of extinction. The agency has a year from the September announcement to take final action and has not yet done so.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.