A Stillness in the Pines

From eastern Texas the remnants of a once-magnificent forest nurtured by moisture from the Gulf of Mexico extend a thousand miles to the Atlantic shore and as far north as Chesapeake Bay. This unique woodland gave birth to two woodpeckers one largethe ivory-billed woodpecker which has not been sighted in over ten years and which is almost surely extinctand the other smallthe red-cockaded woodpecker which may yet be saved. What distinguishes this bird from others is its unique niche. Its adaptations make it totally dependent on pine trees in an open forest. This ecosystemthat of the loblolly pine tree forestis the bird''s onlly habitat. But these southeastern pine trees are valuable natural resources. Having withstood the ravages of nature for thousands of years it is now entirely possible that the woodpecker will be lost because of a combination of benign neglect and commercial interests.