Vigilant volunteers keep watch in the Bayou de View.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon Arkansas are seeking volunteers to help search for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in an official capacity in eastern Arkansas between January 3, 2007, and April 21, 2007. There is also an opportunity to volunteer in South Carolina this season. Cornell has agreed to help solicit volunteers for the program in South Carolina through this process.

In Arkansas, volunteers will aid our full-time field biologists in conducting active searches, staffing observation stations, scouting unsearched areas, and participating in searching for potential IBWO cavities and foraging sign in the Cache River and White River National Wildlife Refuges. We will accept 6-10 volunteers at one time. There are 7 available start dates for a minimum two-week volunteer stint. The start dates are not negotiable as all new volunteers must be trained together on specified dates. End dates beyond the two-week minimum are flexible.

Volunteers will receive training in search techniques, data collection, data entry, equipment use, safety concerns, and basic natural history of the local ecosystem. Volunteers will learn the area by participating in field trips and using our GIS-based mapping system. Field conditions can be difficult (though the ecosystem is truly beautiful), with temperatures dipping below 32 degrees F in winter and exceeding 85 degrees F in spring. Plan to spend 10-12 hours/day in a canoe or a blind with little movement. Work requires the use of digital technology and computers. Volunteers must be willing to use or learn how to use this technology.

Requirements:

 • Minimum two-week commitment to begin on standardized dates, no maximum stay
 • Strong birding skills
 • Dedication to finding a very elusive bird under adverse field conditions
 • Strong boating skills
 • 18 years of age or older

Please review Cornell’s Volunteer Agreement Form. Each volunteer must sign this agreement before participating in the search. This will be included in the information packet that we send out in December to selected volunteers.

What we provide:

 • Lodging: Cache River NWR— group living in local house with 2.5 baths, 4 bedrooms, kitchen with 2 stoves and 2 refrigerators. Alternatively, there are several hotel options in Brinkley, Arkansas (at your own expense). White River NWR— group living at a field station in a series of trailers and bunk house with 2 baths and 2 kitchens or a Duck Lodge with multiple bunk rooms and baths. There are no hotel options at these locations.
 • Field equipment: Canoes, paddles, life jackets, GPS unit, video camera, cell phone
 • Supervision/Training: Supervisor will provide daily assignments/debriefing; help with data collection and troubleshooting logistical problems.

What you provide:

 • Travel to and from eastern Arkansas
 • Binoculars
 • Field clothing: Must have camouflaged outer layer
 • Water bottles/thermos
 • Food
 • Waders (optional)
 • Rubber boots

To apply for a volunteer position we ask you to fill out an application online now. Make sure to specify the state in which you want to participate. Applications for South Carolina will be sent to our partner organization in November and they will be in charge of contacting, selecting, and supervising volunteer candidates.

The Ivory-bill staff at the Cornell Lab will evaluate the applicants interested in volunteering in Arkansas. We will fill slots first according to skill level and relevant experience; remaining slots will be filled according to the order in which applications were received, for those meeting minimum requirements. We hope to accommodate all interested parties, but we may not be able to do so if we receive overwhelming numbers of applications. We will respond to all applicants by mid-November via email, so please make sure you include an accurate email address on the form.

Please click on the "Volunteer" link below, fill out the electronic application form, and click "Submit" to send the form to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

 Volunteer

Thank you for your time and interest in this project.