{"id":11531,"date":"2012-05-29T06:00:14","date_gmt":"2012-05-29T11:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=11531"},"modified":"2012-05-30T08:37:47","modified_gmt":"2012-05-30T13:37:47","slug":"saving-the-woodpecker-a-texas-oil-billionaire-rebuilds-a-forest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/29\/saving-the-woodpecker-a-texas-oil-billionaire-rebuilds-a-forest\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving the Woodpecker: How a Texas Oil Billionaire Rebuilt a Forest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>One Texas oil and gas billionaire is getting special recognition for what he has done to help a little bird.<\/p>\n<p>The <a title=\"Foundation website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sandcounty.net\/\">Sand County Foundation<\/a> and <a title=\"TPWD news release\" href=\"http:\/\/www.tpwd.state.tx.us\/newsmedia\/releases\/?req=20120523a\">Texas Parks and Wildlife\u00a0Department\u00a0<\/a>picked\u00a0the Cook&#8217;s Branch Conservancy for the 2012 Leopold Conservation Award, the state&#8217;s highest honor for habitat management and wildlife conservation on private land. The conservancy is part of the <a title=\"Foundation website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cgmf.org\/\">Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-11531 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/29\/saving-the-woodpecker-a-texas-oil-billionaire-rebuilds-a-forest\/pecker\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/pecker-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/pecker-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/pecker-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/pecker-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11541'>\n\t\t\t\tA Red-cockaded woodpecker, an endangered species, in a forest at the Cook&#8217;s Branch Conservancy. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/29\/saving-the-woodpecker-a-texas-oil-billionaire-rebuilds-a-forest\/cooks-pics2-034\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-034-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-034-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-034-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-034-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11538'>\n\t\t\t\t&#8216;It&#8217;s a false sense of security if people think it doesn&#8217;t matter that one species is disappearing. To me, that tells me the whole system is in trouble&#8221; &#8211; Sarah Scott Mitchell, granddaughter of George Mitchell\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/29\/saving-the-woodpecker-a-texas-oil-billionaire-rebuilds-a-forest\/p1030846\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/P1030846-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Cook&#039;s Branch\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11532\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/P1030846-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/P1030846-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/P1030846-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11532'>\n\t\t\t\tThe Cook&#8217;s Branch Conservancy is located on 5,600 acres in Montgomery County. The land was purchased by Texas oil &#038; gas billionaire George Mitchell in 1964. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/29\/saving-the-woodpecker-a-texas-oil-billionaire-rebuilds-a-forest\/cooks-pics2-011\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-011-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-011-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-011-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-011-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11546'>\n\t\t\t\t&#8220;We&#8217;re now getting close to the condition the settlers found it in. We&#8217;re restoring grasses and doing controlled burns.&#8221; -Sheridan Mitchell Lorenz, daughter of George Mitchell\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/29\/saving-the-woodpecker-a-texas-oil-billionaire-rebuilds-a-forest\/img_3895\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/IMG_3895-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/IMG_3895-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/IMG_3895-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/IMG_3895-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11533'>\n\t\t\t\tNaturalists improve breeding of the woodpecker by climbing old pines to build nests and remove predators like squirrels\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/29\/saving-the-woodpecker-a-texas-oil-billionaire-rebuilds-a-forest\/cooks-pics2-010\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-010-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-010-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-010-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-010-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11534'>\n\t\t\t\tWatching woodpecker return to feed hatchlings\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/29\/saving-the-woodpecker-a-texas-oil-billionaire-rebuilds-a-forest\/cooks-pics2-015\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-015-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-015-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-015-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-015-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11544'>\n\t\t\t\tWoodpecker nest in old-growth pine\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/29\/saving-the-woodpecker-a-texas-oil-billionaire-rebuilds-a-forest\/img_3924\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/IMG_3924-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"A Red-cockaded hatchling\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11542\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/IMG_3924-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/IMG_3924-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/IMG_3924-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11542'>\n\t\t\t\tWoodpecker hatchling\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/29\/saving-the-woodpecker-a-texas-oil-billionaire-rebuilds-a-forest\/cooks-pics2-014\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-014-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11535\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-014-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-014-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-014-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11535'>\n\t\t\t\t&#8220;I can hear the difference. You can hear so many more song birds that I didn&#8217;t hear before. We&#8217;ve actually doubled our population of (woodpeckers) in 10 years&#8221; -Kathy Hutson (center), Conservancy Manager \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/29\/saving-the-woodpecker-a-texas-oil-billionaire-rebuilds-a-forest\/img_2717\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/IMG_2717-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/IMG_2717-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/IMG_2717-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/IMG_2717-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11540'>\n\t\t\t\tWildflowers in a restored meadow\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/29\/saving-the-woodpecker-a-texas-oil-billionaire-rebuilds-a-forest\/my-beautiful-picture\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/ICAM0130-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11539\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/ICAM0130-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/ICAM0130-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/ICAM0130-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11539'>\n\t\t\t\tFlock of Eastern Wild Turkeys on the conservancy, one of many species that benefited from the restoration.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/29\/saving-the-woodpecker-a-texas-oil-billionaire-rebuilds-a-forest\/cooks-pics2-021\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-021-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11537\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-021-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-021-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/05\/Cooks-pics2-021-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11537'>\n\t\t\t\tEarly evening at the conservancy\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><a title=\"TPWD video\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GzaZMSjSjxo&amp;feature=youtu.be\">Watch a video <\/a>about the restoration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One Texas oil and gas billionaire is getting special recognition for what he has done to help a little bird. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":11542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[57],"tags":[90],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11531"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}