[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 93 (Tuesday, July 12, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN RECOGNITION OF GENE SPARLING

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. MIKE ROSS

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 12, 2005

  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Gene Sparling of 
Garland County, Arkansas, who recently rediscovered the ivory-billed 
woodpecker in the Big Woods area of Arkansas. North America's largest 
woodpecker, often called the ``Lord God Bird,'' was last spotted in 
1944 and thought to be extinct.
  Mr. Sparling has sought out wild and natural wonders throughout his 
life, exploring Mexico's Baja Peninsula, the Rocky Mountains, and 
Arkansas's own Ozark and Ouachita Mountains. In 2003, Mr. Sparling 
began exploring Big Woods of Arkansas through the Cache River National 
Wildlife Refuge by way of kayak and observed the ivory-billed 
woodpecker.
  Since the search began in March 2004, there have been over a dozen 
sightings of the ivory-billed woodpecker by experts in the Big Woods of 
Arkansas's Mississippi Delta. The ivory-billed woodpecker, valued for 
its plumage and sought after by American Indians as magical, has 
birdwatchers and environmentalists around the world rejoicing.
  I am honored to recognize Mr. Sparling, and extend my sincere 
gratitude for his incredible discovery of the once thought extinct 
ivory-billed woodpecker. Mr. Sparling is an inspiration to us all, and 
I consider it a privilege to serve as his United States Congressman in 
the House of Representatives.

                          ____________________