LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service invite interested citizens to attend town hall meetings May 17, 18 and 19 to learn more about the discovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker on Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. Each meeting will begin at 7 p.m.

Representatives from the AGFC and USFWS will discuss the recovery effort for the ivory-billed woodpecker and outline how the process will work. Biologists will explain what the bird looks like compared to more common woodpeckers to help people identify the ivory-billed woodpecker.

The Nature Conservancy, which played an instrumental role in the work that led to the bird's discovery, will be on hand to describe the search and how the bird was found. 

After the presentation, agency representatives will answer questions about the discovery and the recovery planning process.

The ivory-billed woodpecker, thought extinct since it was last seen in the 1940s, was spotted in April 2004 at the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. A search team of top bird researchers has confirmed that the ivory-billed woodpecker lives in the bottomland hardwood swamps of the refuge.