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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kratter" data-source="post: 2194114" data-attributes="member: 50001">This assault from those against scientific collecting comes across to us museum scientist as incredibly arrogant. It seems that you feel that ornithologists need policing, because our work has blinded us to the reality that only you can so plainly seen.  Let me remind you that we are out in the field, and are foremost in providing the data that is describing diversity, documenting decreases in bird populations and threats against habitats.  We are the ones who know population biology and what is needed to preserve species.  I know a great many museum collectors and I can assure you that our passion to protect bird populations is just as strong as yours, and that we have dedicated our lives to a not so lucrative field to describe and study birds, with an end result of greater protection of bird populations.  As a point, in 1996 a collecting expedition of the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science explored the nearly unknown northern reaches of the Cordillera Azul in Peru. Our discovery of the Scarlet-banded Barbet, newly described from birds collected during that that expedition, was a principal catalyst in the creation of the Cordillera Azul National Park in 2001, a huge area (1.3 million ha) of largely unpopulated land, covering lowlands rainforest to stunted mountain top cloud forests, with upwards of 800 bird species.  I cannot be more proud that the hard work our little band of 15 or so American and Peruvian biologists helped create this protected area.  Without this type of research, this area would not have any protection, and bird populations would be at much greater risk. Similar types of exploratory research, often collection based, has led to other fantastic, recently created reserves like Alto Madidi (Bolivia), and Upper Rio Mayo (Peru), among many others.  This is the type of work that is resulting in real action in the fight to save these forests, which harbor the world's much species rich avifaunas.Andy Kratter</blockquote>

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