"Last fall, the forest's very existence was threatened when a proposal was made to upgrade the still-devastated golf facilities into tournament-quality courses. The forest would have become a clubhouse or parking area. Nothing puts a gleam in the eye of a developer more quickly than a bit of wild, unmanicured, brushy land. But the plans aroused a huge public outcry and a passionate defense of green space, and the idea has been abandoned."

It is not a little ironic that New Orleans, known to hordes of tourists for the canopies of ancient live oaks that line so many of its streets, is nearly devoid of good birding localities -- a stark contrast with many other urban areas.