New series shows Fort Liberty efforts to save endangered NC woodpecker. How to watch
A North Carolina military base will be featured on an episode of the documentary television series “WILD HOPE” this week.
The series, airing on PBS, releases its “Woodpecker Wars” episode on Friday, which explains the plight of the red-cockaded woodpecker, an endangered species that was once fairly common in the southeastern United States.
The episode explains that the longleaf pine trees on the military training base of Fort Liberty (formerly named Fort Bragg, as it’s called in the episode) are the ideal habitat for these birds. Unlike other woodpeckers, which peck their nests into dead wood, red-cockaded woodpeckers drill into living trees, and they especially love longleaf pines.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service alerted military officials at Fort Liberty to “halt and assist” their training, since wildlife experts believed training there was disrupting the endangered bird.
“We could not maneuver, couldn’t fire, had to avoid areas,” says Mike Lynch, former director of plans, training mobilization and security at Fort Liberty. “We had soldiers more concerned with, ‘Am I near a woodpecker?’ than they were about, ‘Is this the right place to lay an ambush?’”
To much surprise, scientists later learned that the military training was actually creating the healthy habitat for these birds.
The “Woodpecker Wars” episode explores the contentious-to-partnership relationship journey between military leaders and conservationists.
Oscar-winning filmmakers at HHMI Tangled Bank Studios partnered with PBS Nature on the new, eight-part series.
How to watch or stream ‘WILD HOPE’ on PBS
The full “WILD HOPE” series will begin streaming on PBS.org and the PBS App on Thursday, June 15.
Download the app: Visit pbs.org/pbs-app to learn how to download.
Watch live: Watch PBS North Carolina live by visiting pbs.org/livestream.
Here’s how to watch on NC’s PBS channels:
• PBS NC Explore Channel: “Wild Hope: Woodpecker Wars” will premiere Friday, June 16 at 5 p.m. The series began June 2 and continues every Friday at 5 p.m.
• PBS NC Main Channel: “Woodpecker Wars” will premiere Saturday, July 1 at 11:30 a.m. The series kicks off Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. starting on June 17.
• PBS NC Channel: “Woodpecker Wars” premieres Thursday, July 6 at 10 a.m. The series kicks off Thursdays at 10 a.m. starting on June 22.
Find your channel at pbsnc.org/watch/channels.
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