neo-tropic species. It hosts the only native black bear population in Arkansas. Other similar protected areas for wildlife located nearby along the Cache and White Rivers include the Bald Knob, Big Lake, and Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuges. Other conservation lands such as several state owned wildlife management areas are also nearby. The White River National Wildlife Refuge borders the Cache River Refuge on the south. Ivory-billed woodpecker On April 29, 2005, a team from Cornell Lab of Ornithology claimed they had taken a four-second video and recorded audio calls of the ivory-billed woodpecker, believed extinct for 60 years, in the refuge. The woodpecker has not been seen since and whether it was actually seen in 2005 remains a source of considerable debate. Much of the refuge was closed to the public following the announcement. After further research could not locate the woodpeckers, the refuge was reopened to the public in 2006. Recreation The refuge attracts 120,000 visitors annually. Hunting, fishing, canoeing, wildlife observation, and photography are popular. Deer, small game, duck, and goose hunting is allowed during seasons in the autumn and winter. Fishing is allowed year-round. Expansion plans In 2012 the FWS proposed a major expansion in the acreage of the Cache River Refuge. The boundaries of the area proposed by acquisition include within which land would be purchased from willing buyers and subject to the availability of funds. The objectives of the expansion are to restore the natural ecosystem of land that had been converted to agriculture, to reforest cleared land, and provide a buffer for the present refuge which consists mostly of a narrow corridor along the Cache River and Bayou DeView. Three priority areas for purchase were identified. First, the FWS proposes to acquire up to 38,483 acres between the Cache River and Bayou DeView rivers. The addition of these lands to the refuge would enable the two watersheds to be re-connected and the 85 percent of the land now farmed to be reforested. Secondly, the FWS proposes to purchase 32,600 acres to extend the refuge about 30 miles northward in a narrow strip, now only six percent forested, along Bayou DeView. The third priority area for purchase is the Cache River Peripheral with 29,997 acres which to partially connect the Cache River Refuge with protected lands along the White River. Unique to the Lower Valley of the Mississippi River about 13 percent of this area