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The hyacinth macaw is an endangered bird in central Bra- zil. It has a reputation for being picky when it comes to choosing a home: it lives almost exclusively in natural hollows in manduvi trees, which don’t grow in great numbers in the region. In an effort to help preserve the bird and its habitat, Dr. Marco Pizo and his research team at the Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos explored how the manduvi tree’s seed is spread. They found that the toco toucan collects and disperses more than 83 per cent‘of the seeds. So far, so good. But here’s the kicker: The toucan is the macaw’s main predator. Besides feeding on than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number, name and address. The Sunâ€"Mbunereserws th( right to publish or not publish and to edit for clnrr That point really struck me in light of a recent study in the jour- nal Biological Conservation about the relationship between the hya- cinth macaw, the toco toucan and the manduvi tree. and complexity. lETTERS POlICY Yes, we’d love to use it and it’s possible the very successful Stoufiville house con- cert series, organized primarily be Marie- It is with trepidation then that we conâ€" sider organizing events fqr Nineteen on the Often, sound equipment is donated or loaned and, for the house concerts, gener- ous Stofiffville residents donate the use of their homes and provide refreshments. Except for the house concert series, musicians at the other events listed above have performed for free. The Sun‘TYibune welcomes your letters. All submissions must be less However, as a novice concert organizer and promoter (Stars of Stouffville I and 11, ‘Music in the Park’, ‘The Stouffville House Concert Series’ and ‘Guitars in the Gazebo’ for the Strawberry Festival) I can say that we work with an extremely limited budget. It’s hard to imagine being able to pay'for a hall and see the musicians earn anything for their efforts. I would like to suggest that a simple response would be: “Build it and they will come”. I know The Sun-Tribune has expressed some frustration, as has the mayor, about lack of input from the arts community regarding our long awaited Nineteen on the Park performance/arts facility. lETTERS TO THE EDITOR (an arts groups afford to use Lynn Hammond and Lori to the point that we can us Nineteen on the Park facility? _I§4Aegqvgt}i‘lle3__iquglq p; [muonoyrmgcom Letters to the Ednor‘ The Sun-Tribune 6290 Main St. Stou'Mlle, 0N LM IG7 ity and span Symbiotic relalianship among birds, trees o matter how much I learn about nature, I never cease to be amazed by its mystery INTERACTIVE MEDIA Marketing 3. Advertising Manager I )awna Andrews jmasonOynng. mm EDrmRIAL Editor lim Mason It's a puzzle that illustrates the importance of seeing the big pic- ture when it comes to protecting the environment. Attempting to manage a single species in isola- tion can’t work because nature is just too complex Take the caribou, an iconic species found throughâ€" out Canada. Caribou are in trouble across their expansive range. In British Columbia, populations of This fascinating relationship has led to what the report’s authors call “a conservation biology puzzle" because “any conservation plan for hyacinth macaws must take into account the toucans, which would not normally be done because of their predator status and because toco toucans are not particularly threatened." And so, ironically, the macaw depends on its main predator, the toucan, for its survival. the whole seeds of the manduvi, the toucan also has a big appetite for macaw eggs. The researchers also observed toucans taking over macaw hollows and killing the nestlings. Thanks for your support of live music in Stouffville. It is my hope that, with proper leader- ship and continued support from the town, BIA, corporate sponsors, and elsewhere, we could present concert series at the new hall perhaps in a way similar to the way the very successful Algonquin Theatre is used in Huntsville. Go to algonquintheatreca for more information. So, if we’re not ‘banging the drum’ about future use of Nineteen on the Park, please understand that, for us at the grassroots level in the music business, the idea of being able to afford a proper performance space is intimidating. Personally, I feel Don Quarles would be an excellent candidate for this position given his experience managing at the Hum- mingbird Centre and his commitment to and knowledge of the local arts scene. Meanwhile, it would be of great assisâ€" tance if a hall manager could be appointed or hired to not only provide oversight to the refurbishing of the old municipal build- ing, but to have'an eye to the future for developing funding, etc. so that live music and Other arts events can be subsidized through the town and through available arts grants. Lynn Hammond and Lori Jury, will evolve to the point that we can use the new hall. Classified Manager Bonnie Rondeau brondmua’yrmg.mm ADVERTISING Retail Manager Stacey Allen sallmfi‘yrmg.mm SimiW-‘li'ibune PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot BRIAN O’SULLIVAN STO UFFVILLE 6290 Main St. Stouflville, 0N. L4A lG7 ww.)orkreg10n.oom Because of this. the B.C. gov- ernment has initiated a plan to kill wolves and other predators, in The main threat is the destruc- tion of its old-grth forest habitat by commercial logging, but scien- tists believe that predators, such as wolves and cougars. may have also played a role in the caribou's decline. mountain caribou that inhabit the Interior rainforests have plum- meted to an estimated 1,900 individuals from historic levels of about 10,000. PRODUCTION Team Leader Sherry Day David Suzuki A: rig"! Busmnss MANAGER Robert Lazurko Burma IN Cum! Debora Kelly ADVERTISING 905â€"64046] 2 Classified: 1-800-743-3353 Far 905-640-8778 Governments have been talking about this “ecosystem approach" for some time, but so far they've been slow to follow the talk with action. The official (and some- what bureaucratic) name for one area off Canada's West Coast even acknowledges this broader-context approach: the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area. This 88,000-sdnare-kilometre marine region next to B.C.'s Great Bear Rainforest encompasses the We must understand the broad- er context if we want our wildlife management plans and conserva- tion efforts to succeed. However, because the science of predator-prey interactions is poorly understood, these methods can have severe and unintended consequences. In the case of the hyacinth macaw, killing its main predator would ensure its demise. addition to protecting significant areas of the caribou's habitat. Such “predator control" wildlife man- agement practices are increasingly being proposed or used elsewhere in Canada. DISTRIBUTION 905-640â€"261 2 905-640-2612 x- 905â€"640â€"877 EDITORIAI Dmncmn [um Mann Tncuuowcy lohn Futhey A York Region Media Group community ncwspapcr The SunTribune, published every Thursday and Saturday. is a division of the Metroiand Media Group Ltd. a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. Metroland is comprised oi 100 community publications across Ontario. The York Region Newspaper Group includes The liberal, sewing Richmond Hill and Thomhlll. Vaughan Citizen, The Era-Banner (Newmarket/Aurora). Markham Economist Sun. Georgina Advocate. York Region Business Times, North of the City, yorkregioncom and York Region Printing. DIRECIOR, CIRCULATION SYSTEMS Lynn Pashko Dnuwmn. Anvumsmc You REGION Pam'nm; u Dummou GENERAL MANAGER Barry Black 30b Dean SEW-Tribune Similar to Earth's forests, oceans are complex environments where everything is interconnected. Whether on land or at sea, large population changes (including extinction) in one species can have cascading effects throughout the ecosystem. Good conservation planning requires efforts by local communities and governments at all levels to base decisions on an understanding not just of each species in isolation but of ecosys- tems as a whole. Although the federal govern- ment has committed to using an ecosystem approach for managing the area, it has taken little action to implement the process. Envi- ronmental groups, including the David Suzuki Foundation, used World Ocean Day, June 8, to draw attention to this fact and to the lack of marine protected areas in Canada's ocean territories. central and north coast and Haida Gwaii and is home to a fascinating variety of life, from basking sharks and blue whales to massive kelp forests and glass-sponge reefs.