This week, a federal judge barred the teaching of intelligent design from Dover, Pennsylvania science classes. The decision in the case, a suit brought by several parents in the Dover Area School District against the district's school board, was a decisive victory for proponents of teaching Darwin's theories of evolution. In his decision, Judge John E. Jones III said that the Board’s ID Policy "violates the Establishment Clause," or the idea of separation of Church and State. "In making this determination, we have addressed the seminal question of whether ID is science. We have concluded that it is not, and moreover that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents," the judge wrote. In this hour, we'll get a wrap-up of the trial.

Plus, the ivory-billed woodpecker, long thought extinct, was rediscovered earlier this year. We'll talk about a recovery plan for the bird, and this year's Christmas Bird Count, in our annual bird show. It's more than just four calling birds, three french hens, two turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern). Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.

Guests:
Barbara Forrest
Endowed Professor
Department of History and Political Science
Southeastern Louisiana University
Hammond, LA

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Geoff LeBaron
Christmas Bird Count Director
National Audubon Society
Williamsburg, Massachusetts

Kenneth Rosenberg
Conservation Science Director
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

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This segment produced by Karin Vergoth