Rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the Big Woods region of eastern Arkansas in 2004 offered a rare second chance to conserve a species thought to be extinct for over 50 years. This story of hope has been tempered, however, by the daunting challenge of recovering a critically endangered species, and by the controversy surrounding the necessary investment of millions of dollars towards a single species in this time of ever-shrinking conservation resources. The Ivory-bill was a flagship species of the magnificent old-growth bottomland forests that once stretched along southern rivers, but were all-but completely decimated by the mid-20th century. Recovery planning for this endangered bird therefore must focus on restoring its forest habitat and re-creating the old-growth conditions on which it depends. These ambitious goals have been embraced by regional conservation initiatives, whose ongoing efforts to connect forest patches and restore hydrology for the benefit of priority species in many taxonomic groups set the scene for Ivory-billed Woodpecker recovery. Intense focus on this charismatic bird, in turn, has been a boon for regional conservation, with The Nature Conservancy, for example, greatly accelerating its land acquisition and restoration activities in the years immediately following the rediscovery. Unlike the vast majority of endangered species today, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, if it has indeed survived into the 21st century, will face an ever-improving future as bottomland forests mature and re-connect throughout the Southeast.