I have viewed the bird that they claim was mistaken for this one, and that video was not of that woodpecker. It had to be a Ivory. No other bird has that much white.
The only thing they have in common are size and shape.
That was so obviously the biggest pile of BS outside of a feedlot that has come down the pike in many many years. I seriously doubt it was a case of mistaken identity, they got what they wanted, lots of money.
As for a breeding population, if there was one bird it had to come from parents, and none have been seen in far too many eyars to legitimize this. It was a grab for money and power. I don't know if they finally prevented the dam they were trying to eliminate to cut out the farmers.