Young whoopers with an ultralight aircraft. |
“This is truly one of the greatest restoration projects in wildlife history. It is the wildlife restoration equivalent of putting a man on the moon.”
-John Christian, Assistant Regional Director for Migratory Birds, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and co-chair, Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership
Whooping Crane Reintroduction Program 2007 Year-end Summary
Decline of the Cranes
The whooping crane, North America’s tallest and rarest bird, was nearly lost when its worldwide population reached an astonishing low of just 15 birds in 1941. The crane’s population had been decimated by over hunting and habitat destruction.
Efforts to save the whooping crane from extinction began with the creation of the Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Canada where the whoopers’ breeding grounds had been discovered, and the creation of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, the cranes’ wintering grounds. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provided the flock with further protection, and the population began to slowly rebound.
In 2000, the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership was formed to help establish an eastern population of whooping cranes that spends summers in Wisconsin and winters in Florida.
Bringing Back the Cranes
To determine whether whooping cranes could be successfully reintroduced, a pilot project was conducted in the summer of 2000, at the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge using sandhill crane chicks. Because the whooping crane was so endangered, this reintroduction technique needed to be tested on sandhill cranes, whose numbers were abundant.
In wild crane populations, chicks follow their parents south on fall migration, then return north the next spring on their own. Project staff recognized that because there were no wild whooping cranes available in Wisconsin to teach younger cranes the eastern migration route, humans would need to teach the young cranes to follow ultralight aircrafts to Florida.
Young sandhills were reared by people dressed in crane costumes, and taught to fly following ultralight aircraft. On October 3, 2000, the sandhill cranes began the longest human-led migration in history. Following ultralight aircraft, the cranes covered 1,250 miles and arrived at the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Florida on November 11. On February 25, 2001, the cranes began their unassisted migration to the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, arriving back in central Wisconsin at the end of April, 2001.
The success of the ultralight-led sandhill migration allowed biologists to refine a vital link in the reintroduction of the endangered whooping cranes.
Whooping Crane Recovery Plan
The International Whooping Crane Recovery Team met in January 2001, and evaluated the sandhill crane test project. A decision was reached to proceed with a similar release of whooping cranes. The Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP), a consortium of non-profit organizations and government agencies was formed in 2001 to lead the reintroduction effort.
WCEP created the Whooping Crane Recovery Plan with a goal of establishing a population of 125 migratory whoopers, including 25 or more breeding pairs, to central Wisconsin by 2020. To breed this wild flock, whooping crane eggs are collected from captive whoopers at wildlife research centers. Crane chicks are brought to the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in early spring and reared in isolation while they are taught to forage and survive in the wild by costumed biologists.
Throughout the summer, project staff use ultralight aircrafts to teach the young cranes how to migrate south to Florida. Starting in 2005, project staff began using direct autumn release in which young cranes are placed with adult cranes from previous years’ flocks who then lead the young cranes to Florida. Migration begins in early to mid-October and is completed by December. Cranes begin their spring migration to Wisconsin in late February or early March of each year.
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership
“Without Natural Resources Foundation’s involvement, this project would not have been able to reach this point. We are forever indebted to NRF for their involvement in a wildlife project that is truly making history.”- John Christian
Whooping cranes follow an ultralight aircraft on migration.
The Natural Resources Foundation has partnered with numerous government agencies and non-profit organizations to help reintroduce the whooping crane to Wisconsin.
The lead partners in this recovery effort are:
US Fish & Wildlife Service
The US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFW) is responsible for the entire recovery effort to save the endangered whooping crane. The USFW facilitates a diverse partnership of federal, state and private organizations whose common goal is to establish a migratory flock of whooping cranes in the eastern states. Additionally, the USFW has primary responsibility for operations at the Wisconsin release site (Necedah National Wildlife
Refuge) and the Florida wintering site (Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge). As part of the overall team, USFW is also responsible for flyway state coordination, budget development and project outreach and communications.
International Crane Foundation
Since its founding in 1973, the International Crane Foundation (ICF), a nonprofit organization, has focused its attention on the conservation of the world's fifteen species of cranes. Through its programs in education, research, field ecology, captive propagation and reintroduction, ICF has helped to ensure the survival of the cranes and their habitats throughout the world. ICF's commitment to the reintroduction project includes raising funds, raising whooping cranes and raising awareness.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the state agency charged with managing Wisconsin's natural resources from fish and wildlife to air, water, land, and outdoor recreation. Wisconsin was the first state to officially partner with the International Whooping Crane Recovery Team and the US Fish & Wildlife Service in the effort to establish an eastern migrating population of whooping cranes, and was chosen by the crane recovery team as the summer nesting site. The state maintains and manages a portion of the wetland complex that supports the whooping crane flock and supplies much of the environmental data used to assess the suitability of the habitat where the cranes are released. The DNR also funds the whooping crane project coordinator's position and provides many staff and department resources to the project.
Operation Migration
Operation Migration (OM) is a Canadian and US non-profit organization, formed in 1994 to research the potential of establishing new migration routes for endangered or threatened species of birds using ultralight aircraft. OM has conducted a succession of nine aircraft-led migration studies with Canada geese, sandhill cranes and trumpeter swans. OM provides the aircraft and staff expertise to assist with training the cranes and leading them on their migration to Florida.
Other partners include:
Friends of the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge
National Fish & Wildlife Foundation
USGS National Wildlife Health Center
USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
To learn more, browse the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership Web site.
The tallest bird in North America, the whooping crane stands 5 feet tall with a
wingspan of 7 feet
| Whooping cranes are the talles birds in North America. |
To help the endangered whooping crane on its road it recovery, join the Crane Club.
· Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin ·
PO Box 2317, Madison, WI 53701-2317 ·
(608) 264-6267 ·
Toll-free (866) 264-4096 ·
info@wisconservation.org