Photo by Joe Galkowski
Join us for our fifth From the Field webinar with Gary Ivey, Research Associate – Pacific Flyway Program, on Thursday, May 7, at 11 a.m. Central time. Sponsored by Anne and Hall Healy.
Gary will talk about the various groups and subspecies of glorious Sandhill Cranes that share this planet with us. He will talk about their history and persecution during American settlement, their recovery, their distribution across the world, breeding, migration and wintering ecology. In addition, he will share specifics about populations using the Pacific Flyway. Mark your calendars now to join us, to hear Gary tell delightful crane stories. Click here to register.
Photo by K.S. Gopi Sundar
Join us for our webinar with Rich Beilfuss, President and CEO, on Thursday, May 14, at 11 a.m. Central time. Sponsored anonymously in honor of Dr. Liz Smith and her work with Whooping Cranes.
Cranes are among the most loved, and most endangered, families of birds in the world. With their cultural significance, high visibility, extraordinary beauty, dramatic migrations and striking behavior, cranes inspire caring and action. Yet cranes are in trouble across large parts of Asia, Africa and North America, and are highly vulnerable to climate change—especially in the places where unsustainable land and water development is already taking a toll on biodiversity. Understanding the serious threat of global warming to cranes and the wild places they depend on helps us better understand how our changing climate will affect people and wildlife on a global scale.
The COVID-19 pandemic is teaching us that if we wait to see the full impact of a crisis before taking action, it is much more difficult and costly to stop it. We also are learning that the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society suffer the worst impacts of the crisis. The climate change crisis is no different. Fortunately, there is much we can learn from decades of crane conservation efforts. Through our work with the communities who share their lands with cranes, we have focused on solutions to climate change that improve land and water management, increase community resiliency and provide real livelihood alternatives for the people most affected. Click here to register.
Photo by Zheng Zhongjie
Join us for our webinar with Guo Zhiwei, China Program Officer, on Thursday, May 21, at 7 p.m. Central Time. Sponsored by Barbi and Tom Donnelley, Emeritus Board Director. In honor of Jim Harris.
Wetlands in Northeast China provide vital breeding and staging sites for cranes in an otherwise arid landscape with many human pressures, leading to degradation and site disconnection along flyways. To learn from the U.S. experience in similar situations, Guo spent one month in 2019 at the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex studying wetland ecology and management skills.
How can we naturally manage altered wetlands to provide refuge for migratory birds? The wetland ecologists in the Klamath Basin do an excellent job of managing wetlands under these conditions. In this webinar, Guo will share stories about his training and how he is applying these lessons to critical wetlands in China that support several species of cranes. Wetland management experts will add insights into this issue. Click here to register.
Join us for our webinar with Hillary Thompson, North America Program Crane Analyst, on Thursday, May 28, at 11 a.m. Central Time!
Whooping Cranes are the rarest species of crane in the world. There are approximately 665 Whooping Cranes in North America, in one wild and two reintroduced populations. One of these reintroduced populations is known as the Eastern Migratory Population, which summers in Wisconsin, and winters in the southeastern United States. The first cohort of captive-reared cranes released into this population was raised in 2001 by costumed caretakers and taught to follow an ultralight aircraft from Wisconsin to their wintering home in Gulf Coastal Florida.
Since that inaugural flight south in 2001, we have released around 300 Whooping Cranes into the eastern U.S., have changed our rearing and release methods, and have had wild-hatched chicks fledge! The reintroduction effort is ongoing, and we are learning new things about Whooping Cranes and reintroduction techniques along the way. Please join us for stories about this reintroduced population of Endangered Whooping Cranes, an update on how the population is doing today and what we hope to see in the future. Click here to register.
Photo by Mark Bidwell
Join us for our webinar with Dr. Barry Hartup, Director of Conservation Medicine, on Thursday, June 4, at 11 a.m. Central Time. Sponsored by Heidi Kiesler and Family.
How do you safely capture an endangered whooping crane in a salt marsh? How do you know when a bird — let alone a large one such as a crane — is not feeling well? How can veterinary medicine and conservation combine for the betterment of endangered wildlife and the people who share their ecosystems?
Dr. Barry Hartup has made the care of the world’s 15 crane species his exclusive practice. In his presentation, Dr. Hartup will show how he has conducted his work for over 20 years for the International Crane Foundation with assistance from the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine and partners from Africa, East Asia and North America.
Dr. Hartup has worked extensively with the reintroduction of the Whooping Crane to Wisconsin and the Eastern U.S., and undertaken field studies of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo Whooping Crane population to assess its health and threats to its recovery. He also has supported Grey Crowned Crane recovery in Rwanda and captive crane health networks in China. Working at the International Crane Foundation has helped Dr. Hartup to fulfill his professional interests in veterinary medicine, wildlife health and epidemiology, and conservation of endangered species. Click here to register.
Photo by Griffin Shanungu
Join us for our webinar with Rich Beilfuss, President and CEO; Griffin Shanungu, Zambia Country Coordinator; and Mwape Sichilongo, Southern African Floodplains Regional Manager, on Thursday, June 11, at 11 a.m. Central Time. Sponsored by Jeanne and Ed Eloranta. In honor of the Kasoma Family: Zachary, Emily, Tessa and Caleb of Lusaka, Zambia. Click here to register.
The Kafue Flats in Zambia is one of the most important wetlands in the world, home to a third of the world’s Wattled Cranes, endangered Kafue Lechwe, hippo, buffalo and other big mammals, and more than 470 bird species. For millennia, the ecological health of the flats was maintained by communities who depend on the region for fishing, grazing their livestock, and other resources.
In recent decades, however, the flats have been severely degraded by dams, mining, large commercial agriculture, invasive species and increasing human settlements. In response, the International Crane Foundation and WWF-Zambia have joined the Government of the Republic of Zambia in a 20-year agreement to manage and restore the Kafue Flats, including two National Parks surrounded by a large Game Management Area. Presenters share their vision for the future of the Kafue Flats as a “thriving wetland for all” that sustains rich biodiversity and strong, healthy communities with sustainable livelihoods.
During this webinar, the trio will discuss the root causes of environmental change on the flats and what we can do about it. They also will share lessons from our successful project to remove invasive shrubs from the floodplain, restore habitat for Wattled Cranes and Lechwe, and increase local employment and income. Please join Rich, Mwape and Griffin to learn how saving cranes is about so much more than saving cranes!
Salute to the Dawn by Owen Gromme
Join us for our webinar with Kathy Foley, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum Director, Catie Anderson, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum Curator of Education, and Lizzie Condon, International Crane Foundation Whooping Crane Outreach Coordinator, on Thursday, June 18, at 11 a.m. Central Time. Sponsored anonymously by passionate crane and art enthusiasts. Click here to register.
The Woodson Art Museum, located in Wausau, Wisconsin, is known worldwide for Birds in Art, an annual international juried exhibition featuring two-and three-dimensional artworks that draw inspiration from the avian world. “Indoor birdwatching” at its best. Woodson Art Museum Director Kathy Foley and Curator of Education Catie Anderson selected artworks from the Museum’s collection featuring cranes. Kathy and Catie will be your online guides, helping you to interpret and enjoy each artwork. International Crane Foundation Whooping Crane Outreach Coordinator Lizzie Condon will be on hand to share biological and fun facts about cranes, while art museum staff share stories about artists’ efforts on behalf of crane conservation.
Photo by Daniel Dolpire
Join us for our webinar with Kerryn Morrison, Vice President International: Director of Africa, on Thursday, June 25, at 11 a.m. Central Time. Click here to register.
Icons of Africa, Grey Crowned and Black Crowned Cranes are sought across the world for their beauty and charisma, adding value to captive collections and adorning homesteads, restaurants and hotels. Taken from the wild as chicks, these cranes are domesticated as time pieces or status symbols in countries across Africa or moved through market chains across the world. Sadly, this wild-caught trade has become a key driver in their decline, significantly added to as chicks become increasingly accessible as wetlands are degraded and fragmented.
As the COVID-19 pandemic rocks the world and global discussions focus on wet markets and bushmeat, one wonders whether the captive trade will come too into the spotlight, and provide an opportunity now to focus on and reduce the threat of live captive trade. Having focused on this since 1998, we have made significant progress over the years on several fronts. But as a complex, ever-changing issue, there is still a lot more to understand and strategies that we need to explore and implement to address the issue effectively. As a flagship species for many other birds, small mammals and reptiles in the illegal captive trade, can we now use the charisma and iconic status of these cranes to address the very reason that they are currently in decline?
We are saddened that we will not be celebrating our Grand Opening on June 27 as planned. We look forward to welcoming you back to our headquarters when we can safely open. We will share more information as we know more – thank you for your support and patience!
