WHOOPING CRANE COMEBACK PROVES VALUE OF CONSERVATION

Farmers have aided a stunning rally by an endangered species.

-  John Walter

If there is a shining symbol for the benefits of natural resource conservation programs, you could certainly point to the whooping crane, a highly endangered species that is staging a comeback in North America - in no small part due to the cooperation of farmers and other private landowners.

The bird is one of the most magnificent bird species in the world with its 5-foot stature and bright white, long feathers and black-tipped wings. Its near extinction was mainly due to habitat loss and hunting. Habitat restoration, enhancement, and management on private lands has aided its comeback.

In their 2,500-mile migration across the continent, from the Northwest Territories of Canada to south Texas, the big birds require stopover habitats along the route. "The most important habitats for feeding and roosting are shallow wetlands, and the Platte River often serves as an important stopover for migrating whooping cranes," according to the Crane Trust, a conservation organization whose headquarters adjoin the river in central Nebraska.

In fall 2021, the birds made an impressive appearance along the central Platte River in central Nebraska, registering numbers not seen here in many decades. In one day in mid-November, 57 whooping cranes appeared on the river, says Kirk Schroeder, assistant state private lands program coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who has helped spearhead conservation work in Nebraska.