Volunteers needed for 2023 Midwest Crane Count set for April 15
Join the International Crane Foundation and more than 1,800 volunteers Saturday, April 15 from 5:30 to 7:30 a.m. for the annual Midwest Crane Count. Each year participants travel to their local wetlands and favorite birding locations to survey the Sandhill and Whooping Cranes and report the data collected.
The survey takes place in more than 150 counties in seven states - including all of Wisconsin, and portions of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio. Each crane count site will have a county coordinator who will assign a site and provide instructions on how to participate and report the data.
Visit cranecount.org to view the list of county coordinators and find other useful links on how to download the data sheet and enter data. The coordinator listed for Allamakee County is Lee Cox.
If a county is not currently involved in the program and anyone has an interest in becoming a county coordinator, they should contact the International Crane Foundation’s Crane Count Coordinator at 608-356-9462. Data collected will be available on the foundation’s website to study Sandhill Crane population trends and new areas where cranes are colonizing. The survey is also a powerful tool for creating awareness about cranes and their wetland habitats.
The International Crane Foundation (ICF) works worldwide to conserve cranes and the ecosystems, watersheds, and flyways on which they depend. The Foundation provides knowledge, leadership and inspiration to engage people in resolving threats to cranes and their diverse landscapes. From its nearly 300-acre headquarters in Baraboo, WI, the ICF reach extends across the globe, with offices and staff in China, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia and South Africa, as well as Texas. It works through strong partnerships with local organizations, governments, universities, businesses and others in these regions. More than 125 ICF staff and associates work with a network of hundreds of specialists in 50 countries on five continents.
Through the charisma of cranes, ICF envisions a future where people work together for wild crane populations and the landscapes they depend on - and by doing so, find new pathways to sustain their own water, land and livelihoods. Visit savingcranes.org for more information.
