Crane Count volunteers needed
The International Crane Foundation (ICF) in Baraboo is sponsoring the 35th annual Midwest Crane Count on Saturday, April 17. The count is used to monitor the general population trend of Sandhill Cranes in the Upper Midwest, as well as to promote awareness of cranes and wetland conservation throughout the Count area. You are invited to participate.
In 2009, 35 volunteer counters tallied 185 Sandhill Cranes in the early morning hours in Sheboygan County. The total tally for Wisconsin and portions of Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota was more than 11,000 cranes. If you are interested in taking part, contact the Sheboygan County coordinators, Janet and Andy Raddatz, at (920) 892-6335, or jraddatz@ wi.rr.com.
Potential volunteers are encouraged to attend an organizational meeting Tuesday, March 30, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Ellwood H. May Ecology Center (Maywood) at 3615 Mueller Road in Sheboygan.
At the meeting, participants will select survey sites and receive observation forms and instructions. For more information, contact the Sheboygan County coordinator.
Based in Baraboo, the nonprofit International Crane Foundation sponsors the Crane Count as a part of its efforts to preserve and study the world's 15 species of cranes and the natural communities on which they depend. Sandhill Cranes once experienced severe population declines in the late 1800s to early 1900s in the Upper Midwest, but have recovered successfully.
The Crane Count has documented the growth of the sandhill population, and allows ICF to monitor crane abundance and distribution. Observations of the abundant Sandhill Cranes can often lend insight into the endangered crane species of the world. One local example is the flock of Whooping Cranes being released in Central Wisconsin, and led on migration to the Gulf Coast of Florida by ultralight aircraft. Participants may have a chance of sighting a Whooping Crane during the Crane Count.
To find out more about the Crane Count, visit the International Crane Foundation's Web site at www.crane count.org or contact Alyssa Rod, ICF's lead naturalist, at (608) 356-9462 ext. 127, or by e-mail at naturalists@savingcranes.org.
