WCEP NEWS ADVISORY
Second Flock of Experimental Whooping Crane Chicks Arrive at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge
June 12, 2002
Media Contacts:
Chuck Underwood, United States Fish & Wildlife Service: 904-232-2580
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Heather Ray, Operation Migration Inc. 800-675-2618
Larry Wargowsky, Necedah National Wildlife Refuge 608-565-4400
A second experimental flock of whooping crane chicks arrived by private aircraft on Wednesday, June 12, ready to begin their pre-migration flight training at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin. While the project this year will take place with up to seventeen young cranes, only the seven oldest cranes made today's flight from U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (WRC) in Laurel, MD. The remaining young whooping cranes will be transported later this month. Today's arrival marks the beginning of the second year of a reintroduction project, designed to return a migrating flock of this endangered species to its former range in eastern North America.
Upon arriving at the refuge the chicks underwent a health check before settling in to their predator-proof enclosure at the training facilities. To ensure the birds remain wild and do not imprint on humans in any way, handlers and project biologists will adhere to a strict no-talking rule and wear "costumes" designed to mask the human form whenever they are in the vicinity of the crane chicks.
The flock of whooping crane chicks has been reared at the Patuxent WRC since hatching from eggs collected from captive whooping cranes at that facility, as well as from the International Crane Foundation (ICF) in Baraboo, WI. Exposed to aircraft noise since prior to hatching and raised in extreme isolation from humans, the chicks' specialized training will continue under the direction of pilots and handlers from project partner Operation Migration at the refuge throughout the summer and early autumn. This fall the juvenile cranes will migrate, guided by ultralight aircraft, approximately 1,230 miles to the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge on Florida's central-west coast where they will spend the winter in a remote salt marsh area of the refuge. Biologists from ICF and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service will monitor the cranes over the winter and will track them as they initiate their return migration north next spring.
Four of the five endangered whooping cranes from the 2001 ultralight-led migration arrived at the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge on April 19 following an 11-day un-assisted northern migration. The fifth crane arrive back at Necedah two-weeks later. This historic journey marked the first time in more than a century that Whooping cranes had migrated over the skies of eastern North America.
The recovery plan for the endangered whooping crane requires that a second flock of migratory birds be established in the eastern half of North America. Currently, there is only one remaining flock of wild whooping cranes, which migrates annually between the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in south Texas and Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta, Canada.
The eastern reintroduction project is expected to last ten years. The project's recovery goal is 125 individuals, with at least 25 breeding pairs.
The reintroduced flock is designated a nonessential, experimental population under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act. This designation ensures that actions that could result in the accidental death or injury to a whooping crane in the course of otherwise lawful activities will not violate the Endangered Species Act. As a result of the designation, ongoing activities such as outdoor recreation, agriculture and other land management practices within the 20-state reintroduction area will not be affected by the reintroduction. The intentional killing or harm of any whooping crane, however, would still be a violation of federal law punishable under the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Because of the scope and complexity of the project, an alliance of governmental agencies and non-profit organizations formed the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) in 1999. Founding members include the International Crane Foundation, Operation Migration Inc., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, USGS National Wildlife Health Center, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and the International Whooping Crane Recovery Team. Many other flyway States, private individuals and conservation groups are supporting WCEP by donating resources, funding, personnel and private lands used by the migration team and the cranes during the journey south each fall.
Last updated:
December 3, 2008