DEP assists in Whooping Crane Reintroduction Project

DEP assists in Whooping Crane Reintroduction Project

-Innovative partnership protects endangered species-

ST. MARKS – Today the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced the anticipated arrival of a flock of endangered whooping cranes to the region in January. The cranes’ arrival is a part of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership’s (WCEP) Whooping Crane Reintroduction Project at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. An international partnership of public and private organizations, WCEP is conducting the reintroduction project in an effort to return this endangered species to its historic range in eastern North America.

To prepare for the cranes, the wildlife refuge constructed a three-acre pen with two ponds to provide protective habitat. The permit for enclosure construction was issued by DEP in September and the enclosures were constructed and completed in October with the assistance of local volunteers and the Wakulla High School Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.

The project, designed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, also included placing oyster shell in the two ponds to provide a roosting area. Within the ponds, reefs were built with sandbags and oyster shells, which will be used to teach the cranes to sleep in the water to avoid predators. To aid in the construction, DEP’s Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve donated much of the oyster shells for the project which was also completed in October. To fully protect the birds, the final authorization to close portions of Mensler Creek, Cow Creek and the surrounding marshes to the public has been granted by DEP.

"To protect the whooping cranes and enhance their chances of success, a protected roosting environment and seasonal closure of two creeks leading to the site was approved," said DEP Northwest District Director Dick Fancher. "We are honored to be part of this innovative partnership to bring back a special endangered species."

In 1950 there were estimated to be only 16 birds remaining in the wild. Presently there are approximately 525 birds in existence, 375 in the wild. The only wild migratory population winters in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas and summers in Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada. Because the birds are concentrated in one area of the country, the Whooping Crane Recovery Team (WCRT), which is comprised of ten members, plans actions to protect the Aransas/Wood Buffalo natural flock and is charged with establishing two additional flocks in efforts to safeguard the whooping crane from possible extinction.

The team's efforts to establish a non-migratory whooping crane flock began in Florida in 1993, using cranes hatched in captivity. In September, 1999, after searching for the best possible location to establish a second migratory flock, the team recommended that the flock be taught a route with central Wisconsin as the summer location and the west coast of Florida as the wintering location. The WCRT sanctioned Operation Migration's ultralight-led migration technique as the main reintroduction method.

The most recent effort began on October 17, when 14 ultralight-led cranes left from central Wisconsin’s Necedah National Wildlife Refuge on their migration route. Upon arriving in Florida after traveling more than 1,100-miles, the cranes will be split into two groups. One group will winter at Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge and one group will spend the winter at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge to increase the chances of success for the project.

Currently, the cranes are in Franklin County, Tennessee and are expected to resume their journey and arrive at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge after the first of the year. The cranes will remain at the refuge until they are ready to migrate back to Wisconsin and it is anticipated that they will return sometime around the end of March.

"The St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is honored to have been designated one of only three whooping crane sites in the program," said Terry Peacock, St. Marks Wildlife Refuge Manager. "We are overwhelmed with the community support there has been for bringing this significant program to Wakulla County."

The St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1931 to provide wintering habitat for migratory birds, is one of the oldest refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The refuge encompasses 68,000 acres spread out between Wakulla, Jefferson, and Taylor counties along the Gulf Coast of northwest Florida.

---