Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Even as the world’s cranes have declined in response to multiple threats, their cultural value, high visibility, extraordinary beauty, dramatic migrations, and striking behavior have inspired widespread conservation efforts. The special characteristics of cranes have provided conservationists with unique opportunities for action. Because cranes require large territories and are among the most prominent inhabitants of wetlands, they have served as important symbols for wetland protection, and conservation activities undertaken on their behalf have benefitted a wide range of other plant and animal species (Schoff 1991). Because most cranes have extensive year-round species ranges, they have stimulated many innovative conservation measures at the international level. These same qualities also make cranes effective vehicles for conveying lessons through conservation education and environmental awareness programs (e.g., Dietzman and Swengel 1994, Landfried et al. 1995). Captive propagation and reintroduction programs have been undertaken for several species, providing important experience in combining in situ and ex situ conservation methods for other endangered species (see Captive Propagation and Reintroduction).
Conservation measures undertaken for each species are described in detail in the species accounts in Section 2. These measures include: legal and cultural protections; international agreements and other cooperative international programs; establishment of protected areas; habitat protection and management activities; surveys and censuses; research; activities of non-governmental organizations; education and training programs; and captive propagation and reintroduction. Local and species-specific actions in these areas are often organized and supported through broader cooperative efforts of crane researchers and conservationists. The following groups and activities have been especially important in coordinating crane conservation work at the regional and international levels.
| Table 1.4 Crane workshops and symposia | ||
| This table lists the major crane meetings that have been held since 1975. A number of other meetings have also been held, often in conjunction with larger ornithological congresses or conferences. This list contains only those meetings that have focused specifically on cranes. Citations for the published proceedings follow the meeting name (see Literature). | ||
| Year | Meeting | Location |
| 1975 | International Crane Workshop (First North American Crane Workshop) (Lewis 1976) |
Baraboo, Wisconsin, USA |
| 1977 | Eastern Greater Sandhill Crane Symposium (Feldt 1978) | Michigan City, Indiana, USA |
| 1978 | Second North American Crane Workshop (Lewis 1979) | Rockport, Texas, USA |
| 1980 | International Crane Symposium (Lewis and Masatomi 1981) | Sapporo, Japan |
| First Meeting of the USSR Crane Working Group | Moscow, USSR (Russia) | |
| 1981 | 1981 Crane Workshop (Third North American Crane Workshop)(Lewis 1982) |
Grand Teton National Park, USA |
| Second Meeting of the USSR Crane Working Group (Neufeldt 1982) |
Leningrad, USSR (St. Petersburg, Russia) | |
| 1982 | Third Meeting of the USSR Crane Working Group | Oka Nature Reserve, USSR (Russia) |
| 1983 | 1983 International Crane Workshop (Archibald and Pasquier 1987) |
Bharatpur, India |
| 1984 | First Symposium on Crane Research in China (Ma 1986) | Harbin, China |
| First Annual Meeting of the Crane Conservation Committee of China |
Nanjing, China | |
| Fourth Meeting of the USSR Crane Working Group (Neufeldt 1989, Neufeldt and Kespaik 1989) |
Matsulu State Nature Reserve, USSR (Estonia) | |
| 1985 | 1985 Crane Workshop (Fourth North American Crane Workshop)(Lewis 1987) |
Grand Island, Nebraska, USA |
| First Meeting of the European Crane Working Group (Bankovics 1987) |
Oroshaza, Hungary | |
| Second Annual Meeting of the Crane Conservation Committee of China |
Qiqihar, China | |
| 1986 | Third Annual Meeting of the Crane Conservation Committee of China |
Nanchang, China |
| Fifth Meeting of the USSR Crane Working Group (Litvinenko and Neufeldt 1988) |
Arkhara, USSR (Russia) | |
| 1987 | International Crane Workshop (Harris 1991; Heilongjiang Forestry Bureau 1987, 1990) |
Qiqihar, China |
| 1988 | Fourth (1988) North American Crane Workshop (Wood 1982) |
Lake Wales, Florida, USA |
| Fourth Annual Meeting of the Crane Conservation Committee of China |
Panjin, China | |
| Sixth Meeting of the USSR Crane Working Group (Kovshar and Neufeldt 1991) |
Karaganda, Kazakhstan | |
| 1989 | First Southern African Crane Conference (Porter et al. 1992) | Natal, Republic of South Africa |
| Palearctic Crane Workshop (Prange 1995) | Talinn, USSR (Estonia) | |
| Asian Crane Congress | Rajkot, Gujurat, India | |
| 1990 | International Sarus Crane and Wetland Workshop (Duc 1990) |
Tam Nong, Vietnam |
| 1991 | Sixth North American Crane Workshop (Stahlecker 1992) | Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| 1992 | International Crane Symposium (Whitaker 1992) | Kearney, Nebraska, USA |
| International Conference on the Black Crowned Crane and its Habitats in West and Central Africa (Beilfuss et al. in press) |
Kano, Nigeria | |
| International Workshop on Cranes and Storks of the Amur River Basin (Halvorson et al. 1995) |
Amur River basin, China/Russia | |
| Fifth Annual Meeting of the Crane Conservation Committee of China |
Guiyang, China | |
| Crane Conservation Assessment and Management Plan Workshop (Mirande et al. in press a) |
Calgary, Alberta, Canada | |
| 1993 | Second Annual International Crane Symposium (Whitaker and Schimmel 1994) |
Kearney, Nebraska, USA |
| International Symposium on the Future of Cranes and Wetlands (Higuchi and Minton 1994) |
Tokyo/Sapporo, Japan | |
| African Crane and Wetland Training Workshop (Beilfuss et al. in press) |
Maun, Botswana | |
| 1994 | Third Annual International Crane Symposium (Schimmel 1995) | Kearney, Nebraska, USA |
| The Conservation of the Common Crane in Europe (Prange 1995) | Orellana la Vieja, Spain | |
| 1996 | Seventh North American Crane Workshop | Biloxi, Mississippi, USA |
| Meeting of the European Crane Working Group | Rügen-Bock, Germany | |
| Salim Ali International Crane Workshop | Bombay, India | |
| East African Crane and Wetland Training Workshop (planned) | Kipsaina, Kenya | |
Due to these ongoing cooperative efforts, the cranes as a taxonomic group are in a somewhat better position than most other forms of threatened biodiversity. The priority measures and recommended actions described in Section 3 are intended to build upon these previous efforts and to take advantage of the existing “infrastructure” of institutions, organization, and people involved in crane conservation. In so doing, it is hoped than many other components and functions of the ecosystems in which cranes occur will also benefit, as will the people who share these ecosystems.
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/cranes/measures.htm
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