The whooping cranes made a splash in November, when they landed along the Platte River.
A flock of 46 — nearly 10% of the endangered species’ population, the largest group ever recorded in the U.S. — was taking a weeklong break at the Crane Trust southwest of Grand Island before finishing its trip to the Texas Gulf Coast.
“That was historic numbers for whooping cranes in their migration corridor,†said Tim Smith, the nonprofit’s director of land management. “We haven’t seen numbers like that on the Platte River for over 100 years.â€
And they were hanging out near 357 acres of new, inviting habitat — riverside sandbars and other habitat that had been cleared of vegetation and unwanted trees.
“One of the things we want to do is open up the river visually for migratory birds, such as whooping cranes,†Smith said. “They prefer that habitat over conditions where the river is narrower, and they can’t see.â€
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The work was done last year, its $300,000 price paid for by the Crane Trust’s new and unlikely partner, the Nebraska Army National Guard.
Because of that work — and for its other efforts to prevent potential conflicts with whooping cranes — the Nebraska Army National Guard recently won its first Secretary of the Army’s Natural Resources Conservation Team Award.
It will now compete against the winners from other military branches — Navy, Marines and Air Force — for the top prize, the Department of Defense’s environmental award, which will be announced on Earth Day on April 22.
But that wasn’t the intention when Larry Vrtiska came up with idea a couple of years ago.
The environmental program manager for the Nebraska Military Department had recognized the potential for conflict along the Platte River between the endangered birds, which visit the area twice a year during their migrations between Canada and Texas, and the Army Guard members, who use the same area for training.
“Our thought was, ‘Hey, what can we do to not have an impact on our military mission, but also be stewards of our natural resources?’â€
He wasn’t worried about the Guard’s helicopters colliding with the birds; he didn’t want the military’s mere presence to disrupt and flush the birds from their resting places.
“Whooping cranes don’t like to be around people. They don’t like to be around roadways, where there’s a lot of vehicles. They don’t like to be disturbed.â€
Vrtiska found a pair of partners for the project, which would be called the Crane Protection Team. First, he worked with the U.S. Geological Survey to try to determine where the birds will be, and when.
The result? A computer model that identifies potential whooping crane habitat and behavior — during drought years or wet years. That information helps the Guard plan where it conducts its exercises.
“Maybe we can fly over here instead of over there,†he said. “It’s just moving the flight a little bit.â€
And it’s not just for Nebraska National Guard. The Geological Survey’s model covers the entire central flyway, from North Dakota to Texas.
“It’s for all of the Department of Defense within that flyway. Everyone can use these models to look to see if there’s potential conflict and if there’s any way they can mitigate it.â€
Then the Guard approached the Crane Trust, offering to help make more whooping crane habitat, to give the birds an appealing — and protected — place to go if they were flushed by its choppers.
It paid to have 300 acres of sandbar disked, to remove vegetation. It cleared another 57 acres of unwanted trees. And it funded the burial of nearly 3 miles of overhead power lines — a leading killer of cranes.
It worked. When the record-setting flock landed on the river late last year, the Crane Trust told the Guard to steer clear.
“And we made sure we avoided the area,†Vrtiska said. “Our job is to be soldiers but also to protect resources. We can do our jobs and we can also protect these birds.â€