Whooping crane photo by Kristine Colburn

Can we imagine a world where the Whooping Crane is only threatened, not endangered?

Since the first Whooping Cranes were introduced to the Wisconsin landscape in 2001, just over 300 birds have been released. Fast forward to 2021; Just how are we doing towards the goal of downlisting?

Anne Lacy of the International Crane Foundation will describe ongoing research to find out the causes for nest failure and low chick production, as well as the results from new release areas and release methods. The trials and tribulations of bringing a charismatic species back from the brink are a captivating story.

Anne Lacy

Senior Manager- North America Program, International Crane Foundation
Anne grew up in Madison, leaving to attend college in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. She received a B.A. in Psychology (1991) and returned to get a B.S. in Biology (1994). After working various jobs while taking graduate level Geographic Information Systems courses at the University of South Carolina, Anne was accepted to the graduate program in Biology at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. After finishing coursework in Duluth in 2000, Anne accepted an internship at ICF, while also finishing her thesis. 

After completion of her M.S., Anne accepted a full-time position at ICF as a research associate in the Field Ecology Department (now the North America Program), working on an ongoing long-term study of sandhill cranes. She added the Whooping Crane work in 2009, joining the Whooping Crane Reintroduction Project to study the ecology of the newly reintroduced population in Wisconsin.