CraneRiver
CH RON IC L E S
FALL 2013
ROWE HAPPENINGS/NEWS
An Amazing Past and a Bright Future
This spring Audubon will celebrate 40 years of conservation efforts on the Platte
River. In 1974, Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary was established with the purchase of
751 acres. It was fortunate for the Platte River and the cranes that Audubon leaders
had the foresight to protect land for the cranes and begin efforts to protect and
restore the Platte River.
Looking at the wide river channels and the beautiful fall foliage, I am struck by the
progress that has been made towards conserving this amazing resource. Forty years
ago, few people realized the significance of the largest gathering of cranes in the
world. Fewer yet appreciated the importance of the Platte River to America’s Greatest
Migration. Over the past forty years, Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary has worked to spread
the word of this wildlife spectacle, while protecting and restoring this important river.
Today, Kearney, Nebraska declares itself the “Sandhill Crane Capital of the World”. A
multi-state effort to manage the Platte River for whooping cranes, least terns and piping
plovers is in place. In addition, tens of thousands of visitors come from all around the
world to see the cranes and thousands of school children become engaged with nature
through Rowe’s education programs each year. People have taken note and an attitude of
understanding and caring for this natural treasure is growing.
All of the progress towards creating a future for the Platte River is a result of countless
people supporting this effort. You are the most important part of this conservation success.
Without your support this safe haven for these wonderful birds would have been lost years
ago. My most sincere thanks go out to everyone who cares enough to
give to Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary so that we can provide a bright
future for the cranes and the river. You are creating a great legacy!
Calendar of Events
p.2
Conservation
p.3
Volunteerism
p.5
Education
p.5
Our Supporters
p.3 & p.4
Sincerely,
Bill Taddicken, Director
A River Refreshed
Rowe Sanctuary’s Director of Conservation, Greg Wingfield, recently joined Platte River
Recovery Implementation Program (PRRIP) biologist David Baasch for a two hour flight
to assess habitat conditions on the central Platte River as recent floodwaters from
Colorado were receding. From a habitat perspective, the extended high flows from
the flooding were very welcome after having no flow on the sanctuary for most of
the summer. The effects on central Platte channel habitat appear to be mixed
however as annual, non-woody vegetation was scoured from sandbars, but
some woody vegetation in the form of cottonwood seedlings still remain.
(continued on next page)
Above | Calliope Hummingbird
Below | Kids enjoying camp
Aerial view of the Platte River in October 2013
ROWE HAPPENINGS CONTINUED
A River Refreshed (continued from cover)
Unexpected Visitors
One thing that was very evident to Greg during the flight was how
the wide, open, braided channels on Rowe Sanctuary’s section of the
river stood out, even when compared to other managed tracts. The
efforts of other conservation organizations, partnerships, and land
owners along the Platte are providing other outstanding habitats, but
to Greg there was no doubt that Audubon’s 40 years of conservation
work at Rowe Sanctuary remains the “gold standard”.
The great thing about birds is that you never know where they will
show up. In late August at our hummingbird feeders we discovered a
Calliope Hummingbird (pictured on front cover) among several Rubythroated Hummingbirds. Although this bird is a western species,
it occasionally wanders into far western Nebraska during the fall
migration. Getting to see North America’s smallest hummingbird
was a real treat, but a few other surprises showed up in the state too
as Black-chinned and Costa’s Hummingbirds were also seen during
the fall migration.
PRRIP and other organizations will be analyzing many aspects of this
flow event in the months to come. We will report some of these
findings in future newsletters, but as you are reading this, be assured
that the river is once again ready to support migrating whooping
cranes. And next spring’s sandhill crane migration can expect an
improved river condition provided by nature, saving Audubon and
others the significant resources that mechanical clearing would
entail.
Due to their size, hummingbirds are easily overlooked. Having said
this, they are also easily attracted to flower gardens and feeders.
Planting hummingbird friendly plants that bloom at the times when
you can expect hummingbirds to be visiting your area is a great way
to attract them to your yard. Hummingbird feeders are effective as
well and are great way to get better looks at these blurs of the bird
world. For more information on how to attract hummingbirds, visit
www.hummingbirds.net .
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
April 5 | Family Crane Carnival
FAMILY PROGRAMS
A Naturally Good Time for Everyone! Future
programming is listed below. For additional details and
to verify dates, please give us a call at (308) 468-5282.
February 1 | Groundhog Day Hike
Hike off your cabin fever as we search for signs of Rowe
Sanctuary’s own illusive groundhog. We’ll be outside
for the entire program, so please dress in layers. After
the hike, join us for a cup of hot chocolate.
Thanks to all of you who have liked
us on Facebook. Be sure to check
out our page to see what’s
happening throughout the year.
Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary is hosting the tenth annual
Family Crane Carnival, a one of a kind carnival for all
ages with an emphasis on fun and learning. This is a
great opportunity to learn about cranes and their habitat
in a hands-on setting.
SAVE THE DATE
Rowe Sanctuary turns 40!
On Saturday, March 15th, Rowe Sanctuary will celebrate
its 40th anniversary with an open house and activities
to be held throughout the day. Stay tuned for more
information.
Rivers & Wildlife Celebration has a new name
Originally named ‘Audubon’s Spring River Conference’,
and then changed to ‘Rivers & Wildlife Celebration, the
longest running wildlife festival in North America will
now be known as ‘Audubon’s Nebraska Crane Festival’.
Since sandhill cranes are the focus of this festival, we
figured it was about time to incorporate the word crane
into the festival title.
Dates for the 2014 Audubon’s Nebraska Crane Festival
will be March 20 – 23. Information for the festival can
be found at http://nebraskacranefestival.org/ .
Looking for that unique Christmas gift?
If you still have some Christmas shopping to do, Rowe Sanctuary’s Gift Shop may have just
what you’re looking for. Visit our online store at http://store.rowesanctuary.org/ to see
what we have to offer the nature lover in your family.
CONSERVATION
Invasives: Always On Our Minds
Most days at Rowe Sanctuary include at least
passing thoughts about control of invasive
species, if not direct management actions to
control those species that threaten the integrity of
our habitats. The thoughts and actions can run the
gamut of scales in both the areas of the Sanctuary
involved and the time and other resources needed
to address the threat. While our focus is on Rowe
in particular, we are always mindful of how our
work fits into the efforts necessary to improve
conditions in the central Platte River ecosystem
as a whole.
Management of our 170-acre Wetland Reserve
Program (WRP) tract one-half mile southwest of
the Center is just one example that illustrates
that an integrated approach to invasive species
management is required. Non-native tall and
intermediate wheatgrass have found their way
into the restored prairie. These are cool season
grasses whose growth surge begins early in the
spring, well before that of the native warm season grasses and
forbs. By grazing the WRP at a heavy stocking rate through April
and May during their active growth period – to the extent that it
looks “as flat as a pool table” -- we can stress the wheatgrass
stands and thus give the desirable native warm
season species an advantage throughout the rest
of the growing season. We have dramatically
reduced wheatgrass dominance over the past
few years, but in doing so opened up areas that
purple loosestrife was able to colonize. Because
loosestrife flourishes in mid- to late summer along
with desirable warm season species, its invasion
must be treated with targeted spot-spraying of
selective herbicides. Russian olive seedlings have
now started to appear, likely due to the absence of
fire during the few years when the focus has been
more on setting back the invading wheatgrass.
Late this summer the olive seedlings were spotsprayed.
Combating cottonwood seedlings in the river
channels and eastern red cedars and smooth
brome in our upland prairies present similar
challenges to those described for our WRP.
Undoubtedly, invasives will always remain a
concern. We continue to explore ways to apply
management tools more effectively and efficiently,
build resiliency into our native and restored prairies and riverine
habitats, and balance landscape scale management treatments with
the “surgical” control of individual plants and patches. Invasives are
always on our minds.
OUR SUPPORTERS
Rowe Sanctuary would like to thank everyone who has supported our work on behalf of cranes and other wildlife that depend on the Platte
River and its associated ecosystems. The following gifts were received between May 1 and September 30, 2013.
ORGANIZATIONAL
SUPPORT
$100-$499
Lueshens’ Birders
$50-$99
Mile High United Way
INDIVIDUALS
$100-$499
Joan & Paul Armer
Noel Congdon
Gail & Rod Daily
~In memory of Wilma Taddicken & Mo
Arnold
Suzanne Das
John Finkner
Joanna Willis & Jennifer Harvey
Jeff & Linda Jacobsen
Larry Kline
David Larson
Dan & Carol Lindstrom
Sylvia Marshall Wees
Kathleen & Gerald Moore
Paul & Erika Sitz
Jeanne Thoreson
Tom Tolen
Jane Wallower
$50-$99
Maryanne Clark
Harold & Marilyn Fick
George & Carolee Hilsenbrandt
Daniel Coren & Gretta Leopold
Jim Meyers
Jerry Minor
Marilyn Nash
Robert & Sally Puth
Barbara Saum
Yvonne Shohl
Melba Sullivan
Chris Pfaff & Larry White
$1-$49
Joe & Mary Abo
Michael Ander
Vernon & Wauneta Brummer
John Brusegard
Barbara Chatterjee
Martha Chestem
Thomas Coenen
George & Margaret Collier
Mary Commers
Marv & Jean De Selm
Jill Fuchtman
~In honor of Celeste Elwood
Roman & Nadine Glemba
Dottie Griebenow
Verona Guinn
Timothy Hornor
Judith Houk
Elizabeth Ihrig
Mary Ann Knoss
Stanley Lanzano
Wallace Merriam
John & Judy Murphy
Naomi Porat
Christine Reed
Kim Robinson
Richard Scott
Dan Splett
Richard & Lois Stump
Sharon Swiggum
Gene & Sally Thompson
Ronald Tinkham
Bertha Ward
HABITAT ACQUISITION FUND
Stephanie Cole
Alana Lynn Olsen
Carol Scheifele-Holmes
Lois Waldref
Diana Wang
The support and recognition of all our donors is extremely important to us. If a donor has been inadvertently left off of this list, please let
us know so any missing names or corrections can be made in the next issue.
2013 SPONSORS CORPORATE & EDUCATION
SANDHILL CRANE
$2,500 & above
Aveda
Best Western Plus Mid Nebraska
Kearney Visitors Bureau
Nebraska Central Telephone Company
Platte River Recovery Implementation
Program - Education
Younes Hospitality
BALD EAGLE
$1,000-$2,499
Burchell’s White Hill Farmhouse
Cabela’s
Calamus Outfitters
Copycat Printing
Eakes Office Plus
Intellicom
Michael Forsberg Photography
Microtel Inn & Suites
Platte Valley State Bank - Education
Sandhills Publishing
SCORR Marketing
MEADOWLARK
$500-$999
Headwaters Corporation
Wells Fargo
Our corporate and education sponsors support Rowe Sanctuary in a variety of ways through generous financial and in-kind assistance. Above is the listing of our
2013 sponsors. If you would like information on our corporate and education sponsorship opportunities, please contact Bill Taddicken at [email protected].
BRAIDED RIVER SOCIETY
There is a one-of-kind wildlife resource in North America; a prairie river made up of braided channels flowing around shifting sandbars. There
are one half million sandhill cranes and several endangered species that depend on this river. There is a growing group of people from
around the world who are committed to preserving this precious resource for generations to come…The Braided River Society.
CRANE RIVER
$25,000 or more
Margery Nicolson
WHOOPING CRANE
$10,000-$24,999
Harold & Eleanor Hamilton
Duncan & Janice McGregor
Katheryn Russi
Julie Schroeder
SANDHILL CRANE
$5,000-$9,999
Scott & Mary Lou Reed
BALD EAGLE
$2,500-$4,999
Mike & Becky Evers
Bill & Joan Truhlsen
PIPING PLOVER
$1,000-$2,499
Jon & Leslie Abegglen
Rob & Susan Ahlschwede
Thomas & Lynn Ashby
John H. Davidson & Cathy F. Beard
Charles & Marylin Bicak
Roger Neil & Marla Bouton
Don & Judy Brockmeier
Linda Brown
Marian Brown
Ron & Judy Carter
Fiona & Marvin Caruthers
David & Ann Duey
Alice & Michael Epstein
Charlotte Griswold-Tergis
Heather Henson
Stephen & Jennifer Homan
Kay Horner
Diane Gilles & Stephen Johnson
Joel & Jill Johnson
Helen Kenefick
Deb Knudsen
LeRoy & Donna Kuta
Marian Langan & David Murphy
James & Kathleen McKenzie
Linda K. Miller
Diana Nevins
Ron & Judy Parks
Dean & Trudy Plautz
Robert & Jane Pricer
Alice Rumery
Margaret Sharp
Michael & Janice Smith
Michelle & James Styring
Bill & Autumn Taddicken
David & Lorma Wiebe
Chris Wright
MEADOWLARK
$500-$999
Mote & Patti Andrews
Helen Arnold
Roger Beck & Eric Anderson
Vincent & Vicki Bjorling
John & Pat Brotherton
Gregg Campbell
Thomas Crusse
Bill & Rosemary Draeger
William Dunn
Robert & Sandra Erickson
LaJean Firminhac
Nancy & Larry Forsberg
Larry & Suzanne Fuller
Carolyn Hall
Kathleen Hawkins & Charles Marn
Stephen Jones
Roger & Rita Jones
Thornton Jordan
Sue Lojinger
Maxine Mandell
Nancy & Larry Master
Ann Merritt
Brian & Jane Moody
Etsuko & Hideaki Moriyama
Jess & Donna Morton
Carylann Mucha
Gregory & Catherine Oneglia
Tom & Patti Peterson
Jim & Mary Pipher
Charles & Patricia Punelli
Neal Ratzlaff
Richard & Lisa Reichman
Christine Robertsen
Leslie Roslund
Donna & Robert Royer
James & Jean Sandrock
John Sanford
David & Sue Skidmore
Gary & Jan Small
Kirk & Jennifer Summers
Rae Ellen Syverson & Carl Wolfe
Ed Taddicken
Lois Tandy
Naseem Munshi & Michael Tupper
Carol Wahl
Marsha Fangmeyer & James Wiest
Donna Willey
Greg & Dina Wingfield
Lael Greenfield & Janet Wright
Kirby & Mary Zicafoose
*NEW MEMBERS IN BOLD
Please consider joining this important group of people helping to create a legacy for the Platte River. By becoming a member
of the Braided River Society, you will help safeguard this important national treasure and touch the lives of each person that experiences
first-hand the amazing wonders of the natural world. Most importantly, you will be protecting the future of the Platte River. Your gift
makes a real difference. Please consider joining today!
Creating a Legacy for Nature
DEVELOPMENT
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Executive Director, Audubon Nebraska
Executive Director, Audubon Nebraska
For more information please contact Bill Taddicken at
308-468-5282 or send an email to [email protected].
VOLUNTEERISM
Platte, Early March
By Amy Plettner
Rowe Sanctuary adds Outreach Coordinator
I touch the river,
forget my other life.
The cranes talk.
Rowe Sanctuary welcomes Diana Luscher to its staff as the new
Outreach Coordinator. Born in Pennsylvania, but growing up in
California, Diana has lived in and/or traveled to 46 of the 50
states. She is married to Robert Luscher, a Professor of English
at the University of Nebraska – Kearney, and they have two
grown daughters and one grandson.
Diana retired from the Nebraska Public Power District as an
Energy Educator after 15 ½ years of teaching all age levels
about electricity, electrical safety and energy. Prior to coming
to Nebraska, she taught elementary school in North Carolina
and has also worked in several libraries, a nature science and
health education center, grocery stores, snack bars, as well as
a research lab at Duke University Medical Center. Diana has
had a long association with the Girl Scouts of America and
her passions and pastimes include volunteering, kids, hiking,
camping, biking, travel, sewing and reading.
This is not the end!
This is not the end!
they say, all eighty-five thousand,
and their voices
Diana Luscher
EDUCATION
Planting Seeds during Summer Camps
Over one hundred and seventy kids participated in three Summer camps held at Rowe
Sanctuary this past summer. Two Big Bend SOAR (Summer Orientation about Rivers) Camps
took place, which are designed for second through fifth graders. The third camp, Flying
Higher, is for middle school students.
Rowe’s summer camps, in fact all Audubon programs, have a goal to help people discover, learn
about, connect, and take care of nature close to home. In other words, Rowe is working to
develop a culture of conservation. To accomplish this, several core principles are incorporated
into the educational experience.
Programs focus on outdoor experiences that are extended and repeatable. They always
include personalized interactive, inquiry-based, and hands-on activities that are based on
solid science. Programs also include age appropriate conservation actions. When kids
develop a connection to nature and see that small actions can make a difference, they feel
empowered. That feeling of empowerment will be carried with them throughout their lives.
Kids learning about birds at Summer Camp.
turn my ear to heart
as I lay down in grasses
along the bank
where current moves free
and eagles hold sharp
to cottonwood’s naked arms.
A beaver carries a stick
Upstream as the thick bed
of clouds breaches blue;
vanishes loneliness.
The kingfisher
sits on last year’s branch,
a favorite perch,
and I let loose
beneath the chorus
so ancient and real:
everything,
every single thing,
exists
with or without
me. I’ve touched
the river, and need
no other life.
Rowe’s Wish List
6 passenger electric golf cart
Power Washer
Digital Projector
ATV Trailer
New commercial vacuum cleaner
New Ipad
Three point box scraper for tractor
Point of sale cash register system
Adobe InDesign software for PC
Adobe Acrobat Pro software for PC
Samsung W300 HD camcorder
$5 million Endowment
NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Rowe Sanctuary
44450 Elm Island Road
Gibbon, NE 68840
PERMIT NO. 22
GIBBON, NE 68840
CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH NATURE
Crane Cam - To watch the crane came, please
go to http://rowe.audubon.org/crane-cam.
The mission of Rowe Sanctuary is to preserve Platte River ecosystems for cranes and other wildlife through conservation and education.
1 0 0% P O S T CONS UM E R WA S TE
44450 Elm Island Road
Gibbon, NE 68840
Phone: 308-468-5282
rowe.audubon.org
Open Monday - Friday 9 - 5; Sunday 1 - 4
Open 7 days a week Feb. 15 – April 15
Bill Taddicken - Director
Keanna Leonard - Education Director
Diana Luscher - Outreach Coordinator
Greg Wingfield - Director of Conservation
Kent Skaggs - Office Manager
Sharon Ingram - Gift Shop Manager
Stewardship Advisory Board
Rob Ahlschwede
Susan Ahlschwede
Charles Bicak
Becky Evers
Jennifer Homan
Joel Johnson
Roger Jones
Jennifer Martin
Janice McGregor
Brian Moody
Margery Nicolson
Kirk Summers
Carol Wahl