Agencies say the annual cost to operate the proposed hunt far outweighs revenues by $1.6 million and would completely overwhelm current farmer assistance programs.
The two populations of North America’s migrating Whooping Cranes exhibit vastly different behaviors on their journey south. The remnant Aransas-Wood Buffalo Population (AWBP) migrates about 2,500 miles along the Central Flyway to reach their historic wintering grounds in coastal Texas. The Eastern Migratory Population (EMP), a reintroduced population established in 2001, was originally taught to fly to coastal Florida to salt marshes that mimic the conditions of the wintering habitat in Texas.
During January, most of the Whooping Cranes in the Eastern Migratory Population were still on their wintering grounds and doing well.
For decades, conservationists have worked to combat threats that nearly drove the Whooping Crane to extinction. Their population hit a historic low of only 21 individuals in the wild in the 1940s. As part of the effort to save the species, a population of migratory Whooping Cranes was reintroduced to Wisconsin in 2001, known as the Eastern Migratory Population, or EMP. Today, the EMP consists of around 70 individuals who spend their summers in Wisconsin before migrating further south for the winter, mostly in Alabama and Indiana. Through this reintroduction and countless other conservation measures, there are now about 700 Whooping Cranes in the wild in three populations. Despite this impressive growth, threats continue to emerge that threaten the species’ survival, and these must be met with creative research, dedicated partnerships, and decisive action to safeguard the future of Whooping Cranes.
During December, the 2025 Whooping Crane cohort in the Eastern Migratory Population appears to be doing well, and cranes migrated south to their wintering grounds!
In November, most of the Whooping Cranes left Wisconsin on their southward migration!
During October, the captive-reared birds were released, and migration began!
Our teams from Texas and Wisconsin collaborated to compile all available information on over-summering on the wintering grounds for the two current migratory Whooping Crane populations: the Aransas Wood Buffalo Population and the Eastern Migratory Population.
During September, the first breeding pair left Wisconsin and traveled to Illinois!
An Endangered Whooping Crane, lovingly named “Ducky,” died earlier this month due to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). The loss marks the first confirmed death of a Whooping Crane due to HPAI.
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