Presented by Stephanie Schmidt, International Crane Foundation

Join us on Zoom
Meeting ID: 893 2837 0260
Passcode: CCAS

Overview:

In the 1940s Whooping Cranes, once found throughout North America, faced near extinction as a result of increased threats from habitat loss, hunting, and more. It wasn’t until 2001 that Whooping Cranes returned to the eastern United States following a collaborative reintroduction program led by the International Crane Foundation (ICF). Today over 70 Whooping Cranes make up this population and many will migrate through or winter in eastern Illinois each year. Please join Stephanie Schmidt, Whooping Crane Outreach Coordinator for the International Crane Foundation, to learn about the Whooping Cranes of the Eastern Migratory Population and the work ICF and crane conservation partners are doing to safeguard their future.

Speaker Bio:

Stephanie Schmidt graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin Madison with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and a certificate in Environmental Studies in 2018. Following graduation, she began working with cranes as an intern at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI and the Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center in New Orleans, LA. She then went on to earn her master’s degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she studied nesting marsh birds and predation risk following wetland management practices. Following graduation in 2022, she returned to the International Crane Foundation where she now works as the Whooping Crane Outreach Coordinator.

About Our Monthly Programs:

Guest speakers present on a variety of topics throughout the year. Programs are typically held in the Urbana Free Library auditorium (no programs in January, June, July, or August).