Photo by Ben Slowey
International Crane Foundation welcome sign
A sign welcoming visitors to the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin (2026).
The International Crane Foundation (ICF), E11376 Shady Lane Rd. in Baraboo, is the only place in the world where all 15 species of crane live. Founded in 1973 by George Archibald and Ron Sauey, its organizational mission is to connect the public with cranes through up-close encounters, educational programming and global conservation efforts. The ICF headquarters, or Crane Discovery Center, is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 1 through October 31.
Cranes are tall birds with long legs and necks that primarily live solitarily in wetlands as opportunistic feeders on every continent except South America and Antarctica. Ten of the 15 species are threatened or endangered. Wisconsin is home to two native crane species, the sandhill crane and highly endangered whooping crane. Cranes are of cultural and spiritual significance to many Indigenous tribes, including the Ho-Chunk Nation, whose land the ICF sits on. They hold similar sacredness in Japanese culture, folklore and art.
At the ICF, each crane species lives as a mated pair in its own enclosure containing the appropriate foliage, shade and water features with the walls painted to look like the species’ natural habitat. Signage provides information about the species and the region it is from. The visitor center offers outreach opportunities as well as a gift shop. Communications and marketing specialist Ryan Michalesko explains that the ICF is the genetic bank for crane species with many more specimens of each crane living off exhibit. “We are prepared to intervene to hatch chicks and release them into the wild as needed to bolster populations.”
Crucial Ecosystems
Photo via International Crane Foundation - Facebook
Tour guide with whooping crane puppet
A tour guide with a whooping crane puppet speaks to visitors on a whooping crane walk at Horicon Marsh.
Cranes are umbrella species, meaning that protecting cranes protects other organisms living in the same habitat. For example, efforts to protect the whooping crane involve conserving two of its last remaining breeding grounds, Horicon Marsh and Necedah Wildlife Refuge—both huge and crucial ecosystems in Wisconsin. In fact, the ICF is leading the reintroduction of the eastern migratory population of whooping cranes by hatching and rearing them at its headquarters, then releasing them into the wild with monitoring tags.
Michalesko continues, “In a species like the whooping crane where the numbers got so low, down to about 20 birds, we use all of the genetic variability that made up that population. When you’re trying to build back a population with only 20 birds, you don’t have a lot of genetic information left to work with. So, here at the ICF, all of that is carefully managed for all the different species to make sure the birds pairing with each other are not related and that we’re advancing genetic diversity rather than creating bottlenecks.”
|
|
This summer, the ICF’s pair of hooded cranes, native to East Asia, were introduced to one another. “You’ll notice down the middle of their exhibit there’s a transparent black wall with the birds on either side so they can get accustomed to and comfortable with each other,” Michalesko adds. “We want the birds to be comfortable, and they’re cared for by highly trained aviculture specialists and veterinarians, but they’re still birds who might not get along with each other. Some of them are quirky, some are mean and some get along with everybody.”
Worldwide Project
Globally, the ICF works in all the places cranes dance with offices in South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and China. Michalesko notes, “We really try to work with the communities who live alongside these birds, which is the best way to approach conservation, with everything from family planning to water availability to economic opportunities. When we create access to clean water, we’re keeping families out of the wetlands that cranes need to access.” Since its founding, the ICF has been credited for rearing more than 7,000 critically endangered Siberian cranes, training more than 500 students as wetland conservationists in Southeast Asia and protecting more than 1 million acres of Zambia’s Kafue Flats.
Michalesko describes ICF’s founding as a “through-and-through Wisconsin story.” Archibald and Sauey had been students at Cornell University interested in crane biology and conservation when they decided to rent land in Baraboo that Sauey’s family owned for just $1 a year, leading to the establishment of ICF
As recently as two months ago, protections within the Endangered Species Act were rolled back. “The word harm was redefined to no longer include harm to habitats, and if you can’t include a species’ habitat then you can’t really protect them,” Michalesko laments. Folks can support the ICF’s work through becoming a member or with donations, or by purchasing a Cranes of Wisconsin license plate, which the ICF gives $25 toward conservation efforts for each sold.
ICF programming throughout the year includes the annual Great Midwest Crane Fest, where folks have the unique opportunity to observe the sandhill crane migration on the Wisconsin River; this year it occurs November 14 and 15. Other events include monthly guided whooping crane walks at Horicon Marsh and the annual Midwest Crane Count in April. The full event schedule is available on the International Crane Foundation website.
