Good morning.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 53. Sunrise is 7:22 AM and sunset 5:54 PM for 10h 32m 07s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 1.4% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Common Council goes into executive session shortly after 6:30 PM, to return to open session later this same evening.
On this day in 1881, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday participate in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.
Photo by Dave Hoefler on Unsplash
Gaby Venice reports A ‘conservation success story’: first Great Midwest Crane Fest to celebrate recovery of sandhill cranes (‘Conservationists hope to raise awareness, inspire people to commit to conservation’):
Sandhill cranes are fairly easy to spot today, but they nearly vanished less than a century ago.
It’s their remarkable story of recovery that has inspired conservationists to plan the first Great Midwest Crane Fest, set for Nov. 10-12 in Baraboo.
“This festival is to bring together our local community and celebrate, what we feel, is one of the great conservation stories of the Midwest,” said Richard Beilfuss, CEO and president of the International Crane Foundation, or ICF. It’s an event two years in the making — postponed due to pandemic restrictions — backed by decades-worth of efforts honoring conservation efforts by ICF and The Aldo Leopold Foundation.
Cranes are among the oldest living bird species in the world, soaring through the skies for millions of years.
In 1937, renowned Wisconsin conservationist Aldo Leopold wrote one of his most famous essays, “Marshland Elegy,” warning sandhill cranes could become extinct in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest. Around that time, the species had dwindled to just 25 breeding pairs in Wisconsin.
Now, the Midwest is home to more than 15,000 sandhill cranes. And the eastern population has grown to about 90,000, according to Buddy Huffaker, executive director of the Aldo Leopold Foundation.
The Great Midwest Crane Fest (‘Celebrating Community and Conservation’) takes place on Nov. 10 – 12, 2022 at Baraboo, Wisconsin. Registration is available online, and the fest has a full schedule of activities.
From 2017, Sandhill Crane Migration along the Wisconsin River:
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