June 12, 2025
Episode 17
Whoopers First Watch
Thomas Labedz, Gary Lingle, and Greg Wingfield
With more than a century of combined experience, these longtime conservation champions of the Platte River sit down with Mike to share stories from the early days of crane conservation, reflect on how the river has shaped their lives and hearts, and explore what the future holds for the Platte and these birds.
Episode Extras
A Braided River
Braided rivers are rare, and the Platte River is one of them.
A braided river is defined by dynamic, interconnected channels that split and rejoin—constantly shifting in response to changes in water levels, flow, and sediment patterns. The Platte’s shallow, wide nature creates a broad floodplain dotted with islands and temporary, mobile sandbars. Its water levels fluctuate dramatically due to agricultural demands and climate-driven environmental changes.
The water from the Platte begins its journey in the alpine streams of Wyoming and Colorado and eventually meanders down to the plains and agricultural lands of Nebraska. At times, the river runs with force. Other times, it slows to a complete stop, or even dries for lengths of time.
The Platte has long been described as “an inch deep and a mile wide.” These traits make it ideal roosting habitat for migratory cranes and other birds as they journey across the continent, stopping to refuel and rest in Nebraska. Today, the river’s natural flow is interrupted by dams and reservoirs, and trees have largely choked its channel. Along the central Platte, dozens of conservation groups work tirelessly to preserve its natural character—clearing vegetation from sandbars and managing shoreline trees—so migratory birds can continue to find the habitat they know and need.
Audubon Rowe Sanctuary
Rowe Sanctuary got its start in 1967 when Lillian Annette Rowe, Ph.D., a psychologist in the Army during WWII, left much of her estate to the National Audubon Society for the purpose of establishing a bird sanctuary. Eight years later, the Lillian Annette Rowe Sanctuary was established on 440 acres of pristine crane habitat along the Platte River. National Audubon Society later purchased a 362-acre farm and buildings where the education center is now located, and named it in honor of volunteer and donor Margery Nicolson’s late husband. It continues to be dedicated to the conservation of cranes, other migratory birds, and habitats along the Platte River.
Wide channels and unobstructed views make ideal conditions for migrating cranes, which is why Rowe Sanctuary was established in this critical spring staging area. As the migration spectacle gained attention, public crane viewing from blinds on the sanctuary began in 1975.
Today, thousands of crane enthusiasts—often called “craniacs”—and tourists travel to witness one of the last great wildlife migrations on Earth.
Big Business on the Platte
Crane Tourism: Then & Now
Crane tourism has boosted Nebraska’s economy for decades.
Nebraska’s Platte River protects cranes from hunters, which they evade in every other state in the Central Flyway. On the Platte, they pour in by the thousands–even hundreds of thousands–and seek refuge on their journey north in the spring. Impressive flocks of the iconic birds attract birders, contribute to recreation and tourism, and further reinforce the ban on hunting cranes in the state.
Fossil records suggest this migration has occurred for more than nine million years. While the Platte River’s importance to sandhill cranes was first formally documented in the late 1800s, it wasn’t until the mid-1970s that general interest in crane-watching began to grow. Over time, this interest has evolved into a significant tourist industry, which has even attracted international visitors.
In 2017, a University of Nebraska at Kearney study estimated that crane tourism in central Nebraska during the sandhill crane migration generated a $14.3 million economic impact, supports 182 full-time jobs, and generates approximately $379,000 in local tax revenue annually.
Episode 16: Long Live Cranes
Episode 18: Connected by Cranes