Sandhill Crane Festival - Gone But Not Forgotten

The Sandhill Crane Festival traces its beginning to a little more than 16 years ago. A long time bird watcher wanted to publicize the presence of several thousand migrating sandhill cranes who found their way each fall and winter to the Tennessee Wildlife Agency’s Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge.

The bird watcher decided that a festival would be a good way to make others aware of the annual occurrence. Later, the bird watcher met a wildlife public education practitioner at a backyard rally in Chattanooga. Upon hearing about the bird watcher’s project, the practitioner decided to join the bird watcher in his efforts.

The outcome of the two’s collaboration has been The Sandhill Crane Festival, an event that has delighted thousands of wildlife watchers.

At the time, Clarence Coffey was the TWRA Region III Information and Education Coordinator, an area that encompasses 25 counties in the middle and eastern portions of the state. Coffey, who recently retired as Region III Manager and retired National Parks Service employee, Ken Dubke, created a partnership for the event with the nearby Birchwood School and later the Cherokee Removal Memorial. The weekend event grew to its pinnacle several years ago when TWRA and Meigs County Tourism officials estimated over 4,000 people attended.

Today and then, the thousands of sandhill cranes using the Hiwassee pose a real management challenge for wildlife managers in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee that host the bird’s eastern flyway.

Every state in the Union has seen a decrease in the sale of hunting and fishing licenses/permits and other revenue.  State wildlife budgets have been cut as a result. The sandhill crane event has never generated continuing funding for the management of the wildlife at the Refuge and TWRA finds itself having to make budget cuts.  Using sound financial methods, the Agency must look at cutting programs and projects.

“It was my hope when we got this event started the non-game community would eventually realize that the hunting community had paid to establish the Hiwassee Refuge as a heaven for migrating ducks and geese and other waterfowl,” Coffey explained.

The first sandhill cranes arrived on the scene at the Hiwassee Refuge in 1968 when 20 birds were observed resting on their migration south.  Today, wildlife biologists and managers estimate that the eastern flyway population of sandhill cranes to be between 35,000 to 40,000 birds.

“The sale of Tennessee hunting and fishing licenses paid the costs of providing a safe habitat during the growth of the sandhill crane eastern population. While the wildlife watching community and money spent by birders for their hobby has continued to increase, the hunting community and funding sources generated to manage both game and non-game species has continued to decrease nationwide,” Coffey said.

“I think it is time the non-game wildlife watching community steps up to the challenge to find a way to establish funding sources in a creative fashion that lasts from year to year,” Coffey added.

TWRA has co-sponsored the annual sandhill crane event with the help of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation for the past several years and they have contributed several thousand dollars during that time in areas such as paying lecture series speaker’s expenses and for live raptor shows, for example.  TWRA’s contribution outside the budget to manage the Hiwassee Refuge for migrating waterfowl, shorebirds, and indigenous wildlife species, has grown to more than $16,000 on an annual basis.

The Chattanooga Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society has contributed many volunteer man hours at the event providing expert birding interpretation during the history of the event and made donations up to $12,000 from local fundraisers.

“The TOS help has made a difference at the event and the money has helped with habitat enhancement, construction at the viewing area, and wildlife public education, but we need more from the birding community and other types of organizations on a national scale,” Coffey said.

This is not an end to the annual sandhill crane migration and biologists predict the number of cranes that migrate to the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge will continue to grow.  Interested wildlife watchers may still enjoy the beauty of the area and watch the cranes which may include an occasional reintroduced whooping crane during their annual migration starting historically in October and ending in March.  The Ken and Lil Dubke Wildlife Viewing Gazebo is open year-round and most days visitors can find a host of wildlife species and maybe even an expert from the local TOS there.

Watch for news articles and check this Web site for crane migration updates and about the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge where you may still enjoy the cranes.