The inaugural Yampa Valley Crane Festival culminates during a free community talk with Dr. George Archibald, a revered ornithologist and co-founder of the International Crane Foundation.

George Archibald will  share an amazing story about how Greater Sandhill Cranes in the Rocky Mountains of  North America,  Black-necked  Cranes on Asia’s Tibetan Plateau, and Demoiselle Cranes that migrate over the peaks of the Himalayas, survive at high altitudes.  He will also explain the unique challenges in conserving these remarkable creatures as human populations spread up the slopes and as fragile high-altitude climates change.

About the speaker
Dr. George Archibald co-founded the International Crane Foundation with Ronald Sauey, a colleague from Cornell University, in the spring of 1973. They established it as the world center for the study and preservation of cranes using a creative combination of field research, help to local people living near the cranes, public education, habitat protection, and captive propagation and reintroduction.  Today the International Crane Foundation has 50 employees and supports conservation projects in 45 nations.

Dr. Archibald received his undergraduate degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and completed his Ph.D. at Cornell University.  In 1984 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship (nicknamed the Genius Grant) for his work with cranes. For 27 years Dr. Archibald served as the President of the International Crane Foundation.  Today he continues to be employed full time by ICF and works on programs of his choosing in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Cuba, China, India, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, South Korea, and Russia.  

Dr. Archibald has used the charisma of cranes to help unite people from diverse cultures and countries to work together to preserve habitat necessary for the survival of both cranes and people. His worldwide travels have given him unique experiences that make his presentations both informative and enjoyable.

Follow Dr. Archibald’s work through Travels with George.

Crane photo courtesy Colorado Parks & Wildlife/David Hannigan.

About the Yampa Valley Crane Festival
Check out the Yampa Valley Crane Festival schedule, which is filled with free talks, crane viewing walks, art and community gatherings. Links to the daily festival schedules are below:
Sunday, Sept. 16
Monday, Sept. 17
Tuesday, Sept. 18
Wednesday, Sept. 19

The Yampa Valley Crane Festival is presented by the Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition and co-sponsored by American Kestrel Press, Audubon Rockies, BookTrails, Bud Werner Memorial Library, Colorado State Council of the Humane Society of the United States, The Nature Conservancy, Klauzer & Tremaine, LLC, Mangelsen Images of Nature, Off the Beaten Path Bookstore, U.S. Forest Service, Yampa Valley Birding Club, Yampa Valley Land Trust and Yampatika.

Questions about the Yampa Valley Crane Festival? Please send us an email.