Chuck Cooper

Nebraska Crane Trust & The Great Migration

Friday, August 30, 2019 - 7:00pm to 8:00pm
  • Library Hall
Nebraska Crane Trust CEO Chuck Cooper shares how the Crane Trust manages and saves habitat for Sandhill Cranes, plus a special documentary sneak peek!

A special talk for the 2019 Yampa Valley Crane Festival!

Nebraska Crane Trust CEO Chuck Cooper presents “The Great Migration, How the Crane Trust Manages and Saves Habitat for Sandhill Cranes." Learn how the Crane Trust has become a leader in the creation and protection of habitat for Sandhill Cranes along the Platte River in Nebraska. Included in the presentation will be a preview of the new documentary film The Nature Makers, scheduled for film festivals this fall, with stunning images of the nearly 700,000 cranes that migrate through this habitat each year.

About the speaker

Chuck Cooper was born in Hartington, Nebraska and attended Wayne State College, where he received a bachelor's degree in business. After a successful career in the “for profit” world, he accepted a position as Executive Director at a nonprofit in Omaha Nebraska. In 2007 he successfully bid and brought the 2010 Special Olympics National Games to Lincoln, Nebraska. When the games were completed, he accepted the position of President/CEO of the Crane Trust, an organization that was struggling for funding and for attaining its mission to create, protect, and manage habitat for cranes (Whooping and Sandhill) and other migratory birds. The Crane Trust is now a leader in the creation and protection of habitat, and offers a prime viewing location for experiencing crane migration. The Trust maintains VIP heated blinds and cottages where guests stay only a few hundred yards from the largest crane roost in the world.

About the Yampa Valley Crane Festival

The Greater Sandhill Crane is an iconic species of the Yampa Valley. Returning in the spring, cranes nest and raise their young in wetland areas throughout the valley. In late summer and early fall, hundreds of cranes from the Rocky Mountain flock join the local birds to rest and feed before continuing their journey south. The festival includes daily crane viewings, expert speakers, films, art exhibits, workshops, family activities and more. All community activities and events are free unless otherwise indicated in the program, and Bud Werner Memorial Library is festival headquarters and the venue for many of these talks, films and events.

Learn more about the Yampa Valley Crane Festival at www.coloradocranes.org.