Our Mission

The International Crane Foundation works worldwide to conserve cranes and the ecosystems, watersheds, and flyways on which they depend. We provide knowledge, leadership, and inspiration to engage people in resolving threats to cranes and their diverse landscapes.

Our Reach

From our nearly 300-acre headquarters in Baraboo, Wisconsin, USA our reach extends across the globe. We maintain a regional base in China and share program offices with partner organizations in Cambodia, India, South Africa, Texas, Vietnam, and Zambia. Our approximately 80 staff work with a network of hundreds of specialists in over 50 countries on five continents.

Our Vision

The International Crane Foundation is committed to a future where all 15 of the world’s crane species are secure. Through the charisma of cranes, we envision a future where people work together to protect and restore wild crane populations and the landscapes they depend on – and by doing so, find new pathways to sustain our water, land, and livelihoods.

The story of the International Crane Foundation began in 1971 at Cornell University with two students who shared a passion for cranes. Ornithology students Ron Sauey and George Archibald envisioned an organization that would combine research, captive breeding and reintroduction, landscape restoration and education to safeguard the world’s 15 crane species. In 1973, with the generosity of the Sauey family – who rented their horse farm to Ron and George for $1 a year! – the International Crane Foundation “hatched” in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

In our first four decades, we have developed unique collaborations and led effective community-based conservation programs, important research projects and innovative captive breeding and reintroduction efforts. These endeavors have inspired international cooperation, helped improve livelihoods for people around the world and lead to the protection of millions of acres of wetlands and grasslands on the five continents where cranes live (learn more about our work).

Today, the International Crane Foundation’s impact reaches across the globe. We maintain a regional base in China and share program offices with partner organizations in Cambodia, India, South Africa, Texas, Vietnam and Zambia. Our approximately 74 team members work with a network of hundreds of specialists in over 50 countries on five continents.

Our nearly 300-acre global headquarters in Baraboo, Wisc. hosts a captive flock of approximately 100 cranes, including the only complete collection of all 15 species in the world. Our site, which features live crane exhibits, guided and self-guided tours, a research library, visitor center and four miles of nature trails, is visited by more than 25,000 people annually (click here to plan your visit).

We don’t have any plans of slowing down now. With 11 of the world’s 15 crane species facing extinction, our future promises to be one of continued growth and innovation to meet the growing challenges. We thank you for being a part of our history – and for supporting our future as we work to protect cranes and the ecosystems, watersheds and flyways on which they depend.

Oh, the places we’ll go! From pioneering firsts in breeding to innovative reintroduction techniques, historic population surveys and protecting millions of hectares of wetlands, our history illustrates our global impact. Here are a few of our firsts:

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1970s | Co-founder Ron Sauey studying Siberian Cranes in India.

1970s: Co-founder Ron Sauey brings international attention to the plight of the Siberian Crane through his pioneering research on the population’s wintering grounds in India.

1972: Co-founder George Archibald spearheads a campaign to protect wetlands on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, where he discovers a breeding population of Red-crowned Cranes. This insight leads to the realization that the majority of Red-crowned Cranes in Japan are non-migratory.

1973: The International Crane Foundation “hatches”

1974 -1977: George discovers the Korean Demilitarized Zone is a major wintering area for Red-crowned Cranes. He then leads a successful campaign to save the Han River estuary – a critical crane wintering and migratory area located in the Demilitarized Zone.

1975: First Red-crowned Cranes, Tancho and Tsuru, hatch in the western hemisphere.

1976: First Hooded Crane hatches in captivity.

1977: Discovery that Lake Abi-i-Estada, Afghanistan is a migration rest stop for Siberian Cranes that winter in India.

1979: Brolgas hatch for the first time in North America.

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1980s | Dr. Rob Horwich pioneers isolation-rearing at our headquarters. Pictured is an early version of the costume developed to rear Sandhill Crane chicks.

1981: Dushenka, the first Siberian Crane bred in captivity, hatches.

1984-86: Pioneer “isolation rearing” efforts to release captive cranes into the wild.

1985: International Crane Foundation receives Black-necked Cranes from China, making the Foundation the only facility to have all fifteen crane species.

1988: International Crane Foundation biologists begin to assist Vietnamese colleagues with restoring and managing Tram Chim National Park.

1989: As the expertise of the staff grows, the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, home to nearly all captive Whooping Cranes, sends half of their flock to the International Crane Foundation.

1990: First Black-necked Crane hatches in North America.

1990s: The International Crane Foundation plays a leadership role in bringing Russians and Chinese together to preserve the wild character of the Amur River, which forms the eastern border between the two countries. The Amur River Basin is home to four species of endangered cranes plus many other rare species of plants and animals, including the Siberian tiger and Siberian leopard.

1992: Help create Tram Chim National Park, the first wetland national park in Vietnam.

1992: The International Crane Foundation leads the effort to establish a Whooping Crane Health Advisory Team. The team consists of veterinary and wildlife disease specialists that consult with the International Whooping Crane Recovery Team to help foster recovery goals. The International Crane Foundation has led this team for more than 25 years.

1993: First continent-wide meeting on crane and wetland conservation in Maun, Botswana.

1993: First hatch of a Wattled Crane, making the International Crane Foundation the first institution to successfully breed all fifteen species.

1994: Assist Russian colleagues in creating Muraviovka Park, Russia’s first privately-managed protected area since 1918.

1994: The International Crane Foundation begins an innovative community-based conservation and economic development project in southwestern China for villagers living in the Cao Hai Nature Reserve, home to Black-necked and Eurasian Cranes.

1996: Through collaboration with colleagues in Russia, discover breeding grounds of western Siberian Crane population that winters in Iran.

1999: Discover Boeung Prek Lapouv wetland in Takeo Province, Cambodia – an important wintering site for the Eastern Sarus Crane. Boeung Prek Lapouv becomes a Sarus Crane sanctuary in 2007.

1999: The Foundation is a founding member of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, a group of non-profit and governmental organizations formed to establish an eastern migratory population of Whooping Cranes in the United States.

1999-2000: First range-wide survey and population estimate of Black Crowned Cranes in West and Central Africa.

2001-2002: First range-wide survey and population estimate of Wattled Cranes in 11 countries in Africa.

2002: The Mekong University Network is established to train the next generation of wetland researchers and conservationists in Southeast Asia.

2003: The International Crane Foundation receives a Global Environment Fund (GEF) grant for the conservation of major wetlands used by Siberian Cranes in western and eastern Asia.

2004: Establish Phu My Project, the first community-based wetland and crane conservation project in Vietnam. In January 2016, Phu My becomes the first species and habitat protection area established under the auspices of Vietnam’s Law on Biodiversity.

2005: The International Crane Foundation and Endangered Wildlife Trust officially become partners for the conservation of cranes in Africa.

2005: Discover major Wattled Crane breeding grounds at Boyo Wetland in Ethiopia.

2005: First, and largest, Ramsar Site in Mozambique is established to protect the Zambezi Delta, home to Wattled Cranes and many other wildlife species.

2005: The Foundation raises the first cohort of Direct Autumn Release Whooping Cranes. The chicks are costume-raised at our headquarters and released in Wisconsin their first fall near adult cranes.

2006: The first wild Whooping Crane chick hatches and fledges in the reintroduced Eastern Migratory Population.

2008: The first river basin agreement is established between water authorities, hydrologic dam operators, universities and non-governmental organizations for environmental flow management of the Zambezi River in East Africa.

2008: Two new Black-necked Crane migration routes in southwest China are discovered by International Crane Foundation and colleagues.

2009-2014: International Crane Foundation partners with multi-agency team that is the first to safely capture wild Whooping Cranes at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, for groundbreaking spatial and health research along the population’s North American central flyway.

2012: The first long-term monitoring program across South Asia is launched to track 1,000 breeding Sarus Crane pairs and 18 additional waterbird species that thrive in agricultural landscapes.

2014: Approximately 150,000 acres are proclaimed a Protected Environment in South Africa’s Lake’s District, Chrissiesmeer, protecting key habitat for Blue, Grey Crowned and Wattled Cranes.

2015: Establish the Myanmar Crane Team in collaboration with Yangon University, Myanmar.

2016: International Crane Foundation launches “I Give a Whoop” campaign designed to increase awareness about Whooping Cranes in local communities that live near the endangered species.

2017: Discover new population of Wattled Cranes at Melka Wakena reservoir, Ethiopia, which doubles the estimated number of Wattled Cranes in the country.

• Job Opportunities – It is not just a job, it is a passion!
• Intern Opportunities – Build lifelong skills and relationships, while supporting crane conservation.
• Volunteer Opportunities – Your time makes a difference for cranes. Get involved today!
• Travel Opportunities – Travel to crane sites around the world with the International Crane Foundation.
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  BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  The International Crane Foundation is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, which focuses on policy issues and has fiduciary responsibility for the organization. The Foundation’s staff and Directors are assisted by volunteer Senior Advisors comprised of colleagues from the five continents where cranes occur.

  Board Officers
  President and CEO Richard Beilfuss	Chair Eleanor Hoagland
  Vice Chair Steve Euller	Secretary Robert Dohmen
  Treasurer Roberta Asher	Co-Founder and Senior Conservationist George Archibald
  Directors
  Jill Allread	Heidi Kiesler
  Steven Becker	Larry Kueter
  Susan Carnahan	Tom Leiden
  Sue Chin	Micaela Levine
  Denny Geiler	Patti Brash McKeithan
  Kay Hale	Nancy Merrill
  G. Michael Horn	Paul Robbins
  Chris Hunt	Jason Sauey
  Paula John	Jennifer Perkins Speers
  Graham Kessel
  Chairs of the Board
  Forrest Hartmann (1973-1978)
  Mary Wickhem (1978-2000)
  George Archibald (2000-2002)
  Joseph Branch (2002-2010)
  Hall Healy (2010-2014)
  James Brumm (2014-2017)
  Urban C Lehner (2017-2020)
  Eleanor Hoagland (2020-present)