50th Anniversary of the International Crane Foundation

Floor Speech

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Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I rise to recognize the International Crane Foundation's 50th anniversary. I am delighted to recognize this global conservation organization with Wisconsin origins.

While the efforts of the International Crane Foundation now reach across the world, its story began in 1971 at Cornell University. This was where two ornithology students, Ron Sauey and George Archibald, bonded over their shared appreciation for cranes. They imagined an organization that could combine their work on captive breeding, research, restoration, and education to protect the 15 different crane species on Earth. In 1973, Sauey and Archibald's vision became a reality when the International Crane Foundation was founded out of the Sauey family farm in Baraboo, WI.

Over the last 50 years, the foundation has used dynamic methods and community-oriented approaches to conserve cranes and the ecosystems, watersheds, and flyways they depend on. The foundation fosters the international cooperation of crane protection by providing knowledge, leadership, and inspiration to people in the communities where cranes live, engaging them to resolve threats to these birds and the landscapes they call home.

Today the International Crane Foundation has grown to a staff of more than 125 people, with a network of hundreds of specialists in over 50 countries on the five continents where cranes live. The organization moved from the humble Sauey farm where it was born, to a nearly 300- acre headquarters in Baraboo, complete with live crane exhibits, guided tours, a research library, and 4 miles of nature trails. While the reach of the foundation has greatly extended over the past 50 years, their mission remains the same: to protect and restore wild crane populations and the landscapes they depend on.

On the 50th anniversary of this remarkable organization, I am proud to recognize the International Crane Foundation and look forward to its continued success and conservation efforts.

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