THE VICTORIA ADVOCATE

Advocate editorial board opinion: Whooping crane habitat being developed for future

Nov 8, 2010 | The Victoria Advocate by Advocate Editorial Board | Related Press

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We were pleased to see work being done and planned to save and enlarge the habitat of the whooping crane.

The San Antonio Bay Partnership, an organization that formed about a year ago, focuses on developing area wetlands that are the natural habitat of the cranes.

When we experienced severe drought last year, many of the whooping cranes died because the wetlands were high in salinity and food for the cranes was nearly non-existent.

“The San Antonio Bay/Guadalupe Estuary is still in relatively good shape when compared to many other highly impacted estuaries along the Texas coast and elsewhere. However, there are existing and anticipated issues that need to be addressed in order to protect, restore and enhance both the ecological resources and human uses in the San Antonio Bay System,” said James Dodson, San Antonio Bay Partnership facilitator.

Although the whoopers dropped in number last year because of the drought, their population now has climbed up to about 290.

Recently, Dodson and others participated in a celebration of the whooping cranes at the Victoria Community Center. The event was planned to make the public aware of the whooping crane and its needs.

The magnificent birds that flock to San Antonio Bay and surrounding wetlands comprise the last naturally migrating flock of whooping cranes in existence. But the flock is growing, and soon it will need more habitat area.

And that is one of the goals of the San Antonio Bay Partnership: to develop more habitat for the cranes.

We hope this project is successful and encourage more education about our special birds.

The more people who are involved, the more this plan will be successful.

This editorial reflects the views of the Victoria Advocate’s editorial board.

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