A featured talk for the 2016 Yampa Valley Crane Festival!

Liz Schnackenberg,a USDA Forest Service hydrologist based in Steamboat Springs, shares updates and insight about wildlife and habitat in the Ruoergai Native Reserve in China, where she has been working on research projects related to wetlands and Black-necked crane conservation.

About the speaker
Liz Schnackenberg has over 20 years of experience working as a hydrologist with the U.S. Forest Service. Her work focuses on the effects of land management activities on watershed hydrology and wetland/riparian condition. She has been a member of the Colorado Riparian Training Team since 2004. Other work experience includes wetland assessment and watershed rehabilitation planning following natural disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes, and floods both nationally and internationally. Through a partnership between the Forest Service and International Crane Foundation, she has worked on White-naped crane wetland habitat assessment and monitoring in Mongolia, and Black-necked crane wetland conservation in China. She has a bachelor’s degree in geology and a master’s degree in watershed science from Colorado State University

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 the Bud Werner Memorial Library will be home base for many of these talks, films and events.

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