EcoTourism comes to Nebraska.

An estimated 70,000 bird watchers descend on central Nebraska each spring to gaze at the gathering of 500,000 sandhill cranes along the Platte in the Kearney and Grand Island areas.

The graceful birds feed in local cornfields, dance and hop in mating rituals and roost in the river as they build strength for the migration to summer breeding grounds in Canada, Alaska and Siberia.

But almost 40 percent of visitors, according to a recent poll, say they would stay longer in Nebraska and visit other attractions. Right now, crane visitors spend an average of 1.3 days in the state and spend a total of about $8 million, which is why the Governor of Nebraska is convinced that bringing Eco-Tourism to Nebraska, of all places, could mean bigger dollars for the state.

Bird - Duck - Mallard (Photo credit: blmiers2)

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• Will Wisconsin Hunt Sandhill Cranes? (naturalhistorywanderings.com)
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• Sandhill Crane and Snow Geese Migration: Half a Million Strong (passingthru.com)

Explore posts in the same categories: Eco-Tourism, educational, Environmentally Friendly

Tags: Alaska, Bird, Canada, cars, ecotourism, Nature, Nebraska, Outdoors, Platte River, Sandhill Crane, Siberia, transportation, travel, United States, vacation

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