IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL REINTRODUCTION SITES FOR WHOOPING CRANES IN THE PRAIRIE PROVINCES OF CANADA

Action 2.3.3.2.2.1 of the national recovery plan for the whooping crane (Grus americana) calls for the establishment of an independent flock of whooping cranes in Canada, separate from the Wood Buffalo-Aransas flock, that attains a minimum of 25 breeding pairs by 2020 A. D. Potential reintroduction sites include the Prairie Provinces and possibly parts of western Ontario (Edwards et al. 1994). The first step in completing this action is to identify potential reintroduction sites in the 3 Prairie Provinces. We initially screened areas suggested to us by government and Ducks Unlimited biologists. The most important screening criteria were location outside the main Wood Buffalo-Aransas migratory pathway; habitat quality, quantity, and security; and significant mortality and disturbance factors. The screening eliminated many basins as reintroduction sites because of small size or other restrictions. Elimination did not necessarily mean that these sites would be unsuitable breeding habitat for whooping cranes but simply that we did not consider them to be ideal sites for a reintroduction