3rd Annual Greater Yellowstone Crane Festival

Teton Regional Land Trust would like to thank the Pattie and Earle Layser Memorial Trust for sponsoring the Greater Yellowstone Crane Festival once again. Earle chooses to sponsor the festival for both ecological and sentimental reasons. “I see the cranes as an indicator of how well things are doing ecologically here in the valley,” said Earle. Indeed, they are known as an umbrella species, meaning that protecting their habitat has a beneficial impact for myriad other species. He also understands that people connect with cranes, and reflected on times when he and his late wife Pattie introduced friends to the iconic species. “We’d get guests in the late summer and early fall, and we’d drive them around to see the cranes around north and south Bates Road. There would be a lot of cranes and people were always amazed, so I guess I just continued with that after she was gone,” he said of his decision to sponsor the festival in Pattie’s name.

Having seen the festival from its inception, Earle pointed to the keynote address as his favorite element. He particularly enjoyed the address given by George Archibald at the inaugural festival. “There were 300 people packed in to hear George Archibald,” said Earle. “That’s an indicator of the interest [among the community].”

Finally, Earle chooses to sponsor the festival because he understands the importance of raising awareness and protecting vulnerable habitat. “The whole Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has changed so much in just the last ten years or so,” said Earle. “I think that if the Land Trust manages to preserve enough habitat in the valley so that the species that are extant stay that way, that’s a major accomplishment.”

The Pattie and Earle Layser Memorial Trust also supports the Pattie Layser Greater Yellowstone Creative Writing and Journalism Fellowship at the Wyoming Arts Council, as well as the Distinguished Professorship in Conservation, Biology, and Policy at the University of Montana.

On behalf of the board and staff of Teton Regional Land Trust, we’d like to thank the Pattie and Earle Layser Memorial Trust for its generous sponsorship!

Teton Regional Land Trust is grateful to the Community Foundation of Teton Valley for sponsoring the sixth annual Greater Yellowstone Crane Festival, which is now underway!

Bonnie Self, the Community Foundation’s Executive Director, and Claire Vitucci, Marketing & Communications Manager, gave their perspective on the Crane Festival and their organization’s role in supporting it. “[The Crane Festival] celebrates an iconic species of Teton Valley while offering an event that brings together a wide variety of community members. With a mission to elevate lives through the power of philanthropy, the Community Foundation appreciates the Land Trust’s efforts to educate and support the local economy through the festival.”

From the beginning, the Crane Festival was designed to have educational programming as well as artistic opportunities to draw as many people to the festival as possible. Claire pointed to the diversity of programming as one reason the Community Foundation chose to help the Land Trust present these opportunities to the public. “With tours, storytelling, films, and a variety of workshops, it touches a lot of different sectors of the community.”

This year marks the return of the Community Fair on Saturday, which is the culmination of the four-day festival. This event, in particular, aligns with the goals of the Community Foundation. “It’s a free family friendly, community-wide event, open to everyone,” said Bonnie.

If you would like to learn more about the Community Foundation and their work supporting the nonprofits of Teton Valley, please visit cftetonvalley.org. On behalf of the board and staff of Teton Regional Land Trust, we’d like to thank the Community Foundation of Teton Valley for its help in presenting the sixth annual Greater Yellowstone Crane Festival!

When the sun rises over the Tetons tomorrow, Land Trust staff and volunteers will be leading a crane tour, which marks the beginning of the Greater Yellowstone Crane Festival!

We`re excited to offer lots of interesting and engaging programming over the next four days, all to raise awareness for Sandhill Cranes and the habitat they depend on. By participating in the festival`s events, bidding on auction items, or buying Crane Fest merchandise, you are supporting the Greater Yellowstone Sandhill Crane Initiative. This is a Teton Regional Land Trust project that secures and actively manages crane habitat in Teton Valley so that they always have a place here.

Although some events have sold out, there are still plenty of opportunities to take part in the Crane Festival. Click the link in our bio for the full schedule.

#greateryellowstonecranefestival #sandhillcranes #tetonvalley

The Crane Festival begins one week from today! It will run September 20-23, 2023 in Teton Valley, Idaho. Join us in celebrating the annual migration of Sandhill Cranes through Teton Valley!

Interested in exploring your creative side by participating in an artist-led workshop? Sign up for poetry and printmaking! This workshop was very popular last year, and it provides a unique mix of writing and artistic design. Almost everyone was new to the artform, and the experience was very rewarding.

Have you ever wondered what our Greater Yellowstone cranes do all winter long? Come learn from the expert who spends his winters studying the Rocky Mountain Sandhill Crane population in southern New Mexico as Daniel Collins delivers the keynote address at Pierre`s Theatre.

These are just a couple of the events we`re offering. There`s something for everyone at the Crane Festival, so click the link in our bio to sign up!

#greateryellowstonecranefestival #tetonvalley #sandhillcranes

The Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation has once again helped bring the Greater Yellowstone Crane Festival to Teton Valley through its sponsorship. Executive Director Hilarie Engle described the value she sees in partnering with the Land Trust as the leader of an organization with aligned missions. “One of our main points of our mission is to be good stewards of our land, and protecting open spaces and educating current residents and people moving to the area about why it’s important to keep these open spaces there for the future. I think that ties into our mission of keeping habitat open and not building on every single piece of property that we can.”

Hilarie pointed to the Greater Yellowstone Sandhill Crane Initiative as an example of how strategically located land that is managed well can work for the benefit of all. “I think it’s a way that we can show how the land can be used for many different purposes. You can work with farmers and ranchers to create safe spaces for wildlife on their land while they can still do what they need to do in order to live. The conservation world is people from all different walks coming together.”

The Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation will be bringing a new dimension to the Crane Festival this year. At the community fair on Saturday, visitors will be able to practice using bear spray and go home with a free can, thanks to the organization’s sponsorship. The goal is to raise awareness among the community on best practices when in proximity to wildlife and how to be prepared. “It’s about recreating responsibly and living with wildlife,” Hilarie said.

She concluded by speaking about her perspective on the festival as a whole, having seen it evolve over the years. “I think it’s such a great event because you bring together people that may be coming to look for the cranes, but if they go on a tour, they’ll learn about why that property is important, and why preserving it is important. You bring together people from different backgrounds and they get to experience the magic of being in the Teton Valley, which I just think is incredible. Hopefully they tell friends about it and bring more people, and educate more people.”

Teton Valley News is once again helping to bring the Greater Yellowstone Crane Festival to our community through its generous sponsorship. The paper’s history dates back to 1909, and it is inspiring to think of all of the generations of residents and visitors it has reached over the years. Sofia Herrera, who handles media and marketing, has a personal history with the publication that is very unique. “My mother held this same desk that I hold now back in the nineties and early two-thousands. I spent a chunk of my childhood with the newspaper. I’d be up late with mom stuffing newspapers because back then we didn’t have machines, it was done by hand. For me, Teton Valley News is a pillar in this community.”

Sofia spoke about the role that Teton Valley News plays in helping spread the word about the Greater Yellowstone Crane Festival, so that anyone who may be interested in participating is made aware of the opportunity. “Teton Valley News can spread the message about Crane Fest, which I think is really valuable. When you pick up the paper, it’s on the weekly and on the daily. It puts it at the forefront for those audiences to get that information out there and to help bring awareness to what this event does for cranes and their migratory patterns.”

Sofia continued by referencing the tools that Teton Valley News has at its disposal, and how they’re using those tools to amplify the message about the Crane Festival. “We are leveraging a blend of our resources. We’re running our local print, we’re running our digital, and we’re running in our sister publications as well. And I think that’s key in getting people excited about conservation.” If you have a message you’d like to amplify, Teton Valley News has the tools to help. If you’d like to subscribe to the paper, visit tetonvalleynews.net or call their office at 208-231-8747. A print subscription comes with an e-edition subscription for free.

On behalf of the board and staff of Teton Regional Land Trust, we’d like to thank Teton Valley News for their sponsorship and support of the sixth annual Greater Yellowstone Crane Festival!

Calling local artists to create crane art sculptures!

Want to put your artistic talent to work protecting wildlife habitat in Teton Valley?

Teton Regional Land Trust is excited to provide this creative community art project again at this year’s Crane Festival. Life-size wooden crane sculptures are available for artists and community members to design. The completed sculptures will be entered into a people’s choice contest and auctioned off at the Greater Yellowstone Crane Festival on Saturday, September 23 at the Driggs City Plaza. Proceeds from the auction will help support crane habitat conservation in Teton Valley. These unique cranes are meant to be displayed outdoors, so make sure to use materials that can withstand the outdoor environment. Artists must return their finished work to the Land Trust office by September 19, 2023.

To reserve your sculpture and arrange a pick up time, email mandy@tetonlandtrust.org