By Robert Pore
robert.pore@theindependent.com

And with the seasonal arrival of more than 500,000 cranes to the area, one of the key sites where tourists normally congregate is the Crane Meadows Nature Center, which is located south of Interstate 80 off the Alda exit.

This year, the Crane Meadows Nature Center will be closed during the annual crane migration. But organizers are working hard to make this a temporary situation. They hope to have Crane Meadows Nature Center up and going again by next year's migration season with a new vision and focus that will help strengthen nature tourism in Nebraska.

In the meantime, Renee Seifert, executive director of the Grand Island/Hall County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer in Grand Island have stepped up to ensure there will be blind tours, events and programs to take up the slack of Crane Meadows being closed.

Seifert said the Grand Island/Hall County Convention and Visitor's Bureau is handling calls for blind tours, and Stuhr Museum will offer speakers and exhibits aimed at crane enthusiasts.

She said in order to ensure a flawless transition for visitors accustomed to programming at Crane Meadows, the Convention & Visitors Bureau will staff a visitor information center inside Travel Centers of America near the nature center off of I-80 Exit 305.

The visitor center, Seifert said, will provide visitors with information on tours and activities related to the migration.

Those who call or visit the Crane Meadows Web site will also be re-directed to the bureau.

She said many of the speakers who have appeared at Crane Meadows are in the process of being scheduled at Stuhr Museum, which will be running the annual "Wings Over the Platte" art exhibit and sale Feb. 15 through April 11. Their auditorium will feature speakers at 11 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at 1 p.m. on Sundays during the peak of the migration.

Seifert said that Crane Meadows acts as sort of a "portal" to "everything we have to offer during the spring migration."

"It's something we always promoted as, before you go out to look at the cranes, this was the place you want to go because the staff was trained and they would give you a good idea what to expect and where to find the birds," she said. "There was always a lot of good information about what would make this season so special."

Seifert said that more than 15,000 people would normally visit Crane Meadows during the peak of crane season in March.

That doesn't include the day-trippers who visit the area to view the cranes. A survey on the economic impact of the annual crane migration to the area estimated it to be more than $25 million.

Seifert said that for the past several years, the visitor center has offered to mail postcards back to visitors' homes about their visit to Nebraska.

"We had post cards last year that not only went to all of the states, but to a lot of foreign countries, like Japan, Russia and Sweden," she said. "It was incredible, the number of foreign visitors we had."

Seifert said they have lined up a number of blinds along the Platte River for the visitors with help from the Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust, which is opening two of its blinds to the public for the first time. A third blind will be available that had been used in the past by Crane Meadows.

She said they plan to start offering blind tours on Feb. 29 and running them through March.

Heading the effort to reorganize Crane Meadows is Rainwater Basin Joint Venture Coordinator Steve Moran.

Moran said because of Crane Meadows' location and the quality of its facility, "we needed to do everything we could to make sure that it stayed a nature/visitor center."

A business plan was put together during the last six months, Moran said, that will allow them to market to other groups that support the long-term sustainability of the Crane Meadows Nature Center.

"Our vision is not necessarily to have Crane Meadows a year-round destination point, but as a hub to send people to all kinds of different places in Nebraska," he said. "Because of its location along the interstate and with it located in the middle of the state, it could be a clearinghouse of information for people wanting to explore Nebraska."

During migration season, though, Crane Meadows will still be a main visitor center for those coming to Central Nebraska, Moran said.

He said as part of the reorganization of Crane Meadows, they are looking for agencies and organizations interested in promoting eco-tourism in Nebraska.

"We are trying to find those people and see if they will be part of the core partnership that would provide enough funds to open the facility and hire a director," Moran said.

Hastings College now manages the Crane Meadows property.

For more information on the 2008 spring migration, contact Seifert at (308)382-4400 or log on to www.visitgrandisland.com or www.sturhmuseum.com.