i www.festivalofthecranes.org Festival of the Cranes 2019 Photo by Kathryn Dow Contents Event Descriptions: From the President 2 Tuesday 16 Friends & Refuge News 3 Explore Socorro County 4 Wednesday 17 Family Fun at the Festival 5 Thursday 28 Crane Corner 6 Friday 41 Photography Corner 7 Saturday 54 Birder’s Corner 8 Sunday 65 Essentials 9 How to Register 10 Where Can We Eat? 67 Festival Planner Aid 11 Registration Form 69 Schedule of Events 12-14 Campus Map 71 Expo Tent Exhibitors 15 Map of Refuge 72 Map of Socorro 73-74 Map of New Mexico Event Locations 75 Page 1 Friends of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge From the President Celebrating Cranes Every year for the past thirty-two years, we have come together to celebrate the return of sandhill cranes to the Middle Rio Grande Valley at Festival of the Cranes. The cranes and geese traverse thousands of miles each autumn to find refuge at Bosque del Apache throughout the winter. People travel here from across the globe to connect to nature and feel the magic. We must work diligently together to ensure that wetlands and wildlife thrive and that the magic continues. Celebrating Accomplishments This year, the Friends of Bosque del Apache celebrates its twenty-sixth anniversary of supporting the refuge. The refuge celebrates its eightieth birthday this year. Working together, our accomplishments have been nothing short of amazing. Friends has acquired funding to do such important things as: expand the Visitor Center; add acreage to the refuge; purchase Langemann gates to increase water efficiency, and solar panels to decrease energy expenses; replace bridges to popular refuge sites; repair a collapsed well; upgrade the Desert Arboretum; provide bus scholarships to ensure children’s environmental education; and provide internships to the biology and visitor services programs. Moving forward, we’ll fundraise to rehabilitate wells, replace or repair water control structures, replace decks and bridges, and continue supporting programs already mentioned. All of these things support wetlands, wildlife, and the visitor experience. Celebrating Partnerships The Friends organization has worked together for years with not only the refuge, but also with the City of Socorro, the surrounding community, our members, and our many conservation partners to ensure the success of Bosque del Apache, the Rio Grande, and the Flyway. We celebrate these critical partnerships, and we thank you for your contributions. Your memberships, donations, volunteer efforts, and advocacy can help to ensure that this special habitat, river, and major migratory route are protected and thriving for years to come. A special thank you to the Bosque del Apache staff for their year-round efforts to make the refuge the special place we know and love. On behalf of the Board of Friends of Bosque del Apache, I welcome you to this year’s celebration and thank you for your support throughout the years! Sincerely, Jack Lockridge, President of the Board Friends of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge www.FriendsofBosquedelApache.org Page 2 www.festivalofthecranes.org Festival of the Cranes 2019 Awaken to the Wild Stimulate your senses and get in touch with the untamed places within yourself in the wild areas all around you at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Enjoy expansive vistas, exquisite light, enchanting bird songs, and the unique proximity of wildlife. Make a difference in the efforts to keep Bosque del Apache wild for future generations. Consider becoming a Friends Member and help us increase our capacity to carry out and support refuge projects. Each new Member helps advance refuge, wildlife, and habitat projects that ensure the stewardship and conservation of our oasis in the desert. Friends is committed to aiding the refuge’s goals with particular focus on providing quality winter roosting grounds for the migratory flocks of geese, ducks, and cranes that inhabit this special place, where the public has close-up viewing access. In addition, Friends is committed to expanding public environmental education within the Middle Rio Grande Valley. Are you ready to help us meet these challenges? Then take the next step in conservation and become a member of Friends of Bosque del Apache today. For more information, visit our website www.friendsofbosquedelapache.org, visit the Friends Booth at Festival in the Expo Tent. See page 68 or call 575-838-2120. Agriculture for Wildlife 2019 2019 is the third year of refuge staff producing crops for wildlife, and so far it has been a success. Every year is different with challenges always being a constant. Last summer’s biggest challenge was getting past the drought. Staff overcame this challenge and produced a hearty grain corn crop of approximately 1.2 million pounds. Corn rotations this year will spread the crops out across the managed units, putting them greater distances from one another, allowing for cranes and geese to utilize the entire agriculture area. This spring was unusually wet, but we always welcome much needed moisture. The extra water poses a constant risk to our water conveyance system and structures. Our delivery ditches have been running full, and we always need to pay attention so ditches and dikes are not breached. Approximately a hundred and thirteen acres of corn were planted in late May, as well as forty-one acres of triticale on the southern tip of the agriculture area. Another fifty acres were planted in September for next years’ grain availability. We also planted some alfalfa and nitrogen-fixing clover to replenish nitrogen levels consumed by previous years’ corn crops. We anticipate these legumes will remain for the next four years to build up the soil once again. These crops will offer browsing opportunities for wildlife as well. Lots of work has gone into the success of the agriculture program, and we seek to make it even more efficient and effective by strategically planting fields where wildlife observation is in harmony with minimal disturbance and maximum feeding opportunities. We continue to use some of our retired agricultural fields as moist soil units. Some fields are irrigated later in the spring and summer, and instead of crops, native moist soil vegetation grows. These rotations have led to high seed yields and massive flocks of waterfowl using these fields. As retired refuge manager Kevin Cobble put it last year: We are excited about the changes and are putting in place a program that will continue to meet the needs of our wintering bird populations and reduce the amount of acreage where we need to produce crops to conserve water. We hope you enjoy the results of our staff’s hard work. We know the birds do. -Bernard Lujan, Deputy Refuge Manager Page 3 Friends of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge Explore Socorro County Welcome to Socorro and our 32nd year of Festival of the Cranes! We’re happy you’ve come to help us celebrate the return of the sandhill cranes and the snow geese! You will find there is plenty to do here in our little city and the surrounding area. I hope you’ll take some time to see all that Festival, and Socorro, have to offer. --Ravi Bhasker, Mayor Friends of Bosque del Apache would like to acknowledge the generous contributions from and partnership with the City of Socorro. Socorro County has so much to offer and these are only a small collection of the local activities. Astronomy Art The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array Radio The Arts & Crafts Fair is located in Socorro’s Telescope, fifty miles west of Socorro on Highway 60, historic Garcia Opera House at California and Abeyta is open daily from dawn to dusk. It has a visitor center, streets. Open Friday and Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., self-guided walking tours, and a gift shop. Guided and Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Get a real taste of New tours ($5) are scheduled for Thursday (see TH-vla). Mexico’s artist community. Mingle, browse, buy and enjoy. Nature Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge spans nearly The Alamo Gallery & Gifts in Socorro is home to 230,000 acres. It sits at the junction of four different a number of local artists’ work. The variety of art biomes that support a wide array of biological includes paintings, fiber arts, stained glass, woodwork, diversity. The Rio Grande flows through the center of pottery, sculpture, jewelry, and more. The gallery is New Mexico’s largest refuge and creates an oasis for located at 1008 California Street next to the Socorro wildlife in the arid landscape. Experience the beauty of Springs Brewery. Open Tuesday through Friday, noon Sevilleta: hike one of its trails, discover San Lorenzo to 6 p.m. and Saturday noon to 4 p.m. Canyon, bird the wetland and riparian areas, and be sure to explore the displays in the visitor center. The Vertu Fine Art Gallery features original fine art Located at Exit 169 off I-25, twenty miles north of by award-winning local and nationally known artists, Socorro. as well as art cards, photography, pottery, jewelry, and more. You’ll find bronze and stone sculptures, Rocks and Minerals pastels, oils, watercolors, and acrylics, leather goods, The Mineral Museum on the New Mexico Tech and gifts in many price ranges. Located at 102 Plaza campus houses a display of over 2,000 specimens of Street on the Socorro Historic Plaza. Festival hours are minerals from around the southwestern United States Wednesday - Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call (575) 835- (and the world!) as well as mining memorabilia, 4487.Visit www.vertuarts.com. fossils, and a breathtaking ultraviolet-mineral exhibit. Open 9 a.m.