2025 Crane Fest Speakers – Monte Vista Crane Festival

2025 Crane Fest Special Talks

Every year, the Monte Vista Crane Festival brings together bird enthusiasts, nature lovers, and conservationists to celebrate the awe-inspiring Sandhill Crane migration. This year’s festival promises to soar to new heights with a lineup of engaging talks and renowned speakers who will inspire and educate attendees. In addition to the keynote address by a New York Times bestselling author, the schedule includes a diverse array of topics: Crane Basics, Arts and Advocacy for Conservation, Wildlife Detection Dogs: Conservation’s Canine Heroes, Raptors of the Rocky Mountain West, Birds and Jaguars of the Pantanal, Brazil, White-Faced Ibis and Wetland Conservation, Understanding and Protecting the Migratory Monarch in Colorado, and All About Owls. These talks offer something for everyone, from birding fundamentals to global conservation efforts, making this year’s festival a can’t-miss event for anyone passionate about wildlife and the natural world. Read on to learn more about all the talks and speakers for this year's festival.

Birds and Jaguars of the Pantanal, Brazil

The Jaguar is the third largest cat in the world, behind the African Lion and the Tiger. It occurs throughout South America and historically has ranged as far north as Arizona. The Jaguar is considered “Near Threatened” globally, but maintains a tenuous relationship in this changing world. In the Pantanal of Brazil, the cat maintains a delicate balance with people and the environment. While the cat does prey periodically upon cattle in the Pantanal, the locals have learned that a live Jaguar is much more valuable than a dead one. Ecotourism provides benefits to the ranchers, the cats, and the local economies of the area.

But it is not a time to rest too easy. In 2024, wildfires are raging across the Pantanal and other parts of South America, altering habitats, and possibly affecting the survival of the Jaguars. Come and learn more about this noble cat and the challenges it faces in an ever-changing world.

About the Speaker: John Rawinski

John J. Rawinski is a retired scientist for the US Forest Service. One of his passions has always been the study of birds.

John has made his life in the Rocky Mountains where he worked in Wyoming and Colorado. He has served on the Colorado Field Ornithologists Board of Directors and also on the Colorado Bird Records Committee. He has written numerous articles for Colorado Birds Journal, documenting important bird issues in the San Luis Valley. He also has bird blog and writes about the bird happenings in the San Luis Valley.

In 2009, John published a do-it-yourself guidebook called Birding Hotspots of South-central Colorado. The guidebook describes 15 of the best places to see birds in the San Luis Valley and includes maps and bird occurrence charts.

John has been photographing wildlife since he was a youth and is an award-winning photographer. While he shares a love of all kinds of wildlife, he specializes in the study of owls. He documented the first Boreal Owls in the San Juan mountains of southwest Colorado. He also documented the first record for Boreal Owl in New Mexico with friend Dale Stahlecker. He has published articles on owls that have been presented at International Symposiums. He has been a part of the Crane Festival for many seasons.

John has been an active member of Colorado Field Ornithologists. He has led numerous birding trips for a variety of organizations. He has presented environmental education programs to school children, civic groups and organizations promoting the conservation and protection of birds and resources in an ever-changing world.

Understanding and protecting the Migratory Monarch in Colorado

Learn about the North American monarch butterfly’s annual cycle, population trends and recent ESA listing decision, as well as efforts individuals can take to help monitor and protect this iconic species.

About the Speaker: Liz Goehring

Liz Goehring is an ecologist, educator, and program developer with experience working in corporate, academic, and public education settings. She began her career as a systems analyst with IBM before following her passion for the natural world and retooling in ecology and education. Her research focused on monarch ecology - investigating environmental factors involved in reproductive diapause and postdiapause development. As an educator, she co-authored the original Monarchs in the Classroom curricula and related teacher trainings, and worked with research scientists, developing programs and curricula that featured active research (e.g., monarch ecology, deep-sea ecosystems) and citizen science (e.g., GLOBE, Budburst, Journey North). She specializes in bringing science to life for students of all ages. Most recently she worked at NEON (National Ecological Observatory Network) where she developed their first undergraduate internship program.

Liz lives in Denver where she trains community science volunteers along the Front Range and beyond to monitor monarch habitat, and engages the public in efforts to help conserve monarchs, pollinators, and their habitat. She currently serves on the boards of directors of the Monarch Butterfly Fund (vice-chair) and the Monarch Joint Venture.

Raptors of the Rocky Mountain West

Experience the majesty of live raptors up close with Hawks Aloft! For over 25 years, Hawks Aloft has educated audiences with engaging programs featuring permanently injured, non-releasable raptors. This dynamic presentation includes live birds, stunning photography of western raptors, and fascinating stories and facts about these incredible creatures. A must-see for bird enthusiasts of all ages!

All About Owls

Discover the mysterious and fascinating world of owls in All About Owls, a captivating presentation by Hawks Aloft, Inc., a leading non-profit dedicated to bird conservation. This unique program combines a visually stunning slideshow exploring the history, behavior, and vital role of owls in our ecosystems with the unforgettable opportunity to meet live, non-releasable owls and other raptors. Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Hawks Aloft has been a champion for wild birds and their habitats since 1994, inspiring audiences through education and action. Don’t miss this chance to experience these incredible creatures up close and learn how we can work together to protect their habitats.

About the Speaker: Gail Garber

Gail Garber’s background is non-traditional. In 1988, she began volunteering with another nonprofit organization and was passionate about raptor conservation. Shortly thereafter, she became a staff member writing training manuals, grants, editing newsletters, etc. However, education was her first love, followed by field research. She has been the executive director at Hawks Aloft since its inception in 1994 where she enjoys working in our four main focus areas: Conservation education, Avian Research, Raptor Rescue, and Collaboration with others. Garber leads international birding and nature tours to a variety of destinaions, including upcoming trips to Ecuador, the Pantanal in Brazil, Costa Rica, and Cuba. She has authored and co-authored several peer reviewed technical papers as well as articles about birds and nature for the general public. In her other life, she is a internationally known professional quilt maker, author, judge and instructor.

White-Faced Ibis and Wetland Conservation

Climate change in western North America is rapidly altering the availability and distribution of wetland habitats. Rapid drying of wetland systems is leading to the emergence of new and powerful ecological bottlenecks. Migratory birds are particularly vulnerable to these changes because of life history strategies supported by an interdependent network of diffuse geographic regions that can expose populations to multiple risks across their range (Zurell et al. 2018). Risks are compounded by cross-seasonal effects where environmental conditions experienced in one location (breeding grounds, wintering grounds or stopover areas) can affect the fitness in subsequent locations leading to declines in long-term demographic performance. While some birds have changed their migration chronology and range extent to align with shifting climate and land-use patterns (Hitch and Leberg 2007, Visser et al. 2009), increasing environmental pressures are likely to outstrip adaptive plasticity of many species (Schmaljohann and Both 2017).

White-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi; hereafter ‘ibis’) is a colonial nesting waterbird emblematic of arid and semi-arid wetlands across North America. This species is unique in its representation of wetland landscapes as birds are dependent on multiple wetland habitats and flooded agriculture during breeding, migration, and wintering periods. It is for this reason that ibis are often considered a wetland umbrella species and an important indicator of biological diversity in water limited ecosystems. Because little is known of ibis migratory pathways, site fidelity, or wintering regions, adult birds in active breeding colonies in the western U.S. will be systematically marked with GPS tags. Local and seasonal Movement patterns will be evaluated and compared to long-term habitat trends to determine how ibis are adapting to changing agricultural practices and drying wetland ecosystems. Outcomes will identify and prioritize conservation of climate resilient landscapes needed to support wetland migration networks in eleven Pacific/Central Flyway states (CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WY) and Mexico. Network protections supported by this work are anticipated to have multiple species benefits due the diversity of wetland habitats ibis represent.

About the Speaker: Dan Collins

In 1994 I began attending a small college in Greensboro, NC where I played soccer and pursued a B.S. in Biology and minored in Chemistry. Upon my graduation in 1998 I was fortunate enough to play some low level professional soccer and was on the fast track to become a soccer coach. However, I decided against coaching and decided it was time to go back to school where I pursued my Master’s degree at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas where I conducted a basic ecological study on American badgers in south Texas. While in Texas I took as many field technician positions as I could where I worked on Gunnison sage grouse, gambels quail, mourning dove, mearns quail, and a few other projects where I helped out fellow graduate students. Wrapping my Master’s thesis up I took a position with The Nature Conservancy of Arkansas as a Fire Management Technician where I was a part of a 5 person Rx crew and burned over 20,000 acres in 9 months. As this seasonal position was coming to an end I threw my name in the hat for a Ph.D. position out of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX where I was the lucky candidate to investigate “Moist-soil management and its impacts to the vegetative, aquatic invertebrate, and waterfowl community on Richland Creek Wildlife Management Area”. Data collection complete and a rough draft of my dissertation handed into my major professor I started to pursue a full-time career.

In 2008, I took a position as the Assistant to the Pacific Flyway Representative in Portland, Oregon. We dealt with the annual hunting regulations, survey and monitoring of migratory game birds, and anything else we were directed to do. I was fortunate enough to participate in waterfowl banding in Canadian provinces, May Breeding Ground Surveys in the eastern Dakotas, and coordinate and participate in Aleutian CAGO monitoring to name a few. July 2011, I join the Migratory Bird Program in Albuquerque where I have been for the past 13 years as the Migratory Game Bird biologist working in the Central and Pacific Flyway landscapes. I continue to be involved in survey and monitoring of migratory game birds and work on a variety of different species such as, band-tailed pigeon, cackling geese, green-winged and blue-winged teal, northern shoveler, northern pintail, mottled ducks, Mexican ducks, redhead ducks, snowy plover, long billed curlew, white-faced ibis, and last but not least sandhill cranes. For the past 12 years, I have been involved in research and monitoring of the Rocky Mountain and Lower Colorado River Populations of greater sandhill cranes. I have been fortunate to trap and mark over 1000 cranes, fly fall surveys, conduct recruitment surveys, and be involved with many aspects of western greater sandhill crane management and conservation at local, regional, and Flyway scales.

I live in NE Albuquerque with my wife, Julia, son Daniel (18 years old), daughter Evelyn (14 years old), daughter Emily (9 years old) and dogs Pearl, Ruby, and Birdie. Outside of work I enjoy long distance trail running, photography, hiking, backpacking, hunting, fishing, and anything else that gets me/us out the door.

Crane Basics

When watching a group of Sandhill Cranes did you ever wish you knew more about these elegant birds, what they’re doing and why? Our Crane Basics workshop is your opportunity to learn more about crane biology and behavior. You will gain insights into crane migration, family life, body language, and vocalizations through our photographs and captivating video which we will then take into the field for practice. It’s the knowledge that will significantly enhance your crane-watching experience!

About the Speakers: Erv Nichols and Sandra Noll

Erv Nichols and Sandra Noll travel extensively as lecturers and guides sharing their skills as naturalists, photographers and interpretive guides in a wide variety of Fish and Wildlife Refuges, National Parks, Forest Service Heritage Sites, Audubon Centers and other NGO’s. Whether from a viewing deck, lecture hall or leading bird walks, their passion connects people with our nation’s special landscapes and wildlife. They have a special interest in Sandhill Cranes and have been featured speakers and guides at Crane Festivals in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska

About the Speaker: Jenny Nehring

Jenny Nehring has 26 years of experience in the San Luis Valley (SLV) and since 2012 Jenny and fellow biologist Cary Aloia have worked across the SLV and Colorado on a number of projects through their environmental consulting business Wetland Dynamics, LLC. During this time Wetland Dynamics has worked collaboratively with agencies, land trusts, and non-profits on a variety of biological projects and issues. Jenny’s primary interest and area of expertise is with birds and she has contributed to a number of avian projects providing technical services to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Since 1998 Jenny has worked with many partners and stakeholders on conservation efforts for a small population of Gunnison Sage-grouse at Poncha Pass. Working with the Friends of the San Luis Valley National Wildlife Refuges, Jenny has attended national meetings and trainings with the FWS and presented at national Friends conferences. In conjunction with the National Wildlife Refuge Association, Jenny lobbied Colorado’s congressional representatives in Washington D.C. for full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Trust Fund.

Jenny received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology from the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO and her Master of Science degree at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN.

Don’t miss out on these incredible talks and the opportunity to learn from experts in the field! Purchase your tickets today to secure your spot at the Monte Vista Crane Festival. For the best value, choose our General Admission PLUS ticket, which includes access to all special talks and the keynote address—a package worth over $100! Visit our festival page or click the button below to get your tickets now and experience the magic of cranes, conservation, and community.

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