Threatened Cranes of Far Eastern Russia

Building on the work of Sergei and Elena Smirenski, Muraviovka Park for Sustainable Land Use was established in 1994 through a collaboration between the International Socio-Ecological Union, the International Crane Foundation, and Pop Group Co., Ltd. A year later this land and adjacent areas were added to the list of wetlands of international importance by the Ramsar Convention. Muraviovka Park boasts over 700 species of vascular plants and over 300 species of birds, including six species of cranes. It is a critically important area for White-naped, Red-crowned and Hooded Cranes, Oriental White Stork, Yellow-breasted Bunting and other avian species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. The park’s activities include monitoring numbers of wild cranes, managing a captive breeding program of endangered cranes to release the cranes into the wild. The park works to prevents forest fires, conducts reforestation, organizes annual international summer camps at Muraviovka Park and in other parts of the Amur River Basin, including China, hosts tourists, and organizes festivals. The 16,000 acres on which this park sits is leased to the park through 2058. Sergei and Elena will update us on the park and its inhabitants.