Whooping Cranes

Conservation Biology is a vital component of the wildlife and natural resources field of work. Increasingly it has shaped my professional interests and career choices over the last several years as its importance is made clear by mounting threats to biodiversity and ecosystem balance. Without the ideology and practices developed in the field of conservation biology many of the species we consider common today would have easily gone extinct in the early 20th century due to a lack of well-considered wildlife management. However, there are many components to achieving the goals of conservation biology. Research, management, and policy are where change is made to help wildlife. For effective management to be implemented and proper policy to be …show more content…
This pursuit has inspired clear goals in life and the desire to be successful so that I can reach my potential and continue to have a larger role in the conservation of at risk species. Conducting research focused on whooping cranes has allowed me to realize how much effort has gone into their recovery and the recovery of many species in peril. There have been numerous biologists in the last seven decades that have helped to bring back the whooping crane from the brink of extinction. These professionals, through their stories and research, have inspired me to continue the pursuit in the ongoing effort to expand the existence of whooping cranes into former haunts across North America. By studying the population of whooping cranes that migrates between Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada and Aransas National Wildlife Refuge along coastal Texas, I was able to see what decades of work can accomplish but it also made me acutely aware of the conservation challenges that lie ahead. The opportunity to help with the Eastern Migratory Population (EMP) of whooping Cranes through a partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), Fish and Wildlife Service, and many other organizations has been a wonderful experience. I see this effort as the front lines of whooping crane conservation. It allows for a greater understanding of the challenges and solutions to establishing a second self-sustained whooping crane population in North America. If I am accepted to a graduate program in the College of Natural Resources at UWSP and allowed to continue this work I feel confident that my dedication, field skills, and work ethic will be a boon for the project. It will also allow me to take my knowledge of wildlife biology to the next level through research, graduate level courses, and mentorship from