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42 <br />hunting of geese and ducks might be imposed as a consequence of the presence of an <br />endangered species (Gomez 1992). Federal concerns included the belief that local residents <br />might not be instilled with a conservation ethic sufficient to permit success of the <br />reintroduction (letter from D. L. Hall, Special Agent In Charge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife <br />Service, April, 1978). <br />In 1979, the recovery team contacted the Florida Commission to ask if there was interest in <br />evaluating the feasibility of establishing a non - migratory flock of whooping cranes in the <br />Southeast. Research to address the question began in 1980. One member of each of <br />several established pairs of Florida sandhill cranes was captured and instrumented with a <br />radio transmitter. When nesting began, eggs of greater sandhill cranes, obtained from <br />Patuxent or from the wild in Wisconsin or Idaho, were substituted for the pair's natural <br />clutch. Hatching and rearing of the young were monitored until the resultant chick/chicks <br />were 55 to 60 days old. The young were then captured, radio tagged, and plastic leg bands <br />attached. Movements were monitored through one or two spring migrations following <br />separation from their parents. <br />By the mid- 1980's, questions began to arise concerning the lack of pairing behavior of <br />whooping cranes cross - fostered by sandhill cranes. It was necessary to test an alternative <br />reintroduction technique and in 1986, releases of captive- reared sandhill cranes began. Four <br />cohorts of captive- reared greater sandhill cranes were soft- or gentle - released in Florida <br />during late winter or early spring (Nesbitt and Carpenter 1993). Concurrently a group of <br />Florida sandhill cranes (1- or 2- year -olds) from known natal sites were captured, radio - <br />instrumented, and monitored as a control to compare with dispersal among the experimental <br />groups. <br />Thirty -four greater sandhill crane eggs were transferred into 23 Florida sandhill crane nests <br />between 1982 and 1987. From these transfers five young were produced which survived <br />to the age at which they separated from their parents. Twenty -seven captive- reared young <br />were released (4 cohorts) during 2 years (15:4 April 1986; 12:2 January 1987). They were <br />all radio-instrumented and distinctly color banded. Eighteen survived through at least one <br />complete spring migration and two fall migrations. Only southerly movements by some <br />individuals (60 to 120 km) exceeded normal dispersal of subadult Florida sandhill cranes. In <br />the one instance of the 120 km movement south the birds returned within 6 weeks to the <br />general vicinity of release. The movements of the dispersing experimental birds did not <br />differ significantly (P greater than 0.05), either in direction or timing (date) of movement <br />from that of a control group (Nesbitt and Carpenter 1993). <br />In 1983, the U.S. Recovery Team met to select sites to evaluate for a third wild population. <br />Eastern sites were proposed because they would be discrete from the wild populations in <br />central and western United States. Sites selected were Seney NWR and adjacent areas in <br />the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Ontario, Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia, and <br />three sites in Florida (Lewis and Cooch 1992). Three -year research projects were <br />established in each of the three principal areas. Research began in October of 1984. <br />Although the development of reliable methods for reintroducing captive - produced cranes to <br />the wild has proven to be a relatively difficult task, considerable progress has been made in <br />the past decade. A number of experimental soft or gentle releases have already been <br />