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'-'~~ 43 conducted with captive-reared sandhill cranes (Nesbitt 1979, Drewien et a!. 1981, Zwank and Derrickson 1981, Bizeau et al. 1987, Leach 1987, Zwank and Wilson 1987, Nesbitt 1988, Ellis et al. 1992, Urbanek and Bookhout 1992, Archibald and Archibald 1992, Horwich et a!. 1992, Nesbitt and Carpenter 1993), and additional releases are currently underway or are being planned in order to refine reintroduction techniques for whooping cranes. Soft or g~ntle releases involve the gradual transition from life in captivity to free- ranging wild life. This involves the use of large fenced enclosures in which food and water are provided and from which potential predators are excluded. The cranes are placed in the enclosures and their wings brailed to prevent flight. After an appropriate acclimation period the brailes are removed and the cranes can fly from the pen whenever they wish. The final reports on the eastern study sites were submitted in the winter of 1987-88 (Bennett and Bennett 1987, Bishop 1988, Nesbitt 1988, McMillen 1987). In the summer of 1988, the recovery team recommended that the next reintroduction should be an effort to establish a non-migratory population in the Kissimmee Prairie of Florida. The primary reason the Team chose to' endeavor to establish a non-migratory population instead of a migratory population, was the failure of the cross-fostering technique in Idaho and the lack of any tested technique to establish a migratory population. Nonmigratory sandhill and whooping cranes occurred together in Louisiana (Mcilhenny 1943), Florida's population of non-migratory sandhill cranes is estimated to be between 4,000 and 6,000 individuals, with 8 percent to 16 percent juveniles in the annual population. Florida has only a small number of wintering snow geese and no goose or crane hunting, so hunting conflicts are unlikely. Florida, therefore, appears to be an appropriate place to attempt to establish a nonmigratory flock of whooping cranes. Bishop (1988) recommended Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area (WMA) as the preferred release site. The Kissimmee Prairie consists of approximately 2,000 square kilometers of flat, open palmetto prairie interspersed with shallow wetlands and lakes, On private ranch lands, much of the prairie has been converted to improved pasture. Land ownership include$ 8 large ranches totaling 82,200 hectares. Large private holdings range from 2,700 ha to 42,500 ha. Public lands range 2,955 ha to 43,300 ha and include Three Lakes WMA, the National Audubon Society's Ordway-Whittell Kissimmee Prairie Sanctuary (2,955 hal, Kicco WMA (3,100 hal, Bull Creek WMA (8,425 hal, Upper St. John's River WMA (24,800 hal, and Avon Park Bombing Range (43,300 halo The Three Lakes WMA had been identified as the preferred site within Florida (Bishop 1988), The best crane habitat on the 22,450 ha WMA lies between lakes Jackson and Kissimmee. The Canadian Recovery Team endorsed the Kissimmee Prairie site in fall 1988, The Director of U.S, Fish and Wildlife Service and the Director General of Canadian Wildlife Service approved the project early in 1989. Four or five possible sites to construct release pens were identified during summer 1990. During 1991 a 50 X 130 m release pen was built on the edge of Lake Jackson the most accessible of the lake sites. Construction of a second pen (50 X 100m) located 200m from Lake Marian, was completed late in 1992. Additional pens may be built in the future, though none closer than 5 km from another. The release pen conforms to what has been successfully used in releases of cranes at the Mississippi Sandhill Crane NWR. .