conserving rocky mountain greater sandhill cranes + their habitat through science + education

The Greater Sandhill Crane is an iconic species of the Yampa Valley in Northwest Colorado. Returning in the spring from wintering grounds in New Mexico and Arizona, cranes nest and raise their young in wetland areas throughout the valley.

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2026 Yampa Valley Crane Festival 

Over Labor Day weekend, crane enthusiasts gathered in the Yampa Valley to celebrate the Greater Sandhill Cranes at the 15th annual Yampa Valley Crane Festival. Festival goers enjoyed guided crane viewings and bird walks, inspiring talks from expert speakers, hands-on workshops, children’s activities, and films. CCCC extends our heartfelt appreciation to each and every person who attended, volunteered, presented, guided, sponsored, or otherwise supported the festival and our mission. CCCCC hopes that we will see all of you again for the 16th annual Yampa Valley Crane Festival, September 2–5, 2027!

Crane Contest Updates:

Judging for the Crane Coloring and Photo Contests is officially complete, and all winners have been notified! Thank you to everyone who submitted their art, and to our generous sponsors: Wild Goose Coffee at the Granary, Element Print & Design, and PhotoGraphicsArt.

Thank you to the Yampa Valley Community Foundation for awarding CCCC a generous grant in the 2026-27 Community Grant Cycle. These funds enable CCCC to continue work on behalf of Sandhill Cranes in the Yampa Valley community. The Yampa Valley Community Foundation works to support local nonprofits with resources and collaborations to build vibrant communities. We are deeply grateful for their work and continued support.

YAMPA VALLEY CRANE FESTIVAL

We want to hear your feedback on your experience at the 15th annual Yampa Valley Crane Festival! Help shape next year’s festival by sharing your thoughts below:

View Crane Nest Camera highlights:

Our appreciation for the crane grows with the slow unraveling of earthly history. His tribe, we now know, stems out of the remote Eocene. The other members of the fauna in which he originated are long since entombed within the hills. When we hear his call we hear no mere bird. We hear the trumpet in the orchestra of evolution. He is the symbol of our untamable past, of that incredible sweep of millennia which underlies and conditions the daily affairs of birds and men.

– Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac