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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CCCC Open House

Thursday, November 12, 3-6 p.m.
129 W. Jefferson Ave., Hayden, CO

You are invited to an OPEN HOUSE at CCCC’s new office in downtown Hayden! Stop by to say hello and learn more about CCCC.

Giving season is here with an opportunity to come together for causes that matter. From free educational programs and exciting festival events to expanding Crops for Cranes and completing our new nest camera system, CCCC is working hard to advance crane conservation. Every gift, no matter the size, helps move our mission forward!

  • Giving Tuesday, December 1
  • Colorado Gives/Yampa Valley Gives Day, Tuesday, December 8

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