Southern Company continues longstanding commitment to Operation Migration's annual whooping crane journey

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Oct 21, 2014, 10:00 ET

ATLANTA, Oct. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Company, in partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), is sponsoring Operation Migration – aimed at conserving the endangered whooping crane – for the seventh consecutive year through its Power of Flight program.

As the presenting sponsor, Southern Company supports Operation Migration's EarlyBird e-bulletin newsletter, which provides progress reports and other information about the migration each morning. To sign up for the free electronic newsletter, go to operationmigration.org/inthefield. The website also includes a migration map, live crane cam and other information.

"Support provided to organizations such as Operation Migration through Power of Flight reflects the commitment Southern Company makes to protect the areas where we live and work," said Southern Company Chief Environmental Officer Dr. Larry S. Monroe. "Operation Migration's tireless efforts and innovative approach to saving the whooping crane have captured hearts and sparked the imaginations of thousands of followers worldwide."

Southern Company's EarlyBird sponsorship supports the annual migration, now in its 14th year, that takes young cranes on a more than 1,200-mile journey from Wisconsin to Florida. The captive-hatched birds are led on the migratory route by ultralight aircraft guided by Operation Migration pilots who act as "surrogate parents." The flight teaches the cranes the migration route so they can return on their own the following spring.

This year's migration of seven cranes began on Oct. 10 and will conclude at St. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge, south of Tallahassee, Florida. Although the route is mapped with stopovers prior to each migration, weather plays a pivotal role in the duration of the migration.

Since 2001, Operation Migration has played a lead role in the reintroduction of endangered whooping cranes into eastern North America. During the 1940s, because of hunting and habitat loss, only 15 birds existed, although the species was not declared endangered until 1971. Because of conservation efforts, nearly 500 whooping cranes survive today in wild populations and in captive breeding centers. Approximately half exist due to reintroduction efforts.

"The support we receive from the Southern Company Power of Flight program is instrumental to helping us restore the whooping crane population," said CEO and co-founder of Operation Migration Joe Duff. "What's equally important about this partnership is that it helps educate the public and the conservation community on our efforts, which increases awareness."

Operation Migration is the recipient of one of two continuing grants and four new grants awarded by Southern Company in partnership with NFWF through the Power of Flight program, the largest public/private funding effort for bird conservation in the southeastern United States. Power of Flight has supported Operation Migration since 2008.

"The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation could not be prouder of the ongoing achievements of Operation Migration," said Executive Director and CEO of NFWF Jeff Trandahl. "The recovery of the whooping crane is one of the true success stories of modern conservation efforts, and we look forward to another year of partnering with Southern Company to continue to support this remarkable program."

The other continuing Power of Flight grant supports red-cockaded woodpecker recovery, an effort that has been sustained by Power of Flight for more than a decade. Milliken Forestry Company, Inc. supports a biologist who monitors 200 red-cockaded woodpecker clusters in the Apalachicola National Forest. This year's plan once again includes translocating at least 30 juvenile woodpeckers to populations on private, state and federal lands throughout the Southeast to support the Southern Range Translocation Cooperative working to recover the species.

Since 2003, Southern Company has awarded $3.2 million to 79 Power of Flight projects. Combined with $3.7 million in partner matching funds and $13.6 million in grantee matching funds, this has resulted in a total investment of over $20.6 million to benefit nearly 476,000 acres of southern bird habitat and to protect and restore many iconic bird species such as the whooping crane.

The other 2014 Power of Flight projects within the Southern Company system service area include:

The Mississippi Land Trust will reintroduce fire to 7,760 acres of private, inactively managed pinelands and enhance bird habitat for multiple species of high conservation need. Targeted, localized prescribed burning campaigns will encourage the sustained use of prescribed burning by private landowners and ultimately seek to return fire to the landscape on a large scale. Partners include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the Mississippi Forestry Commission, the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Mississippi Prescribed Fire Council and the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

The Alabama Wildlife Federation (AWF) will begin its second phase of a program that delivers technical assistance to landowners to establish or enhance native grasses. AWF will continue to maintain the 10 demonstration sites developed during the project's first phase and develop case studies and management bulletins to serve as educational tools for resource professionals, contractors and landowners. The project will establish 5,000 acres of native warm-season grasses and support several bird-species conservation initiatives in Alabama. Partners include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Auburn University.

The College of William and Mary will conduct a Red Knot resight program along the Atlantic Coast of Georgia in fall 2014 and spring 2015 to be paired with ongoing programs within the Delaware Bay. The data produced on the population utilizing Georgia in the spring and fall will be used to analyze ongoing questions regarding Red Knot habitat choice decision making on the south Atlantic Coast. The project will also develop a partnership to address the management needs of the species. Partners include the Center for Conservation Biology, the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Non-game Section and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Dauphin Island Park & Beach Board will preserve, restore and properly manage 133 acres of critical birding habitat at the Audubon Bird Sanctuary on Dauphin Island, Alabama, by executing a comprehensive prescribed burn regimen and implementing an invasive species management strategy to enhance birding and wildlife habitat. In addition, highly visible educational signage and outreach and service opportunities will engage the public in conservation and natural resource issues. Partners include Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuaries, the Alabama Forestry Commission and The Nature Conservancy.

With 4.4 million customers and nearly 46,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast through its subsidiaries. A leading U.S. producer of clean, safe, reliable and affordable electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for energy innovation, excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Southern Company and its subsidiaries are leading the nation's nuclear renaissance through the construction of the first new nuclear units to be built in a generation of Americans and are demonstrating their commitment to energy innovation through the development of a state-of-the-art coal gasification plant. Southern Company has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a top military employer and listed by DiversityInc as a top company for Blacks. The company received the 2012 Edison Award from the Edison Electric Institute for its leadership in new nuclear development, was named Electric Light & Power magazine's Utility of the Year for 2012 and is continually ranked among the top utilities in Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.

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