Gov. Pete Ricketts proclaims sandhill crane as the state migratory bird

The proclamation was signed during a ceremony at Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon on Wednesday. 

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Gov. Pete Ricketts signed a proclamation Wednesday making the sandhill crane the state migratory bird.

The proclamation was signed during a ceremony at Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon.

“Each spring, up to one million Sandhill cranes gather along the Platte River during their annual journey north,” said Ricketts.  “The migration is a majestic sight that attracts tens of thousands of spectators to central Nebraska.”

John Ricks, Executive Director of the Nebraska Tourism Commission says the cranes’ migration will be a major driver for tourism in the state.

“What the migration looks like, feels like, and sounds like simply cannot be expressed in words; it has to be experienced,” Ricks said.

During the 2017 crane migration, 46,500 people visited sites in central Nebraska, according to a project led by the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

Of those 46,500 people, 93 percent were not from central Nebraska.

The full proclamation can be read here.