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16TuesdaySeptember232014ENVIRONMENTWILDLIFENWTLITERACYWEEK2014LITERACYOURHEALTHDEPENDSONITTherearemanystronglinksbetweenliteracyandhealth.Makinghealthychoicesandlivingahealthylifestyleimprovesourabilitytolearnachievehighereducationandjobsandinfluencesourabilitytounderstandandaccesshealthinformationandservices.AchievinghigherliteracyratesacrosstheNorthwestTerritorieshelpsbuildastrongandeducatedNortherneconomyandprovidesgreateropportunitiesforusall.VisittheNWTLiteracyCouncilatwww.nwt.literacy.cahowyoucanparticipateinNWTLiteracyWeekactivitiesandvisitwww.ece.gov.nt.catolearnmoreaboutliteracyprogramsfundedbytheDepartmentofEducationCultureandEmploymenttohelpNWTresidentsimprovetheirliteracy.SEPTEMBER21-27Hon.JacksonLaffertyMinisterEducationCultureandEmploymentCaringforOurPeopleCaringforOurPeopleByDALICARMICHAELWiththeirbabiesnowschooledonhowtomaketheirwingsworktheockofendangeredwhoop-ingcranesfromWoodBuffaloNationalParkWBNPismakingitswaysouthforthewinter.FourofthebigwhitebirdshavealreadybeenspottedattheirwinteringgroundsinAransasTexastheirpresenceconrmedbytheU.S.FishandWildlifeServiceUSFWSafullmonthaheadoftheiraveragearrivaldate.Oct.15istypicallywhenweseetherstwhoopingcranesarrivesaidWadeHarrellthewhoopingcranerecoverycoordinatorforUSFWS.Theseareprobablywhatwecallsub-adultstheyrenotpairedyetbecausetheyrenotbreedingage.Theyresortofteen-agerstwoorthreeyear-oldsandtheyusu-allycomedownrst.Howexactlydothesemagnicentbirdscompletetheir4000-kmjourneyeveryfallAccordingtoonebiologistmigrationismoreofamarathonthanaracewiththecranestakingtheirsweettime.Theyrecapableofcompletingtheentiremi-grationinaboutaweekbuttheyusuallycom-pletefallmigrationoverseveralweekssaidMarkBidwellaspeciesatriskbiologistwiththeCanadianWildlifeService.InfallmostcranesdepartthebreedinggroundsandyovernortheasternAlbertacrossingintoSaskatche-wanandthentheyspenduptosixweeksdoingwhatwecallstagingincentralSaskatchewan.AccordingtoBidwellstagingisaperiodoftimewherethebirdsstopforseveralweekstostockuponenergybyfeedingonfallengraininagriculturalareasoncethelocalfarmersaredoneharvestingfortheseason.Duringthistimetheywillspendtheireveningssleepingatnightinshallowwetlandsandlakessur-roundedbyagriculturalelds.OncetheyvehadtheirllthebirdswillcrossovertheborderintoNorthDakotamak-ingtheirwaythroughSouthDakotaKansasandOklahomabeforereachingthewinter-inggroundsinTexas.Theyfollowasimilarrouteduringspringmigration.Alotofwhatscientistsknowaboutthebirdsmigrationroutecomesfrompioneeringre-searchconductedbetweenthe1960sand1980swhenthelateErnieKuytandhisteamofbi-ologistsfromEnvironmentCanadafollowedthecranesastheycompletedtheirjourney.Bidwellsaidmodernstudiesonthewhoop-ingcraneinvolveamoretechnologicalap-proach.Satellitetransmittersareattachedtothecraneslankylegspingingofflocationsignalsasitheadssouth.Shouldafatalityoccurbiologistswillno-ticeastationarysignal.Iftheyactquicklyenoughthebodycanbecollectedforresearch.Over60birdshavebeentrackedthiswaysince2009.FurtherstudiesonthewhoopingcranesmovementsarependingwithinthenextfewyearsaccordingtoBidwell.HazardsontherouteMigratorybirdsmightnothavetodealwiththeinconvenienceofcheckedbagfeesorcrampedseatingwhentheyysouthbuttherearecertainlychallengesthatcanmaketheirjourneydifcultandsometimeshazardous.WeatherandpredatorsarealwaysathreatbutitisthehumanfactorsthatreallyposeadangertothespeciesBidwellsaid.ThoughmoreresearchneedstobecollectedBidwellsaidpowerlinesareaknowndan-gerforthecranes.Whenoneoftheselargebirdscollideswiththelinetheycanbreaktheirbones.Barbedwirefencesposeasim-ilarthreat.Duetoinformativecampaignshuntershavebecomelessofanissueovertheyearsbutsomebirdsarestillshot.AsthecranesyovernortheasternAl-bertatherearealsoconcernsoftheimpactofoilsandsandtailingspondsonthespe-cieshealth.UsingthesatellitetransmitterswearelearningabouttheirmigrationthroughtheoilsandsregionBidwellsaid.Informa-tionthatweobtainviathestudywithbothgovernmentandindustrywillbeusedinmitigatingrisksandalsoimplementingim-provedmonitoringanddeterrentprogramsintheseareas.LuckilyBidwellsaidthecraneoftenpre-fersnaturallandscapeslikewetlandsandmarshesratherthanthosemodiedbyman-apreferencethatmightbelife-saving.WhoopingcranesarriveamonthearlyforwintervacationFirstbirdsoftheseasonspottedatAransasTexashabitatPhotoUSFishandWildlifeServiceSouthwestRegionTwoofthefourwhoopingcraneearlybirdsthatlandedamonthaheadofscheduleattheirwinteringgroundsatAransasTexasstretchtheirwingsfollowingtheir4000kmight.