POWERGRAMS

ENVIRONMENT Back from the Brink Photo courtesy of Operation Migration Whooping Cranes fly through state In Operation Migration An ultralight aircraft mimics whooping crane parent to lead hatchlings from Wisconsin to Florida. Each year, ultralight aircraft lead eight young whooping cranes on a 324-mile journey through Alabama as part of an ongoing effort to bring the rare birds back from the brink of extinction. The trek through Alabama is just a portion of a 1,101-mile migration spanning seven states for the group of young birds making their first crosscountry flight. Each year, the nonprofit group Operation Migration raises a new set of hatchlings and prepares them for migration as part of the organization's unique approach to expanding the endangered whooping crane populations in eastern North America. The cranes are hatched at the U.S. Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland. Fifty days after hatching they are shipped to Wisconsin, where they are taught to follow a specially designed ultralight aircraft. Their training continues from June through September. Eventually, they follow a team of two ultralight aircraft on their first migration. This year's group of fledglings began its first Wisconsin-to-Florida migration on Oct. 2. The cranes stop in Franklin, Walker, Chilton, Lowndes and Pike counties as they make their way across Alabama. Since 2008, Alabama Power, in partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), has sponsored the annual crane migration through Southern Company's Power of Flight initiative. Power of Flight seeks to restore and revive the populations and habitats of southern birds through habitat restoration and environmental education. The program is the largest public/private funding effort for bird conservation in the South. Alabama Power also partners with the NFWF and others to restore the South's important longleaf pine ecosystem through the Longleaf Stewardship Fund and supports watershed conservation through the Five Star Restoration program. Earlier this year, Southern Company and its operating companies, including ON THE COVER: Endangered whooping cranes are learning their historical migration route through Alabama with funding from Alabama Power. 2 Alabama Power, announced a fiveyear extension of the Power of Flight, Longleaf Stewardship Fund and Five Star Restoration programs during NFWF's 10th Annual Stewardship Partners meeting in Mobile. In Alabama alone, these initiatives have created or improved tens of thousands of acres of longleaf pine habitat; are helping restore more than 100 acres of wetlands; are helping improve water quality through the restoration of creek banks; and are providing vital resources to benefit Alabama wildlife. The initiatives also have provided resources for environmental education within the state. Learn more about Alabama Power's conservation and stewardship efforts on its environmental page at www.alabamapower.com. By Brandon Glover

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