As coordinators for the fourth annual Yampa Valley Crane Festival, we want to thank the Steamboat Today for excellent coverage of this year’s events and local residents for their support of the cranes and the crane festival. Throughout the festival, we heard many kind words about the wonderful friendliness and hospitality that Yampa Valley residents extended to festival attendees.

As the festival has grown, we are grateful to both the community and newspaper for embracing the annual celebration of this iconic bird in our valley. This year, attendance at our events topped all previous years with people coming from all across the U.S. and as far away as Australia.

We were thrilled with the warm coverage the paper afforded us, including the cover of Friday’s Explore Steamboat section, the detailed listing of events in Happenings, that helped everyone stay on top of the festival’s busy schedule, the front page picture featuring HawkQuest running on the final day of the festival and the Steamboat Pilot & Today feature story about the cranes and the festival.

Additionally, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our donors and volunteers whose support and hard work have made it possible for us to grow this festival from humble beginnings to a world class event.

Nancy Merrill and Barbara Hughes

President and vice president

Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition, Inc.