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CenterS7. Nebraska's Migration Superhighwayeach spring nebraska’s Platte River is the site ofone of north America’s true wildlife spectacles:the migration of Sandhill Cranes. More than ahalf-million of the cranes, along with threatenedPiping Plovers and endangered Whooping Cranesand Least Terns, rely on the river’s wetlands andsandbars to prepare for a migratory push thatcan take them to the Arctic. At the center of thissingular phenomenon is Audubon nebraska’s Iainnicolson Audubon Center, and no place offers abetter introduction to the miracle of migration—ora better demonstration of the importance of PlatteRiver habitat, now just a tenth of its historic expanse.For the staff at Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary,an Important Bird Area that surrounds the Center,conservation is a year-round commitment thatincludes clearing river channels, building LeastTern and Piping Plover nesting islands, and restoringwetlands vegetation. To assure a future forAmerica’s greatest migration, the nicolson Centeris engaging people worldwide in personal experienceswith the cranes. This spring the AudubonCenter had more than 13,000 guests from 48 differentcountries and all 50 states. The Rowe staffand volunteers provided 194 guided programs for4,400 guests in six weeks, and volunteers donatedmore than 4,600 hours in that time.3SaNDHill CraNeeach night during spring migration,some 70,000 Sandhill Cranes canbe found at the rowe Sanctuary,fueling up for the trip to their breedinggrounds in alaska and Canada.