This year the 22nd annual Festival of the Cranes is being celebrated now at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (Nov. 17-22, 2009). This event attracts thousands of visitors from around the country and affords some of the most renowned bird watching and photographic opportunities this region has to offer.

The Socorro Valley has been identified as the most critical landscape in the annual cycle of the Rocky Mountain population of sandhill cranes — approximately 20,000 annually migrate through the area — due to the density of wintering birds in one location, the limited availability of foods (natural and wintering), and the small size of this wintering area. But what stands out even more than this huge congregation of migrating birds is the economic impact that this tall elegant bird brings to Socorro County.

Ecotourism for Socorro County is directly linked to the refuge. Socorro County is the second-poorest county in New Mexico and the Festival of the Cranes, held annually at Bosque del Apache, is its single greatest income-generating event. Revenue from registered attendees of the 2004 festival was $51,432, and the economic benefit to the local area was estimated to be $2.2 million over the six days of the event. Visitor recreation expenditures in the counties of Socorro, Bernalillo, and Sierra totaled
$13.9 million, of which $13.7 million came from nonresidents resulting from visits to the refuge. The total tax revenue generated by refuge recreation visits was $4.3 million for the region. Local economic effects associated with recreational visits to the refuge totaled more $20.3 million in the local counties.

These days, the sting of the recession is being felt far and wide but nowhere more so than in our rural communities. That is why it is more important than ever to look to our natural resources as a way to maintain our livelihoods. But instead of the old paradigm of extracting all we can from the earth, the story of the sandhill crane in Socorro highlights the need for conservation and cooperation among local, state and federal stakeholders.

The Bosque del Apache is indeed the crown jewel of New Mexico's Important Bird Areas as designated by the Audubon Society and Bird Life International and deserves to be protected and funded not just for the diversity of wildlife that take refuge in the area but also for its economic impact on the surrounding communities. This phenomenon is not unique to the Bosque; in fact, many bird conservation sites across New Mexico are equally important to local economies.

An encouraging step in the right direction was recently made by our two New Mexico senators with the introduction of "Natural Resources Climate Adaptation Act"
(S. 1933). This bill, introduced by Sen. Jeff Bingaman and co-sponsored by Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont.; Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; and Tom Udall, D-N.M., is aimed at safeguarding wildlife and natural resources, and the essential goods and services they provide to every American, from the harmful effects of climate change. The legislation provides a framework for protecting and restoring wildlife and natural resources from the existing and forecasted impacts of climate change and calls for dedicated funding for these safeguards, which is expected to come from revenue generated by clean energy and climate legislation.

We would like to thank the senators for their recognition of these important areas and hope to see the same inspired leadership from our state and local elected officials as well.

This year, as you head out to the Bosque del Apache to enjoy the cranes in all their splendid beauty, take a moment to think about the full impact of what you are seeing. Like the birds to their natural surroundings, so are we tied to the health of our environment, not only for our own health and its aesthetic beauty, but for the health of our local economies as well.

Volunteers from the Friends of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Audubon New Mexico, the state office of the National Audubon Society, the Central New Mexico Audubon Society and New Mexico Audubon Council have been working hard to support the festival and the refuge's efforts to continue providing these magnificent birds and other wildlife sanctuary.

Santa Fean Karyn Stockdale is vice president and executive director of Audubon New Mexico. Leigh Ann Vradenburg is executive director of Friends of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.