(GIBBON, NEBRASKA – Saturday, October 26, 2024) On Friday, October 25, the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary hosted a sneak peek celebration offering supporters a preview of the new Visitors Center. Guests toured the new facilities, which now includes the Anne M. Hubbard Education Center, a multi-purpose community room, a full catering kitchen, and new office space for staff and volunteers. In addition to the renovation, Rowe Sanctuary added a Wetland Exploration Deck for educational programs and made several accessibility improvements on their outdoor trails. The event marked a culmination of Nebraska’s $34 million-dollar Elevate Campaign, part of National Audubon’s broader Elevate Campaign.
The lead gift for the campaign was provided by the John and Elizabeth Lauritzen Foundation.
“John and Elizabeth Lauritzen made the initial gift to help build Rowe many years ago, and it felt like the right thing for the John and Elizabeth Lauritzen Foundation to support the revitalization and growth of the sanctuary. We really felt like we were honoring our grandparents’ initial commitment to Audubon, along with their vision for what Rowe could be,” said the Lauritzen family. “This investment will help meet that potential. We love this project for what it does for Rowe, for central Nebraska, and for the many thousands of visitors who will get to experience the Sandhill Crane migration here. We hope it inspires others as it has inspired us to preserve rare places like this.”
Audubon celebrated newly named spaces and donors that helped make this project possible. These include:
- The Lauritzen Great Hall, made possible by the John and Elizabeth Lauritzen Foundation
- The Anne M. Hubbard Education Center, made possible by the Claire M. Hubbard Foundation
- The Duncan and Janice McGregor Discovery Station, made possible by the McGregor family
- The Dr. Paul Johnsgard Accessible Loop, made possible by a gift made in memory of Jack and Lou Yuncker
- Within the McGregor Discovery Station, a View provided in memory of John Verne and Janet McKenzie, made possible by their children
- The Donald & Lorena Meier Greenhouse and Native Plants Restoration Program, made possible by the Donald and Lorena Meier Foundation
Additional significant gifts to Rowe’s Sanctuary through the campaign include the Ron and Carol Cope Foundation, Kearney Visitors Bureau, Peter Kiewit Foundation, the Estate of Lorraine S. Lienemann, Naseem Munshi and Michael Tupper, Nebraska Department of Economic Development, The Estate of Margery Nicolson, and anonymous donors.
Audubon’s Elevate Campaign raised over $34 million for programs in Nebraska, as well as their centers at Rowe Sanctuary and Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center. Rowe’s $12.5 million capital expansion nearly doubles the size of the Visitors Center, which also hosts the staff offices. The parking lot to the south of the building was moved and expanded to protect cranes and other migratory birds and provide more stalls for school buses and cars. Outdoor educational spaces were built with accessibility in mind. A paved trail heading west from the Visitors Center leads to the new Wetland Exploration Deck where learners of all ages can immerse themselves in the water and wildlife. Boardwalk sections extend toward the river and over the slough for more exploration opportunities.
One notable new feature of the building will be a 1,400 square foot exhibit hall, featuring interactive, museum-quality exhibits that tell the story of the Sandhill Crane migration, and conservation of the Platte River. Exhibits will be installed in time for the Spring 2025 crane season.
Anna Riggs, a member of the National Audubon Society board, traveled from Little Rock, Arkansas to be part of the celebration. “At Rowe Sanctuary, people connect with Sandhill Cranes, among many other species. The cranes become a real-life demonstration of the complex needs of birds. They are only here in Nebraska for a matter of weeks. They arrive from places like Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, and more. And then, after a few weeks of feasting on invertebrates and leftover corn from the fields, it’s off to places like Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada and the Yukon Delta of Alaska, among others. Here in Nebraska, you all have a tremendous opportunity to build a community of conservationists who will advocate for the needs of cranes and other birds. And this expanded, accessible, beautiful campus will help you do it!”
Rowe Sanctuary will be celebrating their 50th Annual Crane Season in Spring 2025. They expect to break records with more than 40,000 visitors over eight weeks in March and April, as more than one million Sandhill Cranes will stop at the Platte River during their migration from the Gulf Coast to Canada and Alaska. Rowe Sanctuary will be hosting a Holiday Open House on Saturday, December 7, which will mark the Center’s public opening.
###
Media Contact: Melissa Amarawardana, Melissa.Amarawardana@audubon.org, 402.999.3404
About Audubon
The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Audubon works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give Audubon an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, Audubon believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive.
