Beginning Monday, Nov. 14, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge will be closed to hunting until further notice due to the continued presence of whooping cranes. This closure is necessary to give the crane, an endangered species, protection from mortality. Refuge personnel will continually be monitoring the Cranes’ locations. The Refuge may open, and then close, several times over the next few weeks as Whooping Cranes migrate through the area. The most reliable source for the current status of Refuge hunting and whooping crane presence is our website, www.fws.gov/quivira. Hunters on private land in the Refuge vicinity are reminded to be extra vigilant during this period, as whooping cranes frequently fly to feeding and roosting locations both within and outside of the Refuge.