Marsh Madness 2025
Friday February 14th, 2025, Kick-off event Linton Elks Club, Linton Indiana
Doors open at 5:00pm Full Buffet Dinner at 6:00pm
Silent and Live Auctions
Saturday, February 15th, 2025, 8:00am - 4:00pm
Roy Clark Building, Humphrey's Park, Linton, Indiana
Marsh Madness 2025 will kick off on Friday, February 14th! Linton Elks: Tickets $30 and include Saturday events.
Saturday February 15th: Roy Clark Building, Humphreys Park; Tickets are $5 at the door or available at the bus stop, all kids are free, the bus tours are included in the $5. Bus times are below.
Saturday: Humphreys Park
- Pick up maps for self-guided driving tours (8:00 am to 4:00 pm)
- Day-of tips where bird guides are posted.
- Nature scavenger hunt with prizes
- Birds of Prey: 10 am and 2 pm Roy Clark Building
- Owl Pellet Activity for Kids and Adults 11 am Amy Kearns, Girl Scout Cabin
- Protecting Indiana's Feathered Future: A focus on Goose Pond-12 pm Alex Barton and Amy Kearns, Girl Scout Cabin
- Amphibians of Indiana1 pm Jim Horton, Hoosier Herpetological Society, Girl Scout Cabin
- Hoosier Herpetological Society "live reptiles and amphibians on display" all day
- International Crane Foundation information table
- Hands-on wildlife learning table
- Marsh Madness cool merchandise available
- Linton Civitan Club will be providing breakfast and lunch (8:00am - 4:00pm)
- Building Squirrel Feeders 10:00 am to 2:00 pm West Shelter House- thank you Linton Civitan!
- Bat Houses to make, West Shelter House
- Guided wetland bus tours begin at 8:30 am last bus leaves at 3:00 pm
- Arts and Craft Vendors 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Roy Clark Building, Linton Park
- East Shelter House Bus Stop
- Cheryl Goodman; Coloring for kids; Tom Clayton, Veteran Outreach; Tourism; Watershed Alliance; and Cisma
Saturday February 15th: Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area Visitors Center 8:30 am to 4 pm
- Master tracker program
- Visitors Center Exhibits
- Intl Whooping Crane Foundation-Crane banding all day
- Get your picture taken with Hope the Whooping Crane 9:00 to 9:30am and 12:30 to1 pm
- Nature trail walking tours
- Whooping Crane foundation outreach table
- Inside spotting scopes
- Bus stops on guided wetland tour-3 buses with guides
March Madness Bus Tour Schedule
Bus Tour Time
1 8:30 to 10:00
2 9:00 to 10:30
3 10:30 to 12:00
1 11:30 to 1:00
2 11:00 to 12:30
3 12:30 to 2:00
1 2:00 to 3:30
2 1:30 to 3:00
3 3:00 to 4:30
There will be a guide on each bus and 14 guides on the goose pond property.
Wildlife Art Exhibition
The featured artist will be available Saturday at the Roy Clark building
Featured Artist Jason Patrick Chuley
Decoy Maker-Woodworker Artist
Jason was born and raised in upstate New York in the heart of the Finger Lake Region.
Jason started wood carving at the age of 14 with the guidance of his grandfather and father, both well know carvers in the area. Jason moved to Indiana in 2011 and started carving full time in 2015. Jason has carved for large waterfowl companies, Duck Unlimited and National Wildlife Turkey Federation. Jason has won multiple best of shows with his hunting decoys and blue ribbons in world competitions. Jason is an avid outdoorsman and fisherman. Jason has lived in Lewis, Indiana for the last 10 years currently working with a company in Indiana to manufacture his own line of waterfowl hunting decoys.
The heron below will be the featured piece in the live auction Friday February 14th at the Kickoff event.
Goose Pond Visitors Center Exhibits
Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area
13540 W County Road 400 South
8:30 am - 4:00pm
Marsh Madness 2025 would not be complete without stopping by the Goose Pond wetlands and our beautiful Visitors Center:
- Visitors Center inside exhibits open
- Aerial flyway and wetland functions displays
- Naturalists on hand to answer questions
- Enjoy beautiful panoramic views from the highest elevation in Goose Pond!
About The Marsh Madness Festival
The Marsh Madness Sandhill Crane Festival is a community-based event timed to coincide with the peak Sandhill Crane and waterfowl migration at Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area in Greene County, Indiana. Festival headquarters are at Humphrey’s Park in the nearby city of Linton. The festival takes place in late February. Events include a kick-off banquet, craft fair, live birds of prey on display, informational and educational presentations, bus tours, self-guided tours, kid's activities, and much more.
The 2010 inaugural Festival was a huge success and provided a solid foundation for the future growth of the crane celebration. The festival is put on by the Friends of Goose Pond in partnership with Goose Pond FWA and with the help of many civic organizations and businesses from Greene County and beyond. Numerous conservation organizations also contribute help.
The festival vision statement from early grant applications reads: “Marsh Madness will be a destination for visitors from across the Midwest by celebrating the County’s richly abundant and inherently beautiful natural areas, the centerpiece of which will be the spring migration of waterfowl and cranes to Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area. Interpretive programs and educational materials and artistic displays will inspire Festival goers while instilling in them a strong conservation ethic.”