Editor’s note: This article was first published on February 5, 2025, in the Southern Indiana Business Report, a publication covering eight counties in southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington.
With a catchy name, two days of activities for bird enthusiasts, and a mission of supporting wildlife habitat, the Marsh Madness Festival has grown into an ecotourism magnet for Greene County.
The 2025 event is February 14-15 and will bring upwards of 1,000 visitors to Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area in Linton, fueling a boost to the local economy.
Until a few years ago, birders rarely saw American white pelicans in Indiana. Now they’re regular visitors to several locations along their migration routes. These stopped over at Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area in Greene County in April 2021. | Limestone Post
The event was established 16 years ago by Friends of Goose Pond, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the restored wetlands that attract numerous species of migratory birds.
Covering 9,000 acres of prairie and marsh habitat, Goose Pond FWA has become a Midwest destination for bird watching, attracting 12,000 wildlife watchers each year. When it was completed, Goose Pond was the largest wetland restoration in the Midwest. In 2005, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources purchased the property and began the process of restoring it as a wetlands. A visitor center was added in 2016.
During Marsh Madness, the stars are the sandhill cranes, large migratory birds that stand between three and four feet tall and have a wingspan that stretches five to seven feet. As they travel northward back home, Goose Pond offers the ideal rest stop for sandhill cranes.
The timing of their migration is dependent upon the weather, said Ethan Plumier, assistant property manager at Goose Pond FWA, but early to mid-February is typically when they begin arriving.
“Last week, we were still frozen, and there was not much open water and not many birds,” Plumier said. “Then it melted Thursday and Friday and thousands upon thousands of cranes and snow geese showed up and about 3,000 pintails came through.”
It doesn’t take long to notice when the cranes flock to Goose Pond, as their distinctive trumpeting call announces their return.
Sandhill cranes are the stars of Marsh Madness. | Photo by A. G. Rosales
The sandhill cranes stay about two weeks, eating and resting, before continuing their journey.
Becky Jung is treasurer of the Friends of Goose Pond and has been involved with planning Marsh Madness since the beginning.
“We draw visitors from all over Indiana,” Jung said. “We have visitors from Texas, Ohio, and across the Midwest.”
Jung said the inaugural Marsh Madness was held the first weekend in March and by then most of the birds were gone.
“We’ve found that the second week of February is a really good week,” Jung said. “This year, because of the snow, they are just starting to come back.”
As the event has grown from 300 visitors to now 1,000, the event is boosting tourism in Greene County.
“The motels and hotels are all full that weekend,” Jung said. “And all the eateries tell me that they are full that weekend.”
Pleasant Grove Farm in Lyons overlooks Goose Pond and is popular with Marsh Madness visitors seeking overnight accommodations. The historic farm, which dates back to 1864, has an inn with six suites and five cottages.
Kenneth and Deidra Dowling manage the property that is owned by Deidra’s father, John Cline.
Kenneth said Pleasant Grove Farm always sells out well in advance of Marsh Madness.
“It definitely impacts us,” he said. “Anytime something is going on in the area, we are booked.”
Goose Pond brings guests to Pleasant Grove throughout the year, Kenneth said. A number of birding organizations will rent the entire facility for group events. Kenneth estimates about 25 percent of Pleasant Grove’s business is directly related to Goose Pond.
The visitor center at Goose Pond FWA in Linton. | Courtesy photo
In 2023, visitors spent $24.2 million in Greene County, an increase of 5.3 percent from 2022, according to the latest study of Indiana tourism spending by Rockport Analytics. The total economic impact of tourism in 2023 was $7.9 million.
Decades of development have removed Indiana’s natural wetlands. With less than 3 percent of the state’s original wetlands remaining, Plumier said Goose Pond is critical to wildlife. The state property tallied its 300th bird species this past year, he said. The property also benefits the environment.
“Goose Pond is good for our watershed in Greene County and it filters out the toxins,” he said.
Marsh Madness begins with a kick-off dinner February 14 at the Linton Elks Club; about 120 will attend.
Activities February 15 at Humphreys Park in Linton include an Indiana Department of Natural Resources Birds of Prey presentation, live reptiles from the Hoosier Herpetological Society, a vendor fair, and a nature scavenger hunt. Visitors can pick up maps for self-guided tours of Goose Pond or sign up for guided bus tours.
Proceeds from this year’s Marsh Madness will fund habitat improvements at Goose Pond.
If you can’t make it to Marsh Madness, Goose Pond FWA is open year-round and offers one or two educational events each month that are open to the public.
“We are different from a state park. You can come here and just explore at your own leisure,” Plumier said. “We’re here for the community.”
Read More
“Treasure Hunting at Goose Pond During Marsh Madness,” by Limestone Post
The spring migration of sandhill cranes and countless other birds is celebrated every year during the Marsh Madness Festival at Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area. In 2016, David Rupp, owner of IndiGo Birding Nature Tours, gave Limestone Post a preview on a trip to the pond.
“The Mesmerizing Sandhill Cranes, ‘Calling Us Home’,” by Jared Posey
Every spring and fall, Indiana is at the heart of the eastern sandhill crane migration. Witness it once and you’ll mark their return on your calendar every year, writes LP contributor Jared Posey. “Flocks of sandhill cranes are a potent symbol of wildness,” he says, their loud, rolling chatter “calling us home.”
Live Wildlife Webcams from Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area
Click the image above to view live video from the wildlife cameras on the Indiana Department of Natural Resources webpage.
