Sandhill Crane Season in state legislation once again

For the third time in 14 years, a bill that would open a sandhill crane hunting season in Wisconsin has been introduced in the state legislature.

According to wording in the bill, it was created to assist agricultural producers in preventing damage to corn crops that sandhill cranes are known to cause by authorizing the hunting of sandhill cranes. The bill would also increase hunting surcharges that support payments to agricultural producers for crop damage caused by wild animals.

Sandhill cranes are protected by federal law, but the proposed bill says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may authorize a state to initiate a hunting season, consistent with those protections.

The bill requires that DNR use permits to control the number of hunters and the number of cranes that may be harvested. The bill authorizes DNR to establish closed zones or other restrictions to minimize the inadvertent taking of other bird species, like the much more rare whooping crane, which is similar in size and shape to sandhills, but a different color.

Members of the International Crane Foundation are widely opposed to the bill saying that Wisconsin is a vital breeding ground for the cranes and that the hunting of the bird wouldn’t eliminate the damage to crops. They also mention that avian bird flu is already drastically reducing the cranes numbers with 2000 birds recently dying off in Indiana due to the illness.