Bruce Ross provides his testimony to the Senate in October 2021
By Bruce Ross, Executive Director bruceross@wi.rr.com
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s November, 2021 Newsletter edition.
WWA has invested a year researching the issues associated with a possible Sandhill Crane (SHC) hunt. That research included developing relationships with the people and organizations that could best inform our understanding, including those who would likely come down on the opposite side of the issue, like the International Crane Foundation, the Aldo Leopold Foundation and the Madison Audubon Society. From that research, we wrote a series of articles to share that information and prepare our readers for a science-based discussion, if and when a SHC hunt was proposed. That research has held us in good stead to represent the complete set of facts in the past few weeks since the SHC hunt was proposed.
Just this past week, WWA attended the Senate hearing on the bill and a listening session hosted by the Governor. In these forums (and from other publicized writings), we heard statements of opposition to the bill. Many of these statements were incomplete or misleading. The science very clearly supports a managed hunt, but to fully understand that science in the face of incomplete or emotional arguments, you may find value in “the rest of the story.”
“…. And here’s the rest of the story.”
| You may hear this… | And here’s the rest of the story |
| “It was hunting that resulted in the near demise of the Sandhill Crane – how can you consider doing that again? Look at what happened to the passenger pigeon” | Comparing modern day hunting to the era of market gunning is a false comparison. Yes, the unregulated commercial over-harvest of SHC (as well as the loss of habitat) led to the near loss of the SHC a hundred years ago. But that dark period also gave rise to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that has allowed the restoration of SHC (and other species) across the continent. And it led to today’s North American Conservation Model where hunter- and angler-conservationists are the funding engine for the globally-admired record of US natural resource conservation. These two hunter-led changes, plus the SHC’s ability to adapt to a changing landscape have been the engine for its remarkable recovery. |
| “Sandhill Cranes mate for life” | Like geese, SHC generally take a mate for life (although there is evidence of “divorces”, too). But if one of the pair is lost to natural causes, to predators, to depredation permit killing, or to hunting, there is ample evidence to suggest the surviving SHC will quickly take another mate. |
| “Sandhill Cranes are slow to mature” | SHC take 2-4 years to reach sexual maturity. But Wisconsin’s carrying capacity for SHC breeders has been exceeded for years… so much so that when SHC reach sexual maturity, there is little to no breeding habitat to support their breeding drive. That’s why we’re seeing them on golf courses, in subdivisions, and other sub-optimal breeding locations. And growing, roving bands of mature, non-breeders are taking a toll on farmer crops. (We saw this same phenomenon with geese.) And still the SHC population continues to grow at 5-9% per year. |
| “An average breeding pair of Sandhill crane will produce a viable offspring only once every two years” | Most game birds are short-lived, so their reproductive strategy depends on large clutches of eggs. On the other hand, SHC reproductive strategy depends on long-lived breeders that will reproduce as long as 20-25 years. Each pair may produce 10-12 adults over their lifetime… resulting in a population that is growing by 5-9% per year. |
| “Wisconsin is a core breeding ground of the Sandhill crane.” | Virtually all of Wisconsin’s prime SHC breeding habitat has been filled by breeding SHC. But with a still-growing SHC population, there are increasing numbers of roving bands of sexually-mature-but-non-breeding adult SHCs. (These are the birds that primarily cause crop damage; whose population will continue to grow as the overall population grows.) If a SHC pair vacate such prime territory, it is quickly filled by other mature breeders anxious to procreate. And despite the nearly 1,000 SHC that are killed in Wisconsin each spring under United States Department of Agriculture depredation permit, the population continues to grow by an average of 9% per year. |
| “In light of the recent wolf hunt, how can we be sure the hunt will be well-managed?” | The US Fish & Wildlife Society (USFWS) takes at least six months to review and approve any hunting season plans submitted by a state, and the first three hunting seasons are considered experimental. Only after reporting the results of this experimental period will a state’s hunt be permitted on an ongoing basis. And regardless of whether experimental or ongoing seasons are authorized, USFWS considers annual population estimates and apportions harvest quotas across the entire flyway to protect the health of the species. Only 25% of permits authorized by the USFWS actually result in a harvested SHC. |
| “The cranes are particularly vulnerable when staging for their fall migration, and will adversely impact eco-tourism.” | Under a proposed amendment to the bill, staging areas, particularly in areas of high use and public viewing would be part of the Department of Natural Resource’s required considerations in establishing season dates and times. This would likely result in some sort of spatial or temporal separation between such staging areas and hunting locations. Other states with SHC hunts continue to enjoy the eco-tourism associated with SHC, as would Wisconsin. |
| “A fall hunt will not significantly help farmers with their spring predation problems” | It is true that a small harvest in the fall will not solve the entire farmer depredation problem in the spring. But it can help farmers in three ways: (1) it will be a stabilizing force on Wisconsin’s currently unchecked SHC population, (2) it will open damage and mitigation funding to producers, and (3) it may lead to considerations of options that more directly help farmer funding and by associating hunts with fields that are being predated. |
| “The numbers of harvested sandhillls in this core breeding area will adversely impact the overall population.” | USFWS will apportion SHC harvest quotas for all states that have a SHC hunt, basing that number on population estimates that are widely-acknowledged to be significant under-estimates of the population. To this point, about 1,000 SHC are shot under USDA-provided depredation kill permits in WI alone. Despite this, the population has continued to approach exponential growth. |
| “I see SHC standing by the side of the road, or in fields, or in large numbers in the marsh… where’s the sport in harvesting a sandhill crane?” | Sandhill behavior is different in the spring than it would be in the fall during a hunt. By way of example, many turkey are seen in back yards, but are notoriously challenging to harvest. The rate of SHC harvest across this flyway is less than 25% birds harvested per permit. Nearly 1,100 birds have been harvested/year from about 5,000 permits in other states in this flyway. This is about 1.3% of the SHC population, well less than the 4% harvest of a population scientists speculate could have a detrimental effect on such a bird population. |
| “The whooping crane population is fragile. Nearly 1 in 10 whooper deaths is caused by shooting.” | The visual differences between a SHC and whooper are significant to a bird hunter. Waterfowlers must identify small ducks on the wing, moving much faster than cranes, to avoid over-harvesting a particular species. Indeed, not a single legally permitted sandhill crane hunter has EVER accidentally shot a whooper. Yes, poachers have shot whoopers. But empirically, the USFWS-mandated training that every hunter must complete prior to receiving a SHC permit has proven 100% effective in avoiding accidental shootings. |
To overcome these “red herrings”, ask this direct question of the state’s experts in Sandhill cranes, like those found at the Aldo Leopold foundation or the International Crane Foundation, or those at the US Fish and Wildlife Service: “What impact will a well-managed hunt have on the Sandhill Crane population?” You will hear from these experts, like we have, that no species harm will come from such a hunt in Wisconsin.