By Bruce Ross, Executive Director [email]bross@wisducks.org[/email]

This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s July, 2024 Newsletter edition.

The legislature just formed a sandhill crane study group of bi-partisan legislators from both the Senate and Assembly, with representatives from agriculture, birding groups and hunting groups.  This study will be led by Representative Paul Tittl (R-Manitowoc) and take a look at all the issues posed by Wisconsin’s rapidly growing sandhill crane population.

This Study Committee is charged with:

• “… determin[ing] whether any changes to state law would effectively address the incidence and consequences of crop damage caused by sandhill cranes in this state. As part of a comprehensive review of policy options, the committee may consider whether the Department of Natural Resources should seek federal approval to establish a hunting season for sandhill cranes.”

This study group includes our own Todd Schaller as one of the key members of the panel.  They will answer questions like:

• How many cranes can Wisconsin support?
• What level of crane-caused damage is supportable and who should pay?
• Is a hunt appropriate under Wisconsin’s unique circumstances?

Since the vast majority of our members tell us we should be exploring a sandhill crane hunt in Wisconsin, we are VERY pleased at this development.  It will allow a deeper consideration of the issues, outside of the glare and sound-bite environment of legislative hearings.

This panel will be empowered to recommend legislation to address their findings.  These recommendations would need to be picked up for legislator consideration in the next session (i.e., after the 2024 election).

There is a long way to go in creating a sustainable and ethical sandhill crane hunt in Wisconsin, but this is a good step.