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

The Sandhill Crane Legislative Council Study by a bi-partisan group of lawmakers and representatives from birding, agricultural and hunting interests kicked off in August.   It looks like there will be four to five sessions that consume most of the day. This link takes you to the official legislature webpage that has the recordings of each session and the slides that were used by the presenters.

The first session was a general overview of sandhill biology, the management regime they fall under and a review of the flyway’s Management plan.  The next session will be on the agricultural depredation topic, followed in October with a session on the pros and cons of hunting.  The remaining one or two sessions will be to reach some consensus on the various questions that must be answered, including the hunting question.

WWA Policy Position:  In our last survey, 94% of you thought we should explore a sandhill crane (SHC) season.  Since then, we’ve looked at this question and developed an organizational position on the question:

• WWA supports a sustainable and ethical SHC hunt in WI.  
  • The population size and science support a USFWS-overseen hunt;
  • it is compatible with eco-crane tourism;
  • it can be a component of a complete solution for the agricultural depredation issues; and
  • it is legally justified under Wisconsin’s constitutional right to hunt.

WWA advocated for this legislative study group to get past the superficial and emotion-based talking points of hunt opponents, with a deeper look to help legislators understand real issues surrounding a sustainable and ethical hunt in Wisconsin.  WWA’s Vice President Todd Schaller is representing WWA on the study group.

Check out the statewide editorial that Executive Director Bruce Ross recently had published that lays out the case for a hunt in Wisconsin.  Bruce reports that he’s received favorable feedback from non-hunters who now better understand the issues.  Feel free to share it with your friends and acquaintances who want to learn more on the topic