This article appeared in the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s June 2025 Newsletter edition.
WWA continues to be busy leading the charge to bring an ethical and sustainable sandhill crane hunt to Wisconsin.
On May 13, WWA organized another visit to the State Capitol in Madison with volunteers and staff from several state-based and national hunting conservation organizations. Representatives from WWA, Delta Waterfowl, Safari Club International (SCI), Ducks Unlimited, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, and the Women’s Hunting & Sporting Association met with more than a dozen lawmakers and their staff to educate them on the issues surrounding a regulated sandhill crane hunt in Wisconsin.
Why should Wisconsin have a regulated sandhill crane hunt? Simply put, the science supports it. The USFWS management plan for Eastern sandhill cranes established the threshold to have a harvest at 30,000 birds. The population is nearly four times above that threshold (more than 100,000 birds) and estimated to be growing at 4.4% annually. Because the population has gotten so large, sandhill cranes are wreaking havoc on crops in Wisconsin, destroying more than an estimated $2 million worth of corn, potatoes, wheat, cranberries, and other vegetables. And corn farmers spent an additional $2 million on a seed coating to repel the cranes. And let’s not forget the more than 1,400 sandhill cranes already killed in Wisconsin ANNUALLY with crop damage permits—10,000 in the last decade—while the population continues to climb. Nevertheless, some birding groups exploit the lack of public knowledge on this issue to oppose a hunt on emotional grounds. Wisconsin needs to manage our wildlife based on science and facts – not emotion.
This is just the latest effort by WWA to help bring a scientifically supported sandhill crane season to Wisconsin. Over the last several years, WWA has been working to compile the background research and data needed to educate lawmakers, hunters, and the public on this issue. We’ve met with relevant stakeholders (on both sides of the issue) to educate and engage them. And we’ve been actively talking to decision makers about the issue.
In 2024, WWA was asked to participate in the Legislative Council Study Committee on Sandhill Cranes. The Committee’s scope was:
The study committee is directed to review and recommend options for legislation relating to the management of Wisconsin’s sandhill crane population. The committee shall examine population trends and determine 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. The committee shall recommend legislation to manage the population of sandhill cranes and address the agricultural impact of sandhill cranes.
WWA’s Vice President – and former Chief Warden of the Wisconsin DNR – Todd Schaller served as a public member of the committee. The Committee, whose membership included state lawmakers, farmers, hunting conservation groups and non-hunting conservation groups, met five times between August and December of 2024 and heard dozens of hours of testimony from state / federal agencies and individuals associated with all sides of this issue. The bills authorizing a sandhill crane hunt currently before the legislature are the result of the thoughtful and diligent work of the Legislative Council Study Committee on Sandhill Cranes.
WWA and our coalition partners are working to advance the bills this legislative session. Check out this one-stop-shop for info on the sandhill crane hunting topic.
