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CONSERVATION CONGRESS VOTES TO GO FORWARD WITH CRANE HUNT
WPR News - Conservation congress votes to go forward with crane hunt
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Wednesday April 11, 2012
by Glen Moberg
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(STATEWIDE) The votes have been tallied from Monday's Conservation Congress meetings, and most of those in attendance say they want the state legislature to consider a hunting season for sandhill cranes.
The advisory vote was approved by a 2559 to 1271 vote margin. 65 counties voted yes, four voted no, and three tied. George Meyer is the executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, a coalition of 170 hunting, fishing, trapping and forestry organizations, "There appears to be overwhelming support by sportsmen for having a crane season. There were a significant number of farmers in support because of damage to crops."
The Wildlife Federation board of directors also voted in favor of a crane hunt at its February meeting. But Meyer, a former director of the DNR, says he is sensitive to the concerns voiced Monday that hunters aiming at sandhills might accidentally shoot endangered whooping cranes, "Anyone getting a permit to hunt a crane would have to be obviously educated and be able to identify the difference between sandhill cranes and a whooping crane."
Whooping cranes are being nursed back from near extinction through a widely publicized program at Wisconsin's Necedah Wildlife Area. The state is also the headquarters of the International Crane Foundation. Meyer says Wisconsin's deep connection to cranes could make for nasty hearings in Madison if hunting legislation is introduced, "I believe it's going to be a very contentious piece of legislation. Many people in this state hold cranes in a special place. This was a species that was talked of very highly by Aldo Leopold, the father of wildlife management."
22 states allow sandhill cranes to be hunted.
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