Ted Thousand
A bill proposed by Wisconsin legislators would establish a sandhill crane hunting season in the state.
In Wisconsin and beyond, sandhill cranes are a beloved species and remarkable conservation success story. Sandhill cranes are part of people’s lives across the state in ways that were hard to imagine just a few short decades ago.
As long-serving professional conservationists for the International Crane Foundation and Madison Audubon, we understand that keeping successful species successful can be just as challenging as saving rare and endangered species. Here in Wisconsin, crop damage by increasing numbers of sandhill cranes is a real problem, and a problem that must and can be solved for the benefit of farmers.
But there is no ethical, sustainable level of hunting of sandhill cranes that will solve crop depredation. The proposed sandhill crane hunting season (Wisconsin Senate bill SB 620 and Assembly bill AB 667) would take place in late summer or fall, creating a fundamental and illogical mismatch in timing; most damage from cranes occurs in the spring when the cranes feed on the germinating crops after planting. Approving the hunt to trigger payments to farmers through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Damage Abatement and Claims Program is not a solution either — claims will quickly exhaust this fund and few farmers will benefit. Permitting the shooting of sandhill cranes on individual farms where crop damage is occurring both doesn’t solve the issue, and simply pushes the surviving birds, and the problem, to neighboring farms.
Wisconsin needs real and lasting solutions to crop depredation that truly benefit farmers and the wildlife they steward on their lands for all of us. There is an existing and effective crop deterrent — Avipel — that really works for preventing corn damage. International Crane Foundation is working to ensure that Avipel is available, affordable and convenient to all farmers, as well as testing and developing other deterrents that work better for other crops like potatoes and peas. This includes working with farmers, businesses, seed producers, legislators and all others to solve this problem. Solutions in Wisconsin will help not only farmers here at home, but anywhere cranes and other wildlife damage crops.
But there are other crucial concerns about a sandhill hunt. Sandhill cranes do not have the biological character of game species like geese and ducks that reproduce rapidly and can recover quickly.
Crane pairs reproduce very slowly; most pairs do not successfully nest until 4 to 5 years of age, and typically only one hatchling survives to fledging once every three years. Without expert management, sandhill crane hunting could harm their population, especially on key breeding grounds in Wisconsin. Although sandhill cranes are increasing in number, most crane species are endangered and declining due to their slow reproduction and threats faced in the wild.
The even more fragile whooping cranes would also be at risk. The International Crane Foundation and many partners in Wisconsin have worked for 22 years to reintroduce the endangered whooping crane to Wisconsin and the eastern United States. This small and young population is highly vulnerable to any deaths of adult breeding birds. Whooping cranes are often found in flocks of sandhill cranes, and a hunting season can — and has — resulted in accidental shooting of whooping cranes. In November 2021, four endangered whooping cranes were shot and killed during Oklahoma’s sandhill crane hunting season. It is unknown if this shooting was intentional or accidental, but it is a stark reminder of the fragility of the whooping crane population, and the potential risk of a hunting season where whooping cranes and sandhill cranes commingle.
Our organizations also are concerned about the process through which this bill has been raised and debated. “Many people in Wisconsin feel that our traditions of conservation governance are being threatened,” notes Fred Clark, former state legislator and executive director of Wisconsin's Green Fire. “We’re in uncharted territory today with almost every issue being litigated. I think a lot of people are concerned that our tradition of solving these issues civilly, in a way that is constructive and ultimately sustainable, is threatened, and will make it impossible for us to manage natural resources the way we have for the last 100 years.”
We need to acknowledge that cranes are “no mere bird,” as famed conservationist Aldo Leopold wrote years ago. Cranes evoke a strong cultural and spiritual connection for many people in Wisconsin and around the world. The public’s love of and connection with cranes translates into millions of dollars invested annually in crane-related tourism and associated businesses across the United States. Birdwatching is a substantial and growing industry in Wisconsin that supports local communities all around the state. Small businesses, entrepreneurs, school groups and nature enthusiasts throughout the state benefit from the protection of sandhill cranes.
Just because sandhill cranes can be hunted, it doesn’t mean they should be. The distaste the general public feels for a sandhill crane hunt will certainly foster in that community a broader distaste for hunting. Renowned Wisconsin outdoors writer and hunter Tim Eisele wrote in a recent blog post, “Opening a season to hunt sandhill cranes in Wisconsin is a mistake, and will just turn more people who are non-hunters against hunting and hunters.”
Any consideration of a potential crane hunt should be undertaken using the best available science and diverse opinions while sharing a vision for sustaining healthy crane populations on healthy landscapes. The legislature's proposal does not do this, and it will fail to meet the objectives for which it was proposed. International Crane Foundation and Wisconsin's Audubon chapters look forward to being part of effective win-win solutions for both farmers and the future of cranes in Wisconsin and beyond.
Rich Beilfuss is president and CEO of the International Crane Foundation; Matt Reetz is executive director of Madison Audubon.
