Bird & Nature Blog
A clutch of the latest stories from Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance
The Wisconsin Legislative Council has created a study committee on Sandhill Cranes focused on addressing the agricultural impact of cranes in our state, with part of the stated scope to “consider whether the Department of Natural Resources should seek federal approval to establish a hunting season for sandhill cranes.”
Photo by Monica Hall
Please see this link to the account of 4 (COUNT THEM, FOUR !!!!) Whooping Cranes illegally killed in Oklahoma during the Sandhill Crane hunting season.
Possibly the 4 most unhelpful words in the English language are: I told you so. Any parent can attest to how counter-productive those words are. So let's take the steps needed to never use those in Wisconsin with regard to the inadvertent slaughter of Whooping Cranes.
Photo by Mick Thompson
The bill (SB620) that proposes to legalize a Sandhill Crane hunt in Wisconsin was not moved forward for consideration in this legislative session. It has not gone away, but will be held for a future session, perhaps in January.
To those of you who contacted your legislators asking them to vote NO on this issue, THANK YOU! Your support is incredible and makes a difference.
Photo by Arlene Koziol
As a hunter, angler, and conservationist, I stand with Madison Audubon against the Sandhill Crane hunt. The reasons are numerous, and you can read them in my previous post here, but make no mistake: they are informed both by sound science and by a love of cranes.
Bruce Ross, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association (WWA), recently replied to my blog on a hunting season on Sandhill Cranes, and argued that hunters and non-hunters should support such a season.
Well, that was throwing a fly to a hungry trout so I rise to the bait.
Photo by Arlene Koziol
