PDF: Sandhill EP Plan PDF: Eastern Population Sandhill Crane
What was once considered a true wildlife success story, the sandhill crane, is now almost a true wildlife nightmare.
"It's a beautiful bird people enjoy watching, but on the other hand it has taken over and is causing monetary damage to certain areas," said Dan Hicks, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency spokesman.
The agency is proposing a hunting season for the 3-foot-tall, gray bird that nests in the Great Lakes and migrates south to Georgia and Florida, stopping at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in Meigs County each winter.
"I have a warm place in my heart for sandhill cranes, I have mixed emotions about hunting sandhill cranes, but I do realize number of birds in flying through here is between 60,000 and 65,000 and maybe more than that," he added.
The bird already is hunted in more than 10 states, including Texas. Minnesota will have its first-ever sandhill crane hunt this month.
"They are called the 'sirloin steak of the sky,'" said Hicks. "I have eaten sandhill cranes taken on hunts in Texas, and it was good."
But some bird-lovers and even hunters worry that hunters might accidentally shoot the endangered whooping cranes that sometimes associate with sandhill cranes during the fall hunting period.
WHAT'S NEXTThe hunting plan has been pre-approved by several agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A final decision is expected in June. If hunting is approved, the season could fall close to the sandhill crane viewing days, which are normally held in January.HUNTING PROPOSAL2011-12 sandhill crane hunting season* Permits will be distributed via computer draw or handheld drawing.* The quota will be 733 permits (each worth three cranes)* Hunting will occur in TWRA Regions 3 and 4 (Cumberland Plateau and East Tennessee)* Hunting season will coincide with the late waterfowl season.* Cranes must be tagged and checked in at a TWRA checking station.Source: Tennessee Wildlife Resources AgencySANDHILL CRANE MIDWINTER COUNTSHiwassee Wildlife Refuge* 2006: 14,158* 2007: 14,698* 2008: 12,945* 2009: 20,191* 2010: 48,505* 5-year average: 22,099Source: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Michelle Wall has been hunting for over 35 years, but she said she probably wouldn't hunt a sandhill crane.
"I enjoy watching them every year when they come through and it's not something that I would eat, so I wouldn't kill it," she said.
"If they do open season on the sandhill cranes and a whooping crane gets shot, I would have a problem with that," she added.
Clyde Blum, a local birder for 40 years and participant in the Sandhill Crane Festival held around January, said he's not surprised they TWRA is considering a hunting season.
"We protect a species until it gets to a certain point then we start killing it," he added.
In the 1930s, only 25 breeding pairs of the Eastern Population of greater sandhill cranes were recorded in Wisconsin.
The local chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society hasn't taken an official stand on the issue, but Chattanooga chapter President David Stone said most members have three problems with the hunting plan, including endangering the whooping cranes.
"The [members] still don't feel there's an overabundance of the sandhill cranes, and when they have the crane festival there are thousands of people dropping by," Stone said. "We would hate to see it get to the point where the [sandhill cranes] didn't frequent the area or didn't stay."
Michael Butler, chief executive officer of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, which has been involved in the hunting proposal, said Federation officials saw an opportunity in the rapid population growth of the bird.
"There are many people who waterfowl-hunt that would love to have an opportunity to hunt the cranes in a limited fashion," he said.
Hunting might force the birds to return to their traditional migratory patterns rather than staying here over the winter, Butler said.
Hicks attributes the changing habit to warmer weather and the corn TWRA plants on the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge for ducks and geese.
Ken Dubke, a Signal Mountain resident who has monitored and worked with cranes for 40 years and has organized the sandhill crane viewing festival for over 20 years, also fears the cranes will become fearful of people.
More money can come from people watching the cranes, he said, than from the 700 permits they will sell.
The TWRA is funded in great part from money generated from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses, Hicks said.