Over 15,000 Sandhill Cranes spend the winter at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge on the Tennessee River in this file photo.IF YOU GOWhat: The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet to set the upcoming waterfowl hunting season, vote on the sandhill crane hunt and hear other nonavian issues.When: 1 p.m. Thursday and FridayWhere: At the Holiday Inn Knoxville West at Cedar Bluff
Tennessee wildlife authorities will decide this week whether sandhill cranes will be in hunters’ sights this year, but conservationists say there are plenty of other birds for sportsmen to shoot.
The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission will convene in Knoxville on Thursday to set the upcoming waterfowl hunting season and decide whether up to 2,300 sandhill cranes will be included.
Dan Hicks, spokesman for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency — which is bringing the proposal to allow crane hunting in several areas around the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in Meigs and Rhea counties — said data show the cranes are overpopulating the refuge and out-competing other waterfowl.
The wildlife commission deferred a similar proposal two years ago because commissioners wanted more information. Now the information is in, Hicks said.