Sandhill crane population on tap for NRB meeting
The Natural Resources Board on Wednesday will hear an update on sandhill crane management and population status in Wisconsin.
The report will be given by Taylor Finger, migratory bird specialist with the Department of Natural Resources. The NRB requested the update on sandhills, which are among the conservation success stories of the last 50 years in North America.
Individual views on sandhills vary, with many applauding the recovery but at least some in the farming sector believing the birds have become too numerous and cause too much agricultural damage.
Some hunters, too, would like to be able to hunt sandhills in Wisconsin.
The species is currently protected in the state; the Legislature would have to pass a law to allow sandhill hunting in Wisconsin.
From a low of about two dozen breeding pairs in the 1930s to more than 20,000 pairs in recent years, the big, bugling birds have become a common sight in the Badger State.
Sandhills in Wisconsin are part of the Eastern Population (EP) which had 97,751 birds in fall 2018, mostly across Wisconsin, Michigan and adjacent states. The 2018 estimate was 37% increase from the previous year and above the objective of 30,000 cranes for the population, according to a 2019 report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The birds found in Wisconsin are greater sandhill cranes, the largest subspecies. The birds average 4.5 to 5 feet tall and 10 to 14 pounds.
Cranes are omnivores and eat a variety of wild and cultivated foods, including planted seeds, especially corn. In spring, damage can be intense, as cranes often gather in germinating cornfields, according
CALENDAR
Sept. 1
Early Canada goose season opens. Sept. 5
Lake sturgeon hook-and-line season opens.
Sept. 12
Bow deer hunting seasons open.
to a 2017 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
To view the NRB meeting, visit dnr.wi.gov. The meeting will be broadcast at 8:30 a.m. and a recording will be posted after.