Last week members of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, including Operation Migration, met with USFWS representatives to discuss the future of the Eastern Migratory Population (EMP) of Whooping Cranes. After all was said and done it was decided that there would be no more aircraft led releases.
Juvenile Whooping Cranes learned their southern migration route with the help of OM’s ultralights. Photo courtesy of Operation Migration
“…There are a number of inhibitors to a successful reintroduction of Whooping cranes. Firstly, you need a method of teaching them migration. Then you must get enough of them onto the landscape so a high percentage will survive to reach breeding age. You must ensure they exhibit wild behavior and mate with their own kind.
Operation Migration team has been very successful in achieving those goals. In fact, the Ultralight led method we pioneered comes closer than any other technique yet developed. It provides the highest survival rate, greater pairing and the only fledged chicks produced in the Eastern Migratory Population.
Despite those achievements, you can only judge the success of a wildlife reintroduction by fecundity or the ability for the population to produce young and grow to a self-sustaining level. Of the 240 plus birds released into the EMP, only ten chicks have survived to fledge. We have taken pride in the fact that all of those successes have been the result of UL pairs, but it’s a long ways from sustainability.”
The Kentucky Coalition for Sandhill Cranes wishes to join all other “craniacs” in saying a huge “thank you” to Operation Migration for its fifteen years of tireless work towards bringing the Whooping Crane back to the eastern United States. When this experiment began, who could have predicted that the sight of an ultralight followed unwaveringly (for the most part) by a line of young cranes would capture the hearts of so many? We wish the entire Operation Migration team well, not only now but in their future work with our Whooping Cranes.
Juvenile Whooping Cranes learning migration route, as seen from Operation Migration’s ultralight. – Photo operationmigration.org/InTheField/
Last year in a document outlining its “vision” for Whooping Crane conservation over the next five years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommended that the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP*) switch to exclusively using adult Whooping Cranes to lead younger birds on southerly migrations each fall. Currently, the partnership relies on a mix of crane-led migrations, and those led by Operation Migration’s (OM) ultralight craft.
Operation Migration points to data derived from the WCEP database supporting the argument that the ultralight method is still the most successful thus far in terms of survivability, migratory behavior, and breeding success. In fact, this method most closely replicates the natural life history of the species in that OM teaches the young Whooping cranes a suitable migration route and cares for them until the following spring — just as adult Whoopers would. However, if USFWS’s “vision” is adopted, the work begun in 2001 by OM towards building the eastern population of Whooping Cranes will come to an end.
The WCEP is committed to working together to continue building the eastern migratory population of Whooping Cranes. The group will be discussing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service vision document at its January 20-21, 2016 meeting in Wisconsin as part of the development for the next five year strategic plan.
Two federally endangered Whooping Cranes were found dead in a rural area about 18 miles west of Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas on January 11, 2016. Federal game officials arrested 18-year-old Trey Joseph Frederick after witnesses reported having seen Frederick in the area with a hunting rifle claiming to have been hunting geese. Federal agents contacted Frederick at his home where he admitted to killing the cranes. Whooping Cranes are migratory birds and are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act making it unlawful to capture, kill, or attempt to capture or kill these birds anywhere in the United States.
Frederick was charged on January 14 with illegally shooting and killing the cranes. If convicted of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act violation, he could be sentenced to up to six months in federal prison and fined as much as $15,000.
“…All hunters are spoon fed Whooper 101 in Hunters Education. Regardless, all hunters are responsible for the consequences of pulling the trigger. If it is too dark, too foggy, or you just don’t know what you are shooting at – don’t pull the trigger. It’s as simple as that.…The kid may be young but he is avid and experienced duck and goose hunter; born and raised in an area where everyone knows Whoopers are critically endangered…”
Although originally released in Louisiana at the White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area (WLWCA) near Gueydan, the two Whooping Cranes, along with two other birds from Louisiana, had been in southeast Texas for more than eight months. Part of an experimental reintroduction effort (by LDWF, USFWS, USGS, and the Louisiana Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit), the deaths of the two-year old male and female Whooping Cranes has reduced the Louisiana group to 44 birds in the wild. Read more about the Louisiana Whoopers here.
The deaths of the cranes are being investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Whooping Cranes are considered a critically endangered species and protected under the federal Endangered Species and Migratory Bird Treaty Acts, and by Texas and Louisiana state law.
Anyone witnessing suspicious activity involving whooping cranes is advised to report that information to LDWF’s Enforcement Division by calling 1-800-442-2511 or using the tip411 program, which may offer a cash reward for information leading to arrests or convictions. To use the tip411 program, citizens can text LADWF and their tip to 847411 or download the “LADWF Tips” iPhone app from the Apple iTunes store free of charge. Citizen Observer, the tip411 provider, uses technology that removes all identifying information before LDWF receives the text so that LDWF cannot identify the sender.
There are only 600 endangered Whooping Cranes in the world. However, over the last five years, more than 20 Whooping Cranes have been shot and killed in the United States. The International Crane Foundation is calling on individuals “to take action and raise public awareness to prevent future shootings by joining the national campaign to protect Whooping Cranes.”
Dr. Elizabeth Smith, Texas Program Director hopes citizens use this senseless tragedy as a reason to join the national campaign to protect Whooping Cranes. Learn more about the campaign and pledge your support for Whooping Cranes here: http://www.savingcranes.org/i-give-a-whoop/
The following was provided by Lizzie Condon, Keeping Whooping Cranes Safe Coordinator of the International Crane Foundation
The International Crane Foundation, along with organizations involved in the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, has a new program designed to increase awareness and pride in Whooping Cranes in local communities. We have started this program with a pilot project in northern Alabama, centered on Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, a very important wintering site for Whooping Cranes in the eastern migratory population. Our outreach plan includes working with 27 Alabama partner organizations on K-12 education, television and radio PSAs, billboards, social and traditional media campaigns, art and photo contests, presence at gun and hunting shows, hunter education, and the promotion and support of Wheeler NWR’s Festival of the Cranes.
Click here to immediately report any suspicious activity that appears to harm or disturb a Whooping Crane.
Tell your friends, family, and networks, about the plight of the Whooping Crane.
Please take the time to share your support for Whooping Cranes with you friends, family and social media connections. In addition, we welcome you to join in celebrating both Sandhill Cranes and Whooping Cranes at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge’s Festival of the Cranes, now in its fourth year. The festival will take place on January 9th and 10th, and it is free and open to the public. In addition to phenomenal viewing of thousands of Sandhill Cranes along with the rare Whooping Crane, the festival also includes children’s activities, a raptor show put on by the Southeastern Raptor Center, a Teddy Roosevelt impersonator and a keynote speech from Dr. George Archibald, co-founder of the International Crane Foundation. We hope to see you there!
Thank you for your support of crane conservation. Thanks especially to the Tennessee Ornithological Society, who recently donated $10,000 to the International Crane Foundation in support of our Whooping Crane outreach programs. To learn more about the International Crane Foundation and to become a member, please visit our website at www.savingcranes.org.
Kentucky’s Sandhill Crane hunting season begins Dec. 12, 2015 and continues through Jan. 10, 2016, or until 400 Sandhill Cranes have been killed. Whooping Cranes may associate with Sandhill Cranes so caution must be used while hunting the smaller, grey-bodied Sandhill Cranes.
In a December 9, 2015 press release by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, hunters were cautioned to be mindful of the possibility of the presence of Whooping Cranes in their hunting areas. Wildlife biologists have confirmed the presence of five federally protected Whooping Cranes in Hopkins County (a mated pair of Whooping Cranes were shot and killed with a rifle in 2014 in Hopkins Co.), as well as sightings in Barren and several other Kentucky counties in the last two weeks.
The Whooping Crane is a federally endangered bird that may not be hunted.The Eastern Population of Whooping Cranes migrates between Wisconsin and Florida with their main migration corridor taking them through west-central Kentucky. There are approximately 100 whooping cranes in this population.
Whooping cranes are solid white with black wingtips. They have a red crown. Adults may have a wingspan of 7 ½ feet and stand up to 5 feet tall on stilted legs. Juvenile birds are similar to the adults, but will have patches of brown or tan mixed in with the white. Both adult and juvenile whooping cranes are currently present in Kentucky.
Large flocks of snow geese may be present in western areas of Kentucky and small groups may be present statewide. Snow geese are white-bodied birds with black wingtips. They do not have stilted legs.
Tundra swans and trumpeter swans have also been reported across Kentucky. Swans are large, solid white birds with wingspans approaching 7 feet. They do not have stilted legs. Swans may not be hunted in Kentucky.
The crane was found just south of Zaunbrecher Road and north of Gueydan on November 2, 2014 with an apparent bullet wound to her upper left leg. The bird was transported to the LSU Vet School where she was euthanized on November 3. A necropsy result received on January 8, 2015 confirmed that the crane was shot in the leg.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Enforcement Division is looking for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the illegal killing of this Whooping Crane. A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered by various groups.
Anyone with information regarding this illegal killing should call the Louisiana Operation Game Thief hotline at 1-800-442-2511 or use LDWF’s tip411 program. To use the tip411 program, residents can text LADWF and their tip to 847411 or download the “LADWF Tips” iPhone and Android app from the Apple App Store or Google Play free of charge. The hotline and the tip411 are monitored 24 hours a day. Upon request, informants can remain anonymous.
“Anytime we lose one of these cranes it sets us back in our efforts to restore the Whooping Crane population to its historic levels in Louisiana,” said LDWF Secretary Robert Barham. “These cranes were once native birds to Louisiana and the department would like to see them thrive again in the future with a sustainable population.”
LDWF has released 64 Whooping Cranes since 2011 and are currently tracking 40 whooping cranes. The crane in this case had been released in January of 2014 and represents the sixth whooping crane found shot since the birds were released.
Operation Migration asks those concerned to share this guide on your social media pages. For those living near wetlands, please consider printing out a few and asking permission to post wherever they would get exposure – parking and visitor areas as well as observation platforms. Any and all help is appreciated in educating the public about Whooping Cranes.
The following was posted today on the International Crane Foundation’s website. Please read, pass along to others and get involved!
“The International Crane Foundation (ICF) is deeply concerned about the recent reports of Whooping Cranes being shot in Kentucky and Louisiana, adding to the frightening series of shootings of these highly endangered birds. In the past five years, at least 16 Whooping Cranes have been shot. These disturbing acts of vandalism have happened in all three Whooping Crane populations – from breeding grounds in Wisconsin, to wintering areas in Texas, and all along the cranes’ flyways. For the population re-introduced in the eastern U.S. migratory flyway, about 20% of all crane deaths have been from shootings – putting the future of this population at risk.
Court sentences to date have clearly been an insufficient deterrent to these shootings. In one case, a juvenile was charged in Indiana state court with a misdemeanor and a $1 fine. The actual cost of rearing and releasing one crane is estimated to be over $100,000. In a Texas case, prosecutors chose not to bring charges under the tougher Endangered Species Act, because a hunter who killed a Whooping Crane claimed to have mistaken it for a legally hunted Sandhill Crane. When the courts assign penalties that are woefully small compared with the value of Whooping Crane recovery efforts, they do not deter tragedies like this from happening in the future and they degrade the strength of the Endangered Species Act.…”
Get Involved! To get involved, contact your regional Fish & Wildlife office and US Attorney and urge them to apply the maximum possible penalties for those found guilty of shooting a Whooping Crane, or other endangered species.
Reward for information leading to arrest now at $16,000
“…Fifteen Whooping cranes have been shot in the eastern flyway by vandals or people who don’t believe the rules apply to them. It is hard to understand what motivates someone to shoot a whooping crane. Maybe it is ignorance of the law or an arrogant disregard for it. Some who have been caught, claimed they didn’t know what it was but that excuse is as indefensible as allowing someone that stupid to use a gun.
It is time consuming, tedious and expensive to place a reintroduced Whooping crane in the wild in a migratory situation. It took years of experiments to learn how to raise and breed them in captivity and a number of failed projects before we accumulated the knowledge to make them migratory. Each year since 2001 we have hatched a new generation, imprinted them at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, conditioned them to follow our aircraft in Wisconsin and led them 1200 miles to Florida. On average we add thirteen birds a year to the wild population so the fifteen that have been shot so far represents an entire year of hard work and the support of thousands of people just because someone wanted to kill something.
In the wildlife management community this kind of crime is officially known as thrill killing or wanton waste.…”
Help find the killer of the Hopkins Co. Whooping Cranes!
How to make individual donations to the Reward Fund
For individuals who would like to contribute to the reward fund it can be done through Operation Migration – the organization that has played a lead role in the reintroduction of endangered Whooping Cranes into eastern North America since 2001. The reward now stands at $15,250, read more here.
If you would like to contribute by credit card to the reward fund, please visit this link on the Operation Migration website. https://secure.operationmigration.org/np/clients/om/donation.jsp In the DONATION NOTE COMMENT FIELD, type “REWARD FUND” so that Operation Migration can designate accordingly.
Personal checks can also be made out to Operation Migration.
Please write in the memo line on the check REWARD FUND.
Mail to:
Operation Migration – USA
1623 Military Rd., PMB# 639
Niagara Falls, NY 14304-1745
Whooping cranes 5-09 and 33-07. Photo by Ted Thousand, International Crane Foundation
When asked specifics as to how the donations would be handled, Heather Ray, Director of Fund Development for Operation Migration gave the following answer:
“Donations collected which are specified to the reward fund will be held in our financial institution until such [time] they need to be paid.
IF nobody comes forward in this case, we will hold the funds until the next time a reward is offered (which we hope won’t happen!)
If after 5 years [when the statute of limitations ends for prosecution of this crime] we’ve had no rewards offered, we will use the funds for education and outreach to teach others about Whooping cranes.”
Two Whooping Cranes illegally shot
in Hopkins County, Kentucky – reward offered
Whooping Crane male #33-07. Photo courtesy of the International Crane Foundation
Anyone with information about the killings is urged to contact Special Agent Bob Snow at (502) 582-5989, ext. 29, or the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources dispatch at 1-800-25ALERT (800-252-5378). Read USFWS press release here.
Two Whooping cranes found dead and injured in Hopkins County, KY in November were likely shooting victims. The female of this pair, number 5-09, was discovered at the end of November with injuries and taken to a Kentucky rehabilitation center for surgery but later had to be euthanized.
The scavenged remains of male number 33-07 were found nearby. Bullet fragments from a rifle were discovered in crane 5-09 when the wildlife forensics lab in Oregon performed a necropsy, leading officials to surmise both Whooping cranes had been shot.
Whooping cranes #5-09 and #33-07 were both graduates of the Operation Migration aircraft-led migration release method. For the last three years the pair nested unsuccessfully in Adams County, WI. The mated pair was first reported in Hopkins County in January 2011. In 2012 they had returned to their Kentucky wintering grounds by November 30 where they remained until heading north to Wisconsin in March 2013. On the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) sponsored site “Journey North”, the last entry for both birds is “Fall 2013:Male #33-07 and his mate #5-09 again migrated south to Kentucky for the winter.”
Whooping Crane pair #5-09 and #33-07 shown nesting in Wisconsin. Photo: Eva Szyszkoski/ICF
Third Kentucky season ends with 87 Sandhill Cranes killed
Sunday January 12, 2014 was the last day of the 2013-2014 Sandhill Crane season in Kentucky. And, as in the two previous seasons, most of the birds were killed in Barren County. Sandhills killed by county: Barren Co. – 75; Hardin Co. – 3; LaRue Co. – 3; Todd Co. – 2; Allen Co. – 3; Adair Co. – 1
Sandhill Cranes flying at dusk in Oldham County, KY, January 8, 2014
During the 30-day season KDFWR issued only one press release reporting the presence of five Whooping Cranes (WHCR) – including a juvenile – in Hopkins County and one in Barren County. While the season did not stop, hunters were cautioned to be sure of their targets before shooting. The Hopkins County WHCRs remained in the area for the duration of the season with seven reported there on the last day of the hunt.
It seems Kentucky will not be applying to USFWS for “operational status” in the 2014-2015 season. Due to the fact that the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources will not have had the chance to completely assess all information received from hunters this season before an early February Flyways Council meeting. Therefore, the department plans to request a one year extension of the experimental season with no changes from the previous seasons.
Kentucky Sandhill Crane season begins Saturday December 14, 2013
Tomorrow begins the last in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 3-year experimental season on Sandhill Cranes in Kentucky. Based on data collected from the three seasons, it will be decided at the spring Flyways Council meetings whether the season continues in the state.
Currently, there are six Whooping Cranes present in Kentucky – in Hopkins and Barren counties. As part of its policy, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources provides the public with notification about the presence of whooping cranes in the state when sandhill crane season is open or about to begin. People drawn for a sandhill crane quota hunt must pass an online bird identification test before they may receive a permit.
The alert also mentions several large birds Whooping Cranes might be mistaken for – Snow Geese are white with black wingtips and Tundra Swans are large white birds – both currently in the state along with Sandhills.
Hunters should always be sure of their target before firing a gun, regardless of the species being hunted. – Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
“Next steps” after third-year Sandhill Crane experimental season ends?
Sandhill Crane, Barren KY. Photo by David L. Roemer
On Feb. 1, 2013, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) Wildlife Committee received a staff update on the 2012-2013 Sandhill Crane (SACR) hunting season, the second season of a 3-year experiment.
On February 6 the following “next steps?” questions were sent to Commissioner Dr. Jon Gassett and all the Wildlife Committee members. The purpose of this being a continued effort to get answers to share with and involve the public in the discussion of what happens after the 2013-2014 (third year) experimental season ends?
What scientific methodology and criteria will be used for evaluating and documenting KDFWR’s 3-year experimental hunting season of the Eastern Population of the Sandhill Crane?
What measures are being taken to monitor and protect endangered Whooping Cranes that migrate with the Sandhill Cranes during hunting season?
How will information from KDFWR’s study, “Monitoring Migrating and Wintering Sandhill Cranes in Cecilia” (Erin Harper, KDFWR Research Highlights 2011) be incorporated in the policy decision on the 3-year experimental hunt? Study completion date is June 30, 2013.
How will the information and decision-making be shared with the public?
Which governmental bodies will be involved in the rule-making process to continue the hunt?
What will be the timeframe for the public comment period about the 3-year experimental hunt:
a) at the Flyway Commissions level relating to the 2010 Management Plant for the Eastern Population of the Sandhill Cranes;
b) at KDFWR at the Committee and Commission levels;
c) before the Kentucky Legislative Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee; and
d) in the Federal Register?
Rocky Pritchert, KDFWR Manager of the Migratory Bird Branch, addressed the submitted questions. In a nutshell, the state and federal process/timeline to move from an experimental three-year SACR season to a permanent season here in Kentucky is the same as was followed in 2010 when KDFWR pushed to start a Sandhill season.
It appears the key time for public input is at the February/March Flyways Council meetings (information for submitting comments will be posted as soon as available) before everything is signed off on and a done deal – making review by subsequent committees seemingly just a formality.
“At the flyway level, the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyway Councils Technical Section’s Webless Migratory Bird Committees review the Kentucky season each February, as set forth by the EP Management Plan [Management Plan for the Eastern Population of Sandhill Cranes]. Comments regarding the management plan and Kentucky’s season would be considered during these meetings. Recommendations involving the EP Plan and Kentucky’s hunting season will be reviewed by the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways Councils in March of each year. Flyway council meetings are open to the public. Comments addressing specific issues can be presented in person at the flyway council meeting or in writing by submission to the presiding council chairman.” – Response to question 6a
Aransas-Wood Population of Whooping Cranes threatened by North Dakota Wind Project
Whooping Cranes by Laura Erickson
Seventy-six groups led by American Bird Conservancy (ABC), one of the nation’s leading bird conservation organizations, have called on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the possible consequences of the proposed North Dakota, Merricourt Wind Project to the endangered Whooping Crane. FWS is considering issuing the first-ever Incidental Take Permit (ITP) to a wind farm for the killing of endangered Whooping Cranes and threatened Piping Plovers.
The project proposes to build approximately 100 turbines and 33 miles of access roads within a 22,400-acre area. Wetland stopover habitat is located in the project area and used during both spring and fall migration by all of the highly endangered Aransas-Wood Buffalo population of Whooping Cranes. FWS has already stated that the “mortality of any birds in such a small population also represents a loss of genetic material and represents a setback for recovery efforts.” Because of a recent change in the methodology of counting the cranes in this population, DOI does not even know with any degree of certainty, how many of these Whooping Cranes are actually left. Read the entire story here.
For those of us in Kentucky who are having a hard time understanding how a Sandhill Crane season and the well-being of the eastern migratory population of Whooping Cranes can possibly work together, the following is a thin ray of light in a dark landscape.
A wetland restoration project completed by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) on nearly 900 acres of former cropland in western Kentucky has attracted a pair of Whooping Cranes! According to the USDA post, the cranes have been on the conservation easement since December 2012. Kudos to the work done by NRCS to restore the bottomland hardwood wetlands into a haven for migratory wildlife, and to the landowner for putting it into a conservation easement.
“The season for sandhill cranes does not close based on the presence of whooping cranes in the state”
The headline and following response is by Rocky Pritchert, CWB Manager, Migratory Bird Branch, KDFWR to the question of whether Kentucky had a plan in place to stop the Sandhill hunt if Whooping Cranes were reported in the state?
“As you know, the whooping cranes that migrate through Kentucky are part of an experimental release effort conducted by the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) of which KDFWR is a partner. KDFWR and I have supported this project since WCEP’s inception. The WCEP recognizes the potential for sandhill crane hunting in eastern North America and does not advocate against legal hunting activity. Legal hunting activity does not pose a threat to the success of the project.
KDFWR is following the protocol of our Sandhill Crane Hunting Plan. This protocol was reviewed and approved by the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the lead agency responsible for the eastern whooping crane recovery effort. KDFWR carefully considered the issue of whooping cranes when developing our hunt plan. We have taken a number of steps to minimize the impact of a sandhill crane hunting season on whooping cranes. Some of these actions are similar to those used in Kansas where whooping cranes from the truly “wild” population may be present. These steps include, but are not limited to:
Delaying season opening until mid-December. The mid-December opening day is two weeks after the primary movement of fall migrating and Operation Migration lead whooping cranes.
Hunters who apply for a permit must take and pass a bird identification test before that permit will be issued.
Shooting hours are delayed until sunrise to ensure adequate light to assist in species identification.
If a whooping crane is reported in the state during the hunting season, KDFWR will issue a news release alerting hunters of possible presence within the region but we encourage them to be vigilant at all times.…”
A Whooping Crane (WHCR) was reported on December 12, before the 2012-2013 season began, at the Sloughs WMA near Henderson, KY (WMA is closed to the public until March 15, 2013). This area attracts large numbers of snow geese, ducks and therefore hunters. The two WHCRs reported in Hopkins County had left the state, according to WCEP, by December 10, 2012.
Ongoing Concern for Eastern Migratory Population of Whooping Cranes
Whooping Crane photographed through windshield, Henderson KY, December 12 2012. Photo by Charles Crawford.
There is continuing, widespread concern concerning the safety of Whooping Cranes during the Kentucky hunt season as Sandhills and Whoopers often migrate together (on December 12, a Whooping Crane was photographed in Henderson, KY). While it is required by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to take and pass an on-line ID test prior to being issued a season permit, there is no guarantee a Whooper won’t accidentally be shot during low light conditions, misidentified plumage in juveniles, etc.
Hunters are directed to check daily by calling or monitoring the KDFWR website for updates as to the presence of Whooping Cranes in the state. While it is a good idea to close hunting when Whooping Cranes are present to prevent accidental shootings, it remains to be seen as to how well that works. The Eastern Migratory Population of Whooping Cranes is considered by USFWS as “experimental, non-essential” because the birds are part of a reintroduction program. They, therefore, are not classified as endangered as is the case with the Mid-continent Population – the Aransas/Wood Buffalo Population – that migrates between Canada and Aransas, Texas.
The EMP is highly sensitive to adult mortality and accidental shootings could easily cause the EMP to decline. Currently, there are 115 Whooping Cranes in the eastern U.S. thanks to the reintroduction program of Operation Migration and the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).
Hunting could hurt genetic diversity
of Eastern population Sandhill cranes
Sandhill Crane, Barren KY. Photo by David L. Roemer
With the first of a three-year, experimental Kentucky season on Sandhill Cranes just ended, a Wisconsin lawmaker has introduced a bill to allow hunting of the species in his state. At the heart of the bill is the alleged issue of crop predation by the cranes.
A red flag has been raised by Wisconsin scientists. In a recent study by avian genetics specialists at the University of Wisconsin, findings suggest genetic diversity may be key to long-term survival rates and stability of the eastern population of Sandhill cranes (differs genetically from western Sandhills). Any hunt could adversely effect this vulnerable population only now rebounding from near extinction in the early 20th century. Read more about the research here.
Prior to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of 1918, sandhill cranes were “harvested” in an unregulated fashion, so that by the beginning of the 20th century the North American population had plummeted to an extraordinary low. The MBTA established protection for birds from uncontrolled hunting activities, and as a direct result, the
crane population slowly began to rebound.
The Sandhill Cranes that migrate through Kentucky each spring and fall are part of
the “Eastern Population” (EP), nesting primarily in southern Ontario, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and formerly wintering primarily in central Florida. However, in recent years, increasing numbers have short-stopped in migration to winter at places like Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge near Chattanooga, Tennessee and at Barren River Lake (making use of exposed mudflats) in south-central Kentucky.
This increase over the last decade in the eastern population of Sandhills prompted USFWS and the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways Councils to approve a hunting season on the formerly protected, migratory species that has taken almost a century –
97 YEARS! – to recover from being hunted.
However, according to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) this hunt will have no negative impact on the eastern population of Sandhill Cranes or effect wildlife viewing opportunities. A point that would probably be argued
by the 400-500 cranes that may die this season, and by those opposed to the hunt (thousands of individuals not only from Kentucky but almost every state in the eastern United States), and shown otherwise by scientific data presented by the International Crane Foundation.
It is our hope that the other states in the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways will make the right decision and celebrate Sandhill Cranes as a wildlife-watching resource rather than game bird.
So now, with heavy hearts, Kentuckians will scan the skies hoping for a glimpse of swirling cranes usually long preceded by their haunting, gurgling garoo calls – bookends to the seasons – and wish them safe journey.
