[kach22i]

This topic has been in the news here lately.

Oct. 18, 2017
'Ribeye of the sky?' House recommends sandhill crane hunt in Michigan
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/10/18/michigan-sandhill-crane-hunt/777408001/

Beloved by bird-watchers — and perhaps less so by farmers — the sandhill crane may be a step closer to becoming a hunted bird species in Michigan.

The state House of Representatives, in a voice vote and without debate, on Wednesday passed a resolution urging the state Natural Resources Commission to establish a sandhill crane hunting season in Michigan...............................

“While we recognize that Sandhill Cranes inflict crop damage, an open hunting season is not the solution,” Michigan Audubon executive director Heather Good said in a statement.

“Opening a fall season to hunt sandhill cranes won’t address farmers’ concerns — a localized, site-specific issue — in the spring. Recently-seeded corn fields are an attractive food source for cranes, and broadly reducing the population does not change that. Newly developed, non-toxic chemical seed coatings have the potential to redirect Sandhill Cranes to consume insect pests in corn fields and avoid the seed, resulting in a win-win for farmers.”

The state Natural Resources Commission has not scheduled any action to consider establishing a sandhill crane hunt, but “the DNR continues to monitor sandhill crane populations in Michigan and to provide information to the commission regarding the species,” DNR spokesman Edward Golder said Wednesday.

Corn fed Crane.................