Cranes are one of the largest birds to call Wisconsin home. It is hard to miss the unmistakable sounds of a Sandhill or Whopping crane call and their large shape gliding overhead when in flight.
The International Crane Foundation was founded in Baraboo fifty years ago to conserve cranes and protect their habitat. Anne Lacy serves as the Foundations Director of Eastern Flyway Programs in North America. She focuses on Sandhill and Whooping cranes, the only two crane species in North America.
She acknowledges that cranes can cause crop damage and the Foundation wants to work with farmers to prevent crop loss. One of the primary ways they work with farmers is encouraging the use of seed treatment that stops birds from eating newly planted corn seed. The primary seed deterrent is Avipel.
“It is very imperative that farmers treat their corn fields with that taste deterrent,” said Lacy. This seed deterrent allows cranes to thrive on other food sources without causing crop loss.
When asked if a hunting season would help prevent crop damage, Lacy disagreed. “A hunting season discussion needs to be completely separate from a crop damage conversation,” she said. According to Lacy, the current population of cranes is not enough for a season to make a significant impact on the population. She said, “The revenue generated from a hunting season that would go into the crop damage compensation program would be very little.”
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