State Panel Ponders Sandhill Crane Hunt Commission May Open Hunt To Sportsmen Instead Of Game Officers

Members of the Idaho Fish and Game Commission will decide later this month whether to go ahead with plans to let hunters kill crop-eating sandhill cranes in eastern Idaho, under restrictions laid down by an interstate council of migratory bird managers.

Sandhill cranes have been damaging crops, so the Fish and Game Department decided to allow conservation officers and Animal Damage Control workers kill up to 20 cranes this fall.

But the Pacific Flyway Council of game managers from 11 Western states, said it would allow the kill only if public hunters can do it.

Idaho previously has asked for “kill permits” for its officers rather than hunting licenses for the public. The council has refused because Idaho wasn’t using the public hunt it was entitled to.

This year, Idaho asked for hunting permits but only for wildlife officers so they could target problem birds rather than letting hunters kill birds randomly.

The latest decision, issued Sunday in Kansas City, means the council won’t stand for anything but a public hunt.

“We’ve tried everything to answer the farmers’ concerns,” said Jeff Siddoway, Fish and Game commissioner. “Now we’re to the point where I think we’ll probably make the decision to go ahead with the sportsman’s hunt.”

That means the department would have to issue permits by month’s end, and monitor the hunt closely to make sure no endangered whooping cranes are killed.

A few birds from an unsuccessful attempt to establish a whooping crane population in the region still return to Idaho. In recent years, only two whoopers have been spotted in eastern Idaho, waterfowl manager Gary Will said.

Opponents are considering legal action to block a crane hunt, in part because the commission acted last month without public notice.