Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
A sandhill crane stand near the roadside of M-28, near Bergland, on July 23. Their long legs were hidden in the tall grass.
By P.J. GLISSON
Sandhill cranes are an awesome sight and - in recent times - an increasingly likely one in U.P. counties.
That's good news for bird enthusiasts but bad news for farmers.
The Michigan branch of the National Audubon Society reports that sandhill cranes are the state's oldest and largest bird, standing at up to five feet tall and with wing spans that may stretch about six feet wide. Their bodies are in neutral shades of tan and gray, but their heads feature a vivid red cap.
According to website facts by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the birds - which have striking long necks and long legs - like wetland plants and insects, along with amphibians, but also "can be found feeding on seeds and grains in agricultural fields."
U.P. farmers have begun to complain, so Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township, introduced Resolution No. 20 earlier this year, asking that the eastern population of sandhill cranes be declared a game species so that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service might consider a related hunting season.
State legislative records show that, on Feb. 25, the same day the resolution was introduced, it was referred to a hearing by the Natural Resources Committee. A revised resolution followed on March 18.
Ever since, said McBroom in a Monday phone interview, the COVID-19 pandemic and general state budget priorities have kept it in continuing limbo.
Opinions, however, continue in force.
On its own site, Michigan Audubon reports that sandhill cranes "are numerous," and it further shares that the North American Breeding Bird Survey shows that "populations increased by about 4.5% per year between 1966 and 2014."
In McBroom's resolution, he states that a 2020 U.S. FWS survey "estimated 18,874 cranes in Michigan prior to fall migration" next to 13,352 in the previous year.
However, Michigan Audubon issued a March 2 letter to McBroom, offering the following six-point response as to why the birds should not be hunted:
1. Sandhill crane population numbers are not accurate.
2. Hunting them would have a negative ecological impact.
3. Michigan's cranes are a source for neighboring populations that are vulnerable.
4. The birds have cultural, historical value.
5. Bird-watching is a lucrative element of the economy, and
6. Michigan farmers can get a special permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to mitigate conflicts; one deterrent is Avipel, as suggested by the International Crane Foundation.
McBroom, whose Senate District 38 covers the western two-thirds of the U.P., said he is advocating for the agricultural community, the sporting community and residents in general.
Regarding farmers, the senator said, "They see a tremendous amount of damage."
McBroom, who has a dairy farm in Dickinson County, said he has seen evidence of sandhill cranes disturbing corn growth on his own property.
"They'll root up little babies," he claimed of the plantings. "Just two birds can destroy 10 acres of corn easily."
Regarding associated costs, he said, "If you think about a corn field and it costing a couple thousand to plant an acre, and then you have to go and replant."
It's even worse, he said, when the birds "just pluck here and there." Then, he said, your attempts to mitigate the situation will result in having to "trample over what is growing."
McBroom said he has had good results from using Avipel to protect corn crops on his own property.
"It's been very helpful for me," he said. "It does help a lot with corn."
The downsides are, he said, the deterrent is "very pricy" and there is a threat that it could be removed from the market.
The senator added that Avipel cannot be used for other crops such as pumpkin or potatoes.
Moreover, he said there used to be another deterrent available for pumpkin growers, but it's no longer on the market.
Meanwhile, he said that - last year alone - a single U.P. potato farmer had 15 tons of damage from sandhill cranes.
"Grain production is even harder to calculate," he added, in relation to losses. That's because, he said, it's hard to know exactly how much that sandhill cranes are eating.
McBroom also told the Globe that, although farmers do have a right to request a permit to eliminate sandhill cranes that threaten crops, the process takes money and time.
He added that the farmer then may have to sit extendedly before having success in shooting even one bird.
"That might be the only one who comes in all day," said McBroom.
Hence, he called the process "unproductive" and added, "It's a lot easier to find guys who want to hunt for sport."
The senator said the permit also does not allow the birds to be eaten. "You have to let them lay and rot," he said.
Officials would prefer to avoid any incentive for shooting beyond the protection of crops. "I think it's born out of fear that it would lead to poaching," said McBroom.
The senator's initial hope was to facilitate a spring hunting season. "I would rather confront them in the spring when they're actually disturbing my crops," he said.
However, federal law forbids a spring hunting season, and since then, he said, critics have argued that an alternative fall season would not help the issues in spring.
McBroom disagrees. "We manage our deer population with fall hunting," he said, while adding that the same is true for geese and turkeys.
Therefore, he said the claim that fall hunting would serve no purpose in managing sandhill cranes is "unscientific."
While McBroom's resolution remains in a holding pattern, an MDNR spokesman based in Marquette provided his department's statement in a July 30 email to the Globe.
"There is no current proposal to hunt sandhill cranes in Michigan, and establishing a hunt is not a priority for the DNR," noted John Pepin, Deputy Public Relations Officer.
Moreover, he added, "The decision to hunt this species would not rest solely with the state of Michigan. Michigan's sandhill cranes are part of the eastern population of greater sandhill cranes."
Hence, he continued, "Their management falls within the purview of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with recommendations from the Mississippi Flyway Council, a formal advisory council comprised of 17 states."
Pepin concluded that the DNR "will continue to monitor the sandhill crane population in Michigan and seek solutions to human conflicts related to this species."
McBroom's resolution points out that the birds are classified as a game species under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1916 and are hunted in Minnesota, Tennessee and Kentucky.
Moreover, he assured that the Michigan's Natural Resources Commission also supports his resolution. The Michigan United Conservation Clubs also stands behind it.
In addition, McBroom said that, if he can get the resolution out of the Senate, he expects significant backing from the state's House of Representatives.
The senator emphasized that he is not trying to "mandate" a hunting season. Rather, he is merely asking for the FWS to consider enacting one for sandhill cranes under NRC control.
In the 20th Century, conservationists said the birds were threatened by a combination of wetland loss and hunting, but McBroom said numbers of sandhill cranes have grown considerably since that time.
He said that, when he was young in the 1980s and 1990s, "We would see two or four every year."
He concluded, "Now, we see hundreds and it's becoming a problem."
