On March 3, 2021, the Michigan Senate Natural Resources Committee (not to be confused with the Michigan Natural Resources Commission, or NRC) met and heard Senator McBroom’s Senate Resolution 20, a proposal to encourage the Commission to designate the Sandhill Crane as a game species in Michigan and seek U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approval to establish a Sandhill Crane hunting season. This would effectively allow a hunting season each fall in our state at a time when Sandhill Cranes from various flyways are migrating throughout North America.

Michigan Audubon and several other invested groups and individuals provided written and verbal testimonies in opposition to the resolution. The long-standing friction between wildlife protection and conservation groups and traditional hook-and-bullet groups was palpable at the hearing. Any mention of human dimensions or ethics by anti-resolution groups was quickly dismissed by McBroom, who also chairs the committee.

In introducing the resolution, Senator Ed McBroom didn’t cite or quote his proposal to the committee. Rather, he described the intent behind this push as an ethical dilemma. The reason behind the proposal to hunt cranes in our state allegedly lies in the fact that although depredation permits are already being issued for problematic cranes on farms, these permits still do not allow for birds to be consumed if killed since they are not on the list of game species.

At the end of the hearing on March 3, the committee did not vote the proposal out of committee to the Commission for review. The resolution reportedly did not move forward due to alleged errors and discrepancies in reported crane numbers and in the language of SR 20. The issue has been tabled until further notice.

Michigan Audubon’s collaborative work with other groups and experts, including wildlife biologists, ornithologists, and ecologists, will help us develop advocacy work that matches the unique issues related to bird conservation and wildlife management that connect to our mission.

We invite you to stay tuned to our Jack Pine Warbler member magazine and to our eNews as we develop content to further dispute the double standard of ethics and the multitude of other inconsistencies in the resolution. Thank you to everyone who took time from their busy lives to call and email their representatives, the committee, and Michigan Audubon. We will keep our supporters informed of future developments with the fate of Sandhill Cranes in our state and appreciate your continued support!

UPDATE: SR 20 is on the Senate Natural Resources Committee meeting agenda on March 17, which begins at 8:30 a.m. You can find a live stream of the meeting at https://misenate.viebit.com/index.php?folder=ALL.

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Featured photo: Sandhill Cranes by Tom Haxby