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Thread: AL to have Sandhill Crane Hunts

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    Wateree, South Carolina
    Posts
    48,811

    Default AL to have Sandhill Crane Hunts

    Following in the footsteps of Kentucky and Tennessee, Alabama will become the third state east of the Mississippi River to allow hunting of sandhill cranes.

    Sandhill cranes were once hunted to near extinction. Hunting for sandhill crane in the United States was closed in 1916. But laws were passed protecting these migratory birds and their wetland habitats, along with intensive restoration efforts. Since then populations began rebounding and more recently their range continues to expand.

    Alabama waterfowl biologist Seth Maddox says the average population of sandhills wintering in Alabama stays around 15,000 birds. Most are concentrated in the vicinity of the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge near Decatur with some sandhills wintering near the Crow Creek Refuge near Bridgeport and some wintering around Weiss Lake.

    Alabama will distribute 1,200 tags to 400 hunters (3 tags per hunter) via a drawing. However the drawing will ONLY be open to Alabama residents. Non-residents will not be allowed to participate initially.

    "Since we have relatively few tags to distribute we wanted to limit the opportunity to residents only," said Maddox.

    The season will open Dec. 3, 2019 and be open until Jan. 31, 2020. Residents from anywhere in Alabama can apply but hunting will only be allowed in the northern portion of the state - between the Georgia and Mississippi border, north of Interstate 20 and Interstate 22.

    The Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division began conducting crane counts in 2010 as part of their annual aerial waterfowl surveys. Sandhill crane numbers in Alabama have increased an average of 16% per year over the past 10 years, with the latest 5-year average of 15,029 birds.

    Information regarding sandhill crane hunts and the registration process will be provided through the website www.outdooralabama.com in the coming months.

    https://newschannel9.com/sports/outd...andhill-cranes

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Lexington
    Posts
    1,888

    Default

    Buddy of mine lives in Guntersville. Was telling me about it the other day. He’s already got permission to hunt several farms that traditionally have cranes. North Alabama is a good place to see Whooping cranes too.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    SC
    Posts
    7,444

    Default

    Killed a bunch of them. Fuck them nasty bastards
    .
    80-20 Genaration

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