Hap--and Ky Birders, Can this really be true? What do KY Birders think about it? Killing Sandhill Cranes in TN is one of the most absurd things I have heard in a long time. Preston Forsythe in Muhlenberg Co., KY -------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: HapC1@xxxxxxx To: birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Saturday, September 04, 2010 10:31 PM Subject: [birdky] Thoughts on Sandhill Crane Hunting issue I asked Jimmy Wilkerson if I could forward his recent email to TNbirds to Birdky. This is an issue that is also relevant in KY. Hap Chambers Murray, KY Fellow Birders, The Friday's issue of the "Times Free Press" here in Chattanooga ran a front page story on the proposed Sandhill Crane hunt. I did a little research and am able to document that if TWRA does go through with the hunt as planned, there will be 733 drawing winners who will be allowed to harvest 3 cranes each. At least in the first hunt season. The only way to purchase a license in Tennessee is by buying a combination hunting/fishing permit. You can't buy just either the hunting or the fishing license. The cost is $28.00 annually (Feb. to Feb.) A hunter also has to purchase an additional permit to hunt waterfowl which costs an additional $31.00. Now lets do some math! 733 lucky hunters will be allowed to harvest three each cranes. That's 2,199 total birds. If the 733 lucky hunters have not already purchased their waterfowl permit they would have to do so in order to hunt Sandhill Cranes. So, 733 hunters multiplied by $31.00 each equals $22,723.00 EXTRA dollars TWRA would stand to earn for the 2011-2012 hunting season. That works out to a grand total of $10.34 per bird. I propose we start a web-site much like Operation Migration has and sponser a bird for an X amount of money and send the proceeds to TWRA so they can have their $22,723.00 and stop this non sense about hunting our Sandhill Cranes in The Great State of Tennessee. Jimmy Wilkerson Hixson, TN