Are people going to apply for permits and not use them like they did
before????
On Mon, Jul 16, 2018 at 3:09 PM, Aborn, David <David-Aborn@xxxxxxx> wrote:
From Chattanooga station WTVC:
“The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has finalized the details for the
2018 sandhill crane hunting season permit allotment. They are increasing
the number of sandhill crane harvest tags to a total of 2,711, up from
2,300 tags allotted last hunting season.
This year TWRA will issue 479 permits (each permit allowing three cranes
per hunter per season) for the Southeast Tennessee hunting zone. There will
be a handheld drawing for the permits on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018. However,
after an overflow crowd poured into the Birchwood Community Center last
year, the Agency is moving the handheld drawing.
This year's drawing will be held at Rhea County High School, 885 Eagle
Lane, Evansville, TN 37332
<https://maps.google.com/?q=885+Eagle+Lane,+Evansville,+TN+37332&entry=gmail&source=g>.
TWRA Biologist Ben Layton says signup will begin at 8 am (EDT) and the
drawing will begin at 10 am.
In addition to the permits issued specifically for the Southeast Tennessee
zone, TWRA will hold a computerized drawing for 637 permits good statewide.
Those permits will only allow hunters two cranes per season (increased from
one per season in 2017). The application period for the computerized
drawing is from Sept 5-16, 2018. There is a $12 fee for the computerized
drawing (plus agent or credit card fees).
This is the sixth year for the permit drawing and for the annual sandhill
crane hunting season in Tennessee. The first three years of the season,
fewer than 400 people attended the drawing for the allotted 400 permits,
meaning everyone went away successful. In 2016 421 people showed up for the
handheld drawing, meaning only 21 people didn't receive a permit. Last
year, however, 558 hunters showed up for the handheld drawing resulting in
the overflow crowd and 158 people were not selected for a hunting permit.
Tags are not valid until a 2017 “Sandhill Crane ID Test” validation code
is written on the tag. The purpose of the test is to improve hunter’s
awareness of and ability to distinguish between sandhill cranes and other
protected species, such as whooping cranes, which may be encountered while
hunting.
The 2018-2019 sandhill crane hunting season will open Dec. 1 and close
Jan. 27, 2019 EXCEPT it will be closed from Jan. 18-20 in the southeast
zone when the annual Sandhill Crane Festival is being held.
The sandhill crane hunt has inspired at least two new guide businesses in
the area. Double HH Outfitters is a guide service based in Dayton, Tenn.
catering exclusively to sandhill crane hunters.
Jason Jackson, a guide for Double HH Outfitters said, "I love watching
people get excited and love watching the birds decoy in. When the birds cup
up and commit and hit the ground, it's a rush."
Jackson Oster operates Always Somethin' Outdoors (ASO), another new
business created to guide hunters on sandhill crane hunts in Southeast
Tennessee.
The management of the migratory sandhill cranes ultimately rests with the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Biologists estimate that at least 30,000
sandhill cranes, often more, winter in southeast Tennessee. Many of those
birds are concentrated on the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in Meigs County and
on the Yuchi Wildlife Refuge in Rhea County. However the big birds fan out
to feed across several counties and even the Sequatchie Valley.
Of course the actual harvest of cranes is far less than permits issued. In
general there are roughly 1.5 sandhill cranes taken per hunter.
The birds make excellent table fare. Many hunters commonly refer to
sandhill cranes as "ribeye in the sky."
