Chuk’shon Earth First! wants sandhill crane hunt killed
by Jessica Monday, Jan. 31, 2005 at 6:44 AM

Conflicts over Arizona wildlife policy heat up as a local environmental group again takes on Arizona Game and Fish Department. AGFD will have a public meeting February 2, 2005 where anyone can comment on the agency’s hunting guidelines. The meeting is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. at AGFD Tucson Regional Office, 555. N. Greasewood Road.

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Birders attending the 12th Annual Wings Over Willcox sandhill crane festival in January didn't expect to end up face-to-face with pictures of mutilated cranes being thrown into a hunter's truck by the neck.

In fact, may were taken back by the idea that sandhill cranes are legally hunted in Southern Arizona at all.

"I'm shocked. I can't imagine the beautiful creatures being hunted,” said Marylyn Pense, a Willcox resident. "I've lived here eight years and never knew.”

The Tucson-based radical environmentalist group, Chuk'shon Earth First!, wants a moratorium on the sandhill crane hunt. "It seems selfish to hunt the cranes,” said Rod Coronado, Earth First! member and long time animal rights activist. "Many people appreciate the birds without killing them.”

Last fall, Arizona Game and Fish Department issued 311 permits to hunt sandhill cranes. Each permit allows two birds to be killed. Depending on the season, hunters armed with rifle or bow and arrow conceal themselves in harvested cornfields where the cranes often land to eat dry corn kernels. As part of their mission to manage wildlife and recreation – including hunting – AGFD organizes and regulates the hunts.

Four to five foot tall, lanky 12 pound birds, the sandhill cranes are a striking sight to see and to some, an adventure to hunt. Sandhill cranes are native to North America and migrate from southern Mexico to Canada. It is estimated that more than 31,000 spend the winter at the wetlands in the Sulfur Valley. Their cousin, the Whooping Crane, is highly endangered. A subspecies, the greater sandhill crane, is believed to have a decreasing population.

The sandhill crane festival attracted between 700 – 1,000 bird enthusiasts to take part in bird tours, seminars, lectures and arts and crafts. The festival is organized by the Willcox Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, but is co-sponsored by many organizations including AGFD. Birders who come from all over the world bring in tens of thousands of dollars into the small down.

Earth First! accuses AGFD of hypocrisy because the agency helps hunters kill cranes in the fall – then provides financial and volunteer support for Wings over Willcox in January.

Tom Whetten, AGFD information officer for Region 5, does not believe their crane philosophy is inconsistent. "We are not two faced at all. We manage all species in Arizona for the public to use in the hunting sense and in the birding sense. While yes we sponsor hunting, we also support five birding festivals,” Whetten said.

Whetten, an avid birder and photographer, leads birding tours during the festival. "I love the sound they make. The first time I saw them was in 1996 I fell in love with them,” Whetten said. Whetten sits on the board of directors for Wings over Willcox and was the featured artist at the festival this year.

"I am blown away by how beautiful the sandhill cranes are,” Coronado said. "I can't understand how anyone could kill them.”

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service monitors the sandhill cranes' populations. If the population is considered "healthy,” sport hunt seasons are then granted and regulated by state agencies. Sandhill cranes are hunted in twelve other states including Texas, Wyoming and Alaska. In 2003, USFWS estimated that 31,380 sandhills were killed in North America.

Early Morning Direct Action

Sandhill crane lovers who joined the tours could have had a much different bird watching experience last November with Earth First!.

During each of the sandhill crane hunting seasons, Earth First! members snuck into the corn fields hours before dawn to hide themselves among dead corn stalks, tall grasses and scrubby mesquites. Dressed in camouflage and equipped with binoculars and mirrors, Coronado and others were prepared to keep the cranes from landing near the hunters. By reflecting the sun and rapid body movement (laying down or crouched), they scared many birds away from shooting range.

"I cannot tolerate sport hunting, people freely blasting animals,” Coronado said. "I'll be out there interfering regardless of population numbers.”

As soon as the first morning light began to soften the silhouette of the Chiricahua Mountains in perfect stillness, thousands of Sandhill cranes would fly overhead in large v-formations towards foraging areas north. Their loud stuttering rattle, garrooooo garrooooo, could be heard more than a mile away.

Gripping their rifles, the hunters had no idea that their hunt was sabotaged.

Bringing the blood to the table

With video documentation of cranes being shot out of the sky and hunters dissecting them at the AGFD check station, Earth First! attended Wings over Willcox to share with bird lovers what happens to the cranes just two months prior. Equipped this time with documentation, literature, t-shirts, postcards to send to Governor Janet Napolitano, and cookies to sell, Earth First! set up a table to greet the public. Behind them a banner read, "AzGFD: Killing Cranes is not a Sport.”

Although Earth First! had permission to set up a table at the festival, their presence intensified tensions with AGFD. While out leading a birding tour, Whetten was available for comment.

"Mr. Coronado takes a hard stance against hunting and we feel differently. We live in a great country and have the right to disagree,” Whetten said.

While AGFD employees were out in the field most of the day leading bird tours, festival visitors interacted with the animal rights group.

"I can't believe a bird they worked to bring back is now allowed to be killed,” said Bill Hall, a Mesa resident. "I used to be a hunter, but now I only shoot with my camera.”

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918 prohibited sandhill cranes from being killed due to their low numbers. By 1961, the populations had recovered enough to allow experimental hunting seasons.

Another bird lover, Sandy Anderson, was upset with Earth First! for having graphic photos of dead cranes on their table.

"I sympathize with what you are doing, but you are going to get a bad reputation using gruesome photos to get support,” Anderson said. Anderson, an educator with the Gray Hawk Nature Center, was concerned that Earth First!'s presentation might lead to a public relations problem for AGFD, which she thought may ultimately result in top AGFD officials in Phoenix pulling financial support for Wings Over Willcox. Such an act would punish the bird lovers, she said. "This festival only exists because of big agency money,” Anderson said.

Anderson suggested rather Earth First! members should go through more conventional channels by bringing their concerns to the AGFD commission. Coronado responded by saying that Earth First! was taking policy routes such as planning to attend public meetings and soliciting birders to mail yellow postcards to Napolitano encouraging her to put a moratorium on the crane hunt.

Coronado even purchased a crane permit last year to prevent another hunter from buying one.

Whetten did eventually stop by the Earth First! table, but didn't comment.

Future likely to see more confrontations

The campaign to end the crane hunt is likely to deepen the ongoing conflict between Earth First! and AGFD on Arizona wildlife policy. In March 2004, Earth First! intervened in the Sabino Canyon mountain lion hunt when AGFD captured and shot mountain lions that were suspected of threatening hikers in the recreation area. Coronado was arrested on federal trespassing charges and awaits trial.

On March 25, 2004, Whetten forcefully ejected Daniel Patterson, an ecologist with the Center for Biological Diversity, from a AGFD mountain lion press conference. AGFD Supervisor Gerry Perry made a statement that environmental organizations should pay the cost for removing the lions and Patterson spoke up saying no environmentalists supported lions being relocated.

Members of Earth First! also engage in sabotaging bear, deer and prairie dog hunts.

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Cranes flying overhead
by Jessica Lee Monday, Jan. 31, 2005 at 6:45 AM

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Each morning at sunrise, hundreds of sandhill cranes fly in formation to harvested cornfields where they forrage for food.

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Watching the hunters
by Jessica Lee Monday, Jan. 31, 2005 at 6:45 AM

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EarthFirsters! hide near a cornfield, keeping an eye on hunters and scaring the cranes away from landing within shooting range.

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Hiding hunter
by Jessica Lee Monday, Jan. 31, 2005 at 6:45 AM

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One hunter hides behind an irrigation line, using decoys to entice the cranes flying overhead to land.

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Hunter takes home his catch
by Jessica Lee Monday, Jan. 31, 2005 at 6:45 AM

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A hunter brings his murdered crane back to his truck. Each permit allows a hunter to bag two birds.

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