A new federal plan will grant state wildlife officers the ability to control local populations of double-crested cormorants. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:
Transcript
A new federal plan will grant state wildlife officers the ability to control local populations of
double-crested cormorants. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:
Double-crested cormorants are big fish eaters. And the birds have wreaked havoc on game fish
populations throughout the Great Lakes.
Up until now, states needed a federal permit to disturb or destroy the cormorant eggs and the
birds themselves. A new federal plan will allow agencies in 24 states to control the cormorants
on their own.
Shawna Hanisch is a biologist with U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
“It allows them to carry out control more quickly. They don’t have to go through the permit
process. And if there’s a problem, they want to prevent it before it even gets started, you know,
before it becomes a serious problem, they can go ahead and take action.”
Hanisch is quick to point out that state and tribal officials are the only people allowed to kill or
disturb the birds.
The service ruled against a cormorant hunting season.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.