# Rich County Sandhill Crane



## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

If you drew a tag, and need access - let me know and I can help with access to fields.


----------



## SidVicious (Aug 19, 2014)

That's a great offer! I wish I drew this year. Those birds are so good to eat.


----------



## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

SidVicious said:


> That's a great offer! I wish I drew this year. Those birds are so good to eat.


Yeah, I wish I drew as well. I struck out here in Utah and in Wyoming for crane, but I did get two tags for Idaho. I figure if I can't hunt cranes in Rich County for myself, I could help someone with access. :grin:

I know I have complained about this before, and Goob was great to explain things to me, but a quick drive from Woodruff through Randolph and over to the Sage Creek Junction will produced 200-300 cranes. In the two Idaho counties directly north of Rich County, there are a total of 300 tags given out. Its crazy that only 5 tags are given out for Rich County, and for the most part, we hunt the same birds - just at different times of the migration. :violin:

Oh well - there is always next year and I'll be heading into the draw with 4 points!


----------



## SidVicious (Aug 19, 2014)

That's crazy! I didn't realize that they had that many tags up there. Definitely worth looking into. It has never really crossed my mind before.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Sounds like Idaho's farmers know how to lobby for crane tags. :grin:

Many of the cranes Jeff is talking about nest, and migrate, up and down the Salt River, Thomas Fork, the Smith's Fork and Bear River corridors in Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. If you've ever drove from Evanston to Jackson WY in September you've seen the thousands of cranes feeding and resting on the farms along the way.

Crane tag numbers in western Wyoming were increased this year. We have 70 tags now, up from about 55. There's 10 tags in Area 5, Uinta County WY. The next part of the busy crane flyway is Rich County Utah with plenty of cranes but only 5 tags. Above Rich County in Wyoming is Crane Area 1 with 30 tags and Crane Area 2 in Star Valley with 30 tags. So if you're a Utah bird hunter you've drawn the short straw.

Crane numbers are followed by more people than what one would think; state game and fish departments, Federal Fish n Wildlife Service, birdwatchers, universities and colleges to name a few. Special notice is given to the cranes in Lincoln and Uinta County Wyoming and Rich County Utah because of the presence of nesting and migrating endangered Whooping Cranes in the flyway. The US Fish n Wildlife Service along with state agencies manage Sandhills. Here's an excerpt from a 2012 USFWS crane study:
_The fall 2012 pre-migration survey for the Rocky Mountain Population (RMP) 
resulted in a count of 15,417 cranes. The 3-year average was 17,992 sandhill cranes,
which is within the established population objective of 17,000-21,000 for the
RMP. Hunting seasons during 2012-13 in portions of Arizona, Idaho, Montana,
New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming resulted in a harvest of 1,080 RMP cranes, a
11% decrease from the previous year's harvest. ........

_So it looks like we're harvesting about 5% of the Rocky Mountain Population of Sandhills from Arizona to Montana.

_
_


----------



## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Great information Goob, thanks for sharing!


----------



## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

How quickly do the idaho tags generally sell out?


----------



## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

johnnycake said:


> How quickly do the idaho tags generally sell out?


8 minutes for the unit I got my tags for. I am not sure about the others. Hey, how is Alaska??


----------

