This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The first month of Utah's new American crow hunt seems to have been quiet.
"I've only heard of one [killed]," said Blair Stringham, migratory game bird coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
The bird was shot for depredation in a Roosevelt apple orchard.
It is possible more crows were killed because hunters are not required to report successful outings. The birds are not likely to generate much post-hunt bragging.
Stringham said he had heard of at least two groups that went on organized crow hunting trips — one on the eastern shores of the Great Salt Lake and the other in southeastern Utah.
Bill Fenimore, a member of the Utah Wildlife Board who voted against the hunt earlier this year, said he expected a low number of birds killed in the first month.
"I'm not surprised. The birds actually in danger of getting shot are in areas where they can't be shot [because they are in city limits]," Fenimore said. "With the price of gasoline and steel shot, I don't see many people going out to shoot a bird that doesn't put any bacon on the table."
The crow hunt was first presented as a proposal from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources back in May at a series of public meetings held across the state.
State wildlife managers argued the crow hunt was timely for several reasons: to create a new hunting opportunity; to provide an easier way to deal with crows raiding farms and orchards; and because 45 other states already allow it.
Opposition to the hunt built until the Utah Wildlife Board meeting in early June where board members approved the new hunt with a 3-2 vote.
Critics accused the DWR of forging ahead despite a lack of data on the actual number of crows in Utah. They worried that ravens, which are protected nationally, would mistakenly be shot. And they questioned creating a hunt "just for the sake of killing" or to provide a hunt for an animal few people would eat.
Opponents used a new rule from the Utah Division of Administrative Rules to force another meeting in late July. Despite the protests, the Wildlife Board again approved the hunt — another 3-2 vote.
The first session of the hunt ran from Sept. 1 to Sept. 30.
After a break during the migration season, the 2014-15 crow hunt will open again Dec. 1 and run through Feb. 28, 2015.
Licensed hunters are allowed to take 10 crows a day and have 30 birds in their possession.
Stringham said he has not heard from those who opposed the hunt since August, but he has been taking more crow nuisance calls than before the hunt made national news.
"In the last few months I've taken more crow damage calls than in the previous five years," he said. "Most are from people in city limits — some of them about crows pulling shingles off their roofs. I give them some suggestions on how to deal with the crows."
Stringham said the DWR has been recording information from the crow complaint calls, including the location, the damage and the number of birds.
Twitter: @BrettPrettyman