Bill > AB117

Introduced Session

This bill is explained in the NOTES provided by the Joint Legislative Council in the bill. For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill. JOINT LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL PREFATORY NOTE: This bill was prepared for the Joint Legislative Council Study Committee on Sandhill Cranes to: agricultural producers in preventing damage to corn crops from sandhill cranes; (2) authorize the hunting of sandhill cranes; and (3) increase hunting surcharges that support payments to agricultural producers for crop damage caused by wild animals. Abatement assistance for corn producers The bill directs the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) to administer a program to provide reimbursements to eligible applicants for the purchase of seed treatment that is registered for use on corn seed to discourage sandhill cranes from consuming the seed. An eligible applicant under the program is a person who plants corn on land that is operated as part of a farm that produced at least $6,000 in gross farm revenue during the taxable year preceding the year in which a person applies for a reimbursement. The bill provides for reimbursements of up to 50 percent of the actual cost of the purchase of seed treatment, and a reimbursement may not exceed $6,250 per eligible applicant per planting season. Each farm may only receive one reimbursement payment per year, and a XfarmY, under the bill, consists of all land under common ownership that is primarily devoted to agricultural use. The bill provides for an application window from March 1 to June 15 of each year, during which eligible applicants may apply for reimbursement for seed treatments purchased no earlier than November reimbursement, applicants must provide DATCP with proof of purchase and an application on a form provided by DATCP. The department must make all reimbursement payments no later than September 15 following the application window. The bill directs DATCP to prioritize reimbursement payments based upon an applicant[s receipt of a federal depredation permit for sandhill crane in the previous year; an applicant[s receipt of reimbursement under the bill[s program in any of the prior three years, or documentation of purchase of seed coating in any of the prior three years; and the vulnerability of an applicant[s land to sandhill crane depredation, as determined by DATCP in consultation with the Department of Natural Resources and applicable conservation organizations. After reimbursing applicants that meet these criteria, DATCP must make reimbursement payments on a first-come, first-served basis to other eligible applicants that have experienced, or are likely to experience, seed or crop damage from sandhill cranes. Under the bill, DATCP must compile and submit an annual report to the appropriate standing committees of the Legislature. The report must detail the number of reimbursements requested and the total dollar amount of these requests. Similarly, the report must detail the number of reimbursements issued and the total dollar amount of these reimbursements. This report must be provided no later than December 31 each year. The bill grants rule-making authority to DATCP to promulgate administrative rules, including emergency rules, to implement provisions regarding the prioritization and eligibility of applicants under the program. The bill creates a continuing appropriation of general purpose revenue to support the program. This appropriation consists of $1,875,000 in fiscal year 2025-26 and $1,875,000 in fiscal year 2026-27 for reimbursements, and $85,000 in each of those fiscal years for administrative expenses. The bill also authorizes the creation of one DATCP position to administer the program. The program takes effect on the first day of the 4th month beginning after publication, or the 2nd day after publication of the 2025 biennial budget act, whichever is later. Sandhill crane hunting Like many other migratory birds, sandhill cranes are protected by international treaty and federal law. Consistent with those protections, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) may authorize a state to initiate a sandhill crane hunting season. The bill directs the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), upon approval by USFWS, to authorize sandhill crane hunting in Wisconsin. The bill requires that DNR use permits to control the number of hunters and the number of cranes that may be harvested. The bill authorizes DNR to establish closed zones or other restrictions to minimize the inadvertent taking of other bird species, including whooping cranes. Testimony before the committee indicated that only some sandhill cranes are members of breeding pairs, and that harvest of a breeding crane has a greater impact on overall species population than harvest of a nonbreeding crane. The bill directs DNR to establish restrictions to minimize the likelihood that breeding sandhill cranes are disproportionately hunted. The bill requires that DNR conduct a free sandhill crane hunter education program. A person must complete the program and pass a test before hunting sandhill cranes. The program must include specified information about sandhill cranes, such as how to distinguish them from other birds, and specified information about applicable hunting zones and regulations. The results of the test are valid for one year. If demand for sandhill crane hunting permits exceeds supply, the bill requires DNR to issue permits according to a cumulative preference system. For any given season, a person may apply for either a permit or for a preference point. A person who applies unsuccessfully for a permit is awarded instead a preference point. A person may accumulate and transfer preference points to certain other persons in the same manner as the cumulative preference systems used for other species. A person may transfer a permit to certain other persons in the same manner as approvals for other species, to the extent allowable by federal law. The bill sets the cost of a sandhill crane hunting permit at $20 for a resident and $100 for a nonresident. The bill also requires a processing fee of $4.25 and an issuing fee of $0.25 for each application for a permit or for a preference point. The bill deposits with DNR the revenue raised by the sale of a permit and by the processing fee, to be used by DNR as follows: half for the Wildlife Damage Abatement and Claims Program (WDACP), described below, and half for developing, managing, preserving, restoring, and maintaining the sandhill crane population and for the sandhill crane hunter education program. Crop damage caused by wild animals WDACP provides financial assistance for wildlife damage abatement measures and makes payments to agricultural producers for claims regarding damage to agricultural crops by certain wildlife. The program is funded in large measure by a wildlife damage surcharge on most hunting approvals. Under current law, the surcharge is $2 for a resident or nonresident approval, and $4 for a resident or nonresident conservation patron license. A conservation patron license consists of a bundle of individual approvals and authorizations, such as a small game hunting license, a trapping license, and an annual fishing license. Under current law, damage caused by a sandhill crane becomes eligible under WDACP if hunting of those cranes is authorized by DNR. The bill raises the wildlife damage surcharge to the following amounts: $3 for a resident approval; $4 for a nonresident approval; $6 for a resident conservation patron license; and $8 for a nonresident conservation patron license. However, the bill renders these increases contingent on USFWS approving a sandhill crane hunting season in Wisconsin.

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Available for scheduling (on 02/25/2026)

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