Treehugger Tuesday

Over at 10000birds.com artist and naturalist Julie Zickefoose has written an eye-opening piece about the plight of the "eastern" Whooping Crane.

The Nonessential Whooping Crane

Whooping crane reintroduction efforts on the Eastern Flyway involve raising young whooping cranes and accompanying them on their migratory flights with ultralight gliders. The USFWS designated the whooping cranes in this population “nonessential and experimental.” So, one might surmise, it’s OK if they get shot by hunters thinking they’re sandhill cranes? It gives one to wonder why this designation was made.

Click here to read the entire story. (Thanks, Diane, for the heads up.)