The federal government might expand the use of lethal control for double crested cormorants.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service wants to allow states to kill the migratory birds to protect wild fish in the Great Lakes.
Rachel Pierce is the agency’s waterbird biologist for the region.
She says the plan would limit the total number of birds that could be killed but the states would decide where to use the population control.
Cormorant1 (:14) The way that it will work is the state would get a permit...if their problem was at Beaver Island or Saginaw Bay, then they would make those decisions.
Sport anglers say double crested cormorants eat too many perch, walleye and bass.
Michigan has been urging the federal government for years to allow more birds to be killed.
An official at the Michigan DNR says the proposal is conservative but would help.