By Todd Hatton
Murray, KY – Hunters interested in participating in Kentucky's first sandhill crane season can now begin applying for permits. State fish and wildlife Resources officials say it will take applications from today through November 30th and hold a drawing December 5th to select up to 400 hunters. Hunters are allowed to take up to two cranes and must register them with the department. The hunt begins in mid-December and continues through mid-January of next year, or until hunters take 400 birds. It will be the first sandhill crane hunting season in a state east of the Mississippi in a century. The birds almost went extinct in the early 1900s due to overhunting, but officials say populations have rebounded enough to allow a limited hunting season.