Wayne basically covered the reasons for the crow season very well. Crows
are one of the few birds that have been unprotected under state law (for
the reasons Wayne mentions) for many decades (I'm not certain exactly how
long). However, federal law is a different matter. The Migratory Bird Treaty
Act protects all members of the Corvidae. So, the only way that Washington
State could actually allow the killing of crows was to formerly establish
a season which has been done for a number of years now.

I agree with Wayne, this season has had little affect on crow numbers at
the landscape scale, perhaps reducing numbers at a local level. The interest
in hunting crows is not great just as the interest in hunting bullfrogs is
not great. Despite the lifting of virtually all restrictions related to the
taking of bullfrogs (formerly a regulated game animal), there is insufficient
interest in hunting them to really make a dent in their populations.

Kelly McAllister
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Olympia, Washington
Reply to: mcallkrm at dfw.wa.gov