MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A group of legislators, farmers and conservationists studying how to control Wisconsin’s sandhill crane population is set to hold its first meeting next month.

The Joint Legislative Council’s 12-member Study Committee on Sandhill Cranes is set to meet Aug. 1 at the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area.

The Joint Legislative Council is made up of the Legislature’s attorneys. The council puts together committees to study issues every even-numbered year with an eye toward recommending legislative changes in the next session.

The sandhill crane committee has been tasked with coming up with ways to manage the state’s sandhill crane population and reduce the crop damage they cause, including seeking federal approval to establish a hunting season.

Tens of thousands of sandhill cranes breed across Wisconsin or migrate through the state each spring and fall, according to the International Crane Foundation. But they feed on germinating corn seeds after spring planting and can cause significant damage to the crop, according to the foundation.

Multiple states, including Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Texas and Wyoming, hold annual sandhill crane hunting seasons, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wisconsin lawmakers introduced a bill in 2021 establishing a sandhill crane hunt but the measure never got a floor vote. The bill’s chief Assembly sponsor, Rep. Paul Tittl, is serving as chair of the study committee.

The International Crane Foundation opposes hunting sandhills largely because they reproduce very slowly and hunters could kill endangered whooping cranes by mistake. The foundation has pushed farmers to treat their seeds with a nontoxic chemical deterrent.

MADISON – In June the Division I Council adopted a rule change that removed the cap on the number of college football staff members who can do on-field coaching during games and practices.

We saw the aftereffects of that change at Wisconsin on Thursday when Badgers coach Luke Fickell announced promotions that indicate greater coaching roles for three members of his staff.

• Casey Rabach, the Director of Scouting, adds assistant offensive line coach duties.

• Eric Raisbeck goes from senior special teams analyst to assistant special teams coordinator.

• Jack Cooper elevates from senior defensive analyst to assistant secondary coach.

Here is what each brings to the table.

Rabach: A standout player for the Badgers from 1997-2000, Rabach returned to the program as a personal assistant in 2022 and was moved to director of scouting in 2023. A second-team Associated Press All-American as a senior, he spent nine seasons in the NFL and since his return to UW has been a valuable asset to the O-line room in addition to handling his other duties.

Raisbeck: The UW-La Crosse graduate joined the Badgers last winter after a four-year run as a special teams analyst at Penn State where he worked with kickers and punters. Before that he spent the 2019 season as special teams analyst at Utah State. He was the special teams coordinator and defensive line coach at UW-Platteville for the 2017 and ’18 seasons.

Cooper: He joined the Badgers in the spring of 2023 after three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Rhode Island. Prior to that he spent two seasons as a quality control coach for safeties at Nebraska. That was immediately preceded by two seasons at as graduate assistant at Central Florida where he worked with the secondary.

NEKIMI, Wis. — A Philadelphia man and a man from New York have been preliminarily identified as the victims of a fatal plane crash near the site of an airshow in eastern Wisconsin.

The bodies of Sean Tommervik, 37, of Philadelphia, and James G. Sullivan, 32, of Brooklyn, were found Monday in the wreckage in a farm field, the Winnebago County sheriff’s office said Wednesday in a release.

“Official medical examiner confirmation will take additional time,” the sheriff’s office said. “However, after the initial investigation, there is no reason to believe the occupants were anyone other than Mr. Tommervik and Mr. Sullivan.”

They were the only people aboard the Lancair Super ES which was owned by Tommervik. First responders found the plane fully engulfed in flames in the field in the town of Nekimi. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

The plane crashed about 2 miles south of the site of the EAA AirVenture air show at Oshkosh’s Wittman Regional Airport. Monday was the first day of the 71st AirVenture, a weeklong event scheduled to include military aircraft demonstrations and forums with combat pilots, aircraft designers and NASA astronauts, the Oshkosh Northwestern reported.