While crow supporters may have wished that we could all just get along, we fully support the city's decision to hire the USDA to help disperse the huge crow population this week.

It's humane, it's a reasonably priced attempt, and the program is run by government wildlife experts who have had success in other cities in moving crow roosts.

This is a much more reliable, professional solution than a falconer who attended a city council meeting last year with a bird on his shoulder, or the merry band of shotgun-wielding hunters' annual spectacle.

The inconvenience to the community so far has been minor - no complaints were received by the police department after the first day of the dispersal program.

And even to those who would be affected by the USDA's lasers and loud noises, these are the residents who are most bothered by the crows. It seems like a fair trade; one week of USDA noises in exchange for potential long-term peace and quiet. And cleaner sidewalks, cleaner cars, neater streets ...

No one - including the USDA - is suggesting that this week's program will immediately rid Auburn of all 63,800 crows. This is, after all, the largest undertaking by the USDA ever in New York.

But if it relocates a good percentage of the birds permanently, then we'd endorse a return trip for the USDA next winter to tackle the remaining stubborn black birds.

If it takes a few years to relocate these birds to more rural, natural settings, it's worth the $14,000 annual expense. And, if inevitably Auburn discovers the USDA had poor results in its dispersal, then the city has spent a relatively tiny portion of its budget.

The city has wasted taxpayers' money on far less in the last year.