Despite Conservation Season, Snow Goose Numbers Continue to Grow

Like many waterfowl managers on the continent, Mike Johnson is struggling with a problem that just won't go away. Despite more than a decade of increased hunting pressure, snow goose numbers remain at historic highs. Some estimates put the population as high as 25 million birds.

So what's the problem?
Subarctic nesting areas are being turned into wastelands. A fragile habitat is being destroyed, perhaps irreversibly. Biologists like Johnson, waterfowl chief at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, believe both wildlife and waterfowl are at risk.
"(Increased harvest) has stemmed the rapid growth we were seeing, but the population is still very high and we haven't reduced them," says Johnson. "Success is based on the recovery of the subarctic habitats. That hasn't happened. There are still more geese than ever and they're still destroying habitat."
Johnson is part of a team of biologists currently evaluating the effectiveness of expanded hunting for snow geese. First introduced in 1998, the spring conservation hunt has increased harvest rates by more than 50 percent, but Johnson says it's still not enough.
"These geese are now expanding into habitats we never envisioned they could use. They're into the trees and forested areas west of the Hudson Bay lowlands. We never, ever dreamt that would be possible."
Dr. Richard "Rocky" Rockwell has recently returned from his annual research trip to La Perouse Bay in northern Manitoba, where for almost 40 years he has documented the severe degradation of the salt-water coastal marshes. Now, he says, the geese are hitting fresh- water habitats.
Rockwell says freshwater habitat can fully recovery in about five years, "but that means you have to get the geese off it."
Waterfowl managers in both Canada and the United States see hunting as the most efficient tool to reduce populations, but they are less hopeful of getting the job done today than they were 10 years ago.
"Hunters can only take so many geese," Rockwell says.
North American hunters are taking about 700,000 snow geese a year, enough to stabilize some colonies but not enough to reduce numbers overall.
Dr. Jim Leafloor, a research scientist with Environment Canada, spent his summer banding geese on Baffin Island. He says the mid- continent population has increased at least as high as the harvest rate.
"There just aren't enough hunters out there harvesting geese," says Leafloor. "I think what happens is there's some highly skilled and motivated snow goose hunters that account for a fairly big chunk of the harvest. But for most guys snow geese are pretty frustrating. They require a lot of patience and equipment."
So what are the alternatives? Johnson co-authored a report for the Arctic Goose Joint Venture in which he outlined options ranging from mass live-capture on the breeding grounds to the use of chemical avicides. None of the "direct control" measures are very appealing to a society increasingly concerned about animal rights.
Any measures to further control goose populations will face intense pressure from groups like the Animal Alliance of Canada. It was part of a coalition that initially challenged the legality of the expanded conservation hunt. Liz White, spokesperson for the Alliance, insists current goose populations are a naturally occurring event and should be left to run its course.
"It's illogical to look at a tiny part of the arctic, like La Perouse Bay, and say this represents the entire ecosystem," says White. "Do we really believe the geese who eat various plants in the arctic have never created the same kind of environmental impact, that it never happened before, that it is an aberration?"
That leaves biologists like Johnson stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Science tells him there's a problem, but society has trouble agreeing on what needs to done. So what does the future hold?
"That's the million-dollar question," says Johnson. "None of the alternative control measures are very good. They're all very difficult. They're all very expensive. They're all pretty ugly. I'm not optimistic that aggressive action will be taken. That's a difficult, difficult decision to make."
So for now, we're left with the status quo. Hunters can confidently expect the spring hunt to continue. There may be recommendations to further loosen restrictions. Perhaps more efforts will be made to increase the number of hunters. And the geese? They'll continue to do what they do best: learn, adapt and survive.

Delta Waterfowl's Top 10 Snow Goose Hunting Tips

1) Scouting: If you don’t find the birds, they likely won’t find you. “You have to scout, scout and scout some more,” says Scott Terning, Delta’s director of recruitment and education. Watch the snow line; birds will be south of it, always. You can also use a number of online sources to aid your scouting and get refuge reports to determine bird concentrations, but remember nothing compares to doing real-time scouting.” Terning recommends finding the largest concentration of birds on a lake, wetland or piece of sheet water. During the spring, he said, it’s common to locate multiple roosts in a given area. “You want to scout these birds and locate where they are feeding for your hunt the next day,” Terning says. “Taking these simple first steps will save you a lot of time and frustration.”

2) The sheet water connection: “In the spring finding sheet water is often the key element in finding birds,” says Delta Waterfowl Senior Vice President John Devney. “They seem to decoy far better in fields with a little water in them. Spring snows will often look for corn stubble and sheet water in the same field.”

3) Concealment: Hide, hide, hide! Fooling spring snows requires you stay well hidden. Take advantage of any field changes that allow for better concealment—from drainages to low spots to missed field vegetation. Conceal ground blinds from all angles and use decoys to break up their outlines. In grain fields it’s sometimes best to ditch the ground blinds and hunt in your best “whites.” And don’t forget your facemask. There’s typically no margin for error.

4) Decoys: You don’t need a 1,000-decoy spread to have a successful hunt, says Terning. “You need a respectable amount of decoys, and the best ones you have, because quality can be more important than quantity,” he said, noting that you should team up with a friend if you don’t have enough decoys. “Bring along some floaters too. You’ll want to use them in the sheet water.” Keep decoys properly spaced, about three or four feet between each. The spread will look more natural from a distance and create the affect of having a larger spread.

5) Movement in decoys: It’s very important to attract distant birds to your spread. Use kites, flyers, flags and other decoys to increase motion, especially directly behind your blinds on the upwind side of your spread. This will create the illusion of snows landing and leap-frogging over each other to feed. “Silosock flyers work really well to add movement to your spread,” says Terning. Bottom line: employ as much movement as possible, even to the point of putting a white vest on your dog.

6) Late snows: The latter part of the migration can provide the best decoy hunting, because the majority of the birds are juveniles. “Young birds are much easier to decoy,” says Delta’s Jim Fisher, Canada’s director of conservation policy. “You won’t see the number of birds, generally speaking, but the decoy hunting can be excellent.”

7) Hunter placement in decoys: “Don't be afraid to move within the decoy spread to get to a better position to shoot lower birds or to have a chance at flaring birds,” says Delta’s Fisher. “Or leave the decoys altogether and get downwind to a spot that may give you closer shots.”

8) Prepare for fog and mud: Spring hunters will likely find both in copious amounts. “Morning fog can really get guys mixed up when they’re looking for the field they received permission to hunt the night before, so make a mental note of landmarks to guide you to the right spot,” says Delta’s Terning. “If the fog has been really bad, use a GPS to plot the precise location of where you want to set up the following day. A good map and GPS are indispensable.” The spring season has another constant: mud. Be prepared for it; bring extra clothes/gear and have a plan for transporting decoys because driving a truck and trailer into a field may not be an option. “Hunters need to do their best to leave the smallest footprint as possible,” says Delta’s Devney. “Be respectful of landowner property and be extremely careful not to tear up muddy roads.”

9) Ballistics and shooting: Fisher strongly recommends using quality shells. “I like to use three-inch shot shells with BB or BBB,” he said. “Be judicious with the shots you take, know your maximum effective range and don’t stray from it. After all, it’s hunting, not shooting.”

10) Food, glorious, food: Have a plan. Bring a cooler, ice and cleaning materials. Know the rules on how to legally transport birds. Snow geese, contrary to popular myth, are superb table fare. Bring a grill or stove and prepare a feast in the field. An easy recipe: take the tenderloins from several goose breasts. Dredge them in seasoned flour and fry. Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce. Delta President Rob Olson says sweet chili or plum and hot mustard is a terrific combination. Find some great snow goose recipes at

Snow Goose Hunts 2012 - Hunting Report

This winter or the lack of any winter weather has left the waterfowl wondering if they should migrate and I think the verdict is in. There are still thousands of Canadas and Mallards in South Dakota that will never head south. Which when I tell you that there are still snow geese in Missouri and at Squaw Creek that have never left so get your guns ready it is going to be an early snow goose season.