For 2024The Conservation Order for light geese begins February 7 and runs through April 30. The order allows for extra days of hunting for light geese, including snows, blues and Ross’s geese after the regular season has closed. The purpose of the additional season is to reduce an enormous population of light geese.
In the early 1990’s the light goose population was increasing by 5 percent per year due to changes in agricultural practices in the Midwest and South. More grain crops were being planted to feed a hungry world. As a result, snow geese migrating south from the Arctic found almost unlimited food supplies. Once the birds returned North, they began raising larger clutches. Within a few short years, growing populations of light geese were destroying their own habitat in the Tundra.
Then Ducks Unlimited Chief Biologist Dr. Bruce Batt addressed the problem of over abundant mid-continent snow geese causing damage to arctic and sub-artic nesting grounds that were important to a variety of other wildlife species.
"We were concerned about the degradation of this habitat in the arctic and sub-arctic regions,” Batt said. “We found the best way to control adult survival was to relax hunting restrictions on snow, blue and Ross's geese. This option made the most sense.”
Hunting is regarded as a socially acceptable pastime, hunters are educated in safety and wildlife management and proper hunting methods and they could help Batt’s cause at basically no cost to the government or private conservation organizations. Hunters were very happy with the concept of an additional hunting season for light geese. The light goose order extended waterfowl hunting opportunities by roughly another 90 days.
The relaxed restrictions this act provided for hunters include:
•The ability to use electronic callers
•The ability to use unplugged shotguns
•Shooting hours extended to a half-hour past sunset
•Hunters must possess a valid hunting license from any state.
•Shooting hours during the Snow, Blue and Ross' Goose Conservation Order are one-half hour before sunrise (local time) until one-half (½) hour after sunset (local time).
This well conceived plan to control the light goose population has a direct impact on some of DU's most significant projects, especially those in regions such as Mississippi Alluvial Valley which represents the historic floodplain and valley of the lower Mississippi River, and the Rainwater Basin of Nebraska. Both regions are critical for waterfowl habitat. Ninety percent of the mid-continent's white-fronted goose population visits the Rainwater Basin during the months of February, March and April, but due to increased overall demand for water, wetland degradation from sedimentation, and invasive plant species and continued drainage of wetlands, this waterfowl migration habitat has become increasingly vulnerable.
Hunters began to step up to save the day. As part of the Living the Dream Outdoors Podcast team, I have enjoyed hunting snow geese during the conservation order. There are many benefits which this overpopulation problem has provided, not the least of which is the chance to "play hero" while getting to hunt after duck season closes. Hunting snow geese can be a very rewarding experience. It is truly a great outdoor experience to see tens of thousands of snow geese working a field of cut corn, or rice. It is one of the most beautiful sights in nature when thousands of snow geese form a funnel cloud that resembles a tornado, as they begin to loose altitude and start attempting to land. They are very smart and cautious birds and it may take an hour for an entire flock to land in a field.
Snows may be hunted from September through May across all latitudes and longitudes of Canada and the United States. Any species of waterfowl that is hunted for that amount of time across a massive flyway becomes very smart. Having the opportunity to observe and hunt snow geese can be a great success, or a very humbling experience. If you can fool a flock of snows, you have accomplished something, because the birds live to ripe old ages and are considered by waterfowl hunters to be among the smartest of birds. The oldest on record lived an amazing 32 years.
I had the pleasure to hunt snow geese in Campbell Missouri, in the Missouri Bootheel, with Grounded Gander Guide Service. It proved to be an amazing experience. Myself, Hunter Hindman, Johnny Graham, and Tom Wilcox had a fabulous time with guide Terry Middelstadt.
Terry Middelstadt, owner of Grounded Gander Guide Service, is a dedicated waterfowl hunter who runs waterfowl operations in both Minnesota and Missouri. He has decades of waterfowl hunting under his belt, and is focused on the hard work it takes to be a waterfowl guide, especially a snow goose hunting guide. It takes at least 1,000 decoys to get snow geese flocks to look at you, and bigger spreads are better. Taking care of the decoy spreads alone is a great deal of work.
We faced howling winds and temperatures in the low 20’s. We killed our first snow goose within minutes, when a lone snow goose sailed in from the south, locked up and dropped rapidly towards the decoys.
There were thousands of snows in the area. We had primarily singles and small groups coming to the decoy spread, but as the day progressed we began to stack them up.
“We are just not on the birds main flyway today,” Middelstadt said. “Hopefully we’ll get into more birds tomorrow.”
The second day proved a little warmer and action resembled the previous day. We killed enough snow geese to keep it interesting, but Middelstadt, being the guide he is, wants us to return another time in hopes of taking more white geese and in the process do our part to help reduce the snow goose population.
