BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - The spring light goose conservation order opened February 20 and runs through May 9. Mike Anderson gives us a preview in this week’s segment of North Dakota Outdoors.
Midcontinent light geese have been declared overabundant by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Canadian governments because of their negative impacts on tundra habitats. In 1999, the spring light goose conservation order was implemented to help control populations.
“Tundra habitats have a hard time recovering when they’re overgrazed and denuded down into the soil. So we’ve put these extra harvest measures in place to try to keep sort of a lid on population growth,” said NDGF Waterfowl biologist Mike Szymanski.
Migration of light geese through North Dakota is determined by weather up and down the migration corridor.
“It’s looking like there’s a pretty significant snow line actually spreading through the mid-latitudes of Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa. That’s actually got the geese holding back further south and will hold them there for a while. So we don’t have much up here and we’re going to break early. And it’s very likely geese are going to go through North Dakota very fast this spring,” said Szymanski.
Szymanski said the spring light conservation order has a wide range of dates because it’s difficult to determine when geese will migrate through North Dakota.
Mike: “And then there’s different parts of migration that we want people to have opportunities on both the front end that’s very fast and the back end that’s a little slower and harder to find.”
And the big question is, is the spring light goose conservation order working.
“The last few years, the population has come down a bit. Yet to be seen, I guess, if that actually holds it at a lower level or not. It has come down and that’s largely due to the lower recruitment over the last five years generally. The spring conservation order harvest is certainly adding to that effect,” said Szymanski.
And if you’ve never seen the light goose migration, its quite a spectacular sight.
“Folks will certainly have a very good viewing opportunity to watch the millions of snow geese come through during the spring. But whether or not they’re going to stop is going to be something else. It’s going to probably be a pretty tough spring for spring snow goose hunters,” said Szymanski.
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February 28, 2021 at 07:54AM
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Spring Light Goose conservation - KFYR
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