Spring Goose Season Provides New Opportunity

By Jennifer Jackson - Idaho Department of Fish and Game Goose hunting in February? It's true. Idaho hunters have a new opportunity to hunt snow geese this spring in the Southwest and Magic Valley Regions, and a portion of the Southeast Region during Idaho's first-ever spring snow goose hunt. The spring goose season began Saturday, February 20, and runs through March 10. In includes snow geese and Ross's geese, both sometimes referred to as "light geese," because of their white coloring. The season does not include Canada geese or greater white-fronted geese. Though uncommon in Idaho during the fall and winter, tens of thousands of snow geese stop over in Idaho in the spring to feed and rest during their migration northward. In addition to providing hunters with a unique opportunity, a spring snow goose hunt will reduce the agricultural damage the geese cause when they eat grain and alfalfa crops just starting to grow. And, as strange as it sounds, this hunt will help the geese, too. In the central part of North America, snow goose populations have increased to the point that they are damaging the areas in Canada where they nest and rear their young. As habitat in western North America has increased, populations of snow geese have also steadily increased in the Pacific Flyway to roughly one million birds. The spring snow goose hunt will help stabilize the population before it gets too large. In eastern Idaho, the snow goose hunting area includes those portions of Power and Bingham Counties within Big Game Unit 68, north and west of Highway 39. Last year, thousands of white geese could be found in this area feeding in fields. The daily bag limit on snow geese is 10, with a possession limit of 20. Most hunting opportunity in southeastern Idaho will be on private property, so plan ahead. Be sure to contact landowners for permission to hunt on their land, and always be respectful of private property. "The spring light goose hunt will present an increased challenge and responsibility to know your target, especially since both tundra and trumpeter swans can often be found feeding in the same fields with light geese," said Martha Wackenhut, nongame biologist for Fish and Game's southeast region. The season stretches across portions of southern Idaho, and in the Southwest Region, hunters should know that snow goose hotspots, including Fort Boise Wildlife Management Area, Payette River Wildlife Management Area and the Roswell Marsh Habitat area are now closed to hunting and will remain so until the fall. "Closure of these areas actually enhances the light goose hunt," Fish and Game wildlife educator Dan Papp said. "By providing sanctuary, these areas encourage geese to lay over in Idaho, when they might otherwise push on north and either stop briefly or not at all." Though swans and snow geese have easily discernible features, hunters do occasionally mistake their target. Hunters should know their target before shooting. Snow goose hunters will need a 2010 hunting license and migratory bird validation, and if 16 and older, they must purchase a federal Migratory Duck Stamp available at Fish and Game offices and local post offices. For more information on the spring snow goose season, see the 2009 Waterfowl Seasons and Rules booklet, available at local license vendors, Fish and Game offices or online at: www.fishandgame.idaho.gov. Or contact local Fish and Game offices. Jennifer Jackson is the regional conservation educator for the Southeast Region. (Evin Oneale, regional conservation educator in the Southwest Region contributed to this report.)