Population explosion of Snow Geese prompts extension of hunting

Snow Geese in flight

Pennsylvania and neighboring states are seeing huge populations of Snow Geese. Their numbers are reaching such levels that the fragile Canadian tundra is becoming damaged during breeding season in the summer.

Snow Geese have become increasingly frequent visitors to the Lehigh Valley in recent years. Some even spend at least part of their winter here, rather than face the harsh winter weather of northern Canada.

The statistics are shocking. In the mid-1960s, scientists estimated that Snow Geese numbered just 50,000 individuals along the Atlantic Flyway, that corridor that hugs the seaboard. This corridor offers plenty of wetlands for all sorts of bird species to use as stopping-off points during their migrations in the fall and the spring.

In recent years, the number of Snow Geese has zoomed to about 1 million individuals, with many of them spending their winters along the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware Bay.

Back in the 1960s, most Snow Geese migrated along the coastline. Since then they have expanded inland. A few weeks ago, bird watchers in the Lehigh Valley reported seeing a flock of approximately 30,000 Snow Geese in the Nazareth Quarry in Northampton County.

Think of that: going from a population of 50,000 individuals throughout the species' entire easternmost migration route 50 years ago to 30,000 birds in just one location today!

To bring the numbers down to a more manageable level, the Pennsylvania Game Commission will expand the hunting season for Snow Geese by six weeks.

"Why have Snow Goose populations increased so dramatically?" a Game Commission said. "First, prior to the 1970s Snow Geese fed primarily on natural wetland plants in mid-Atlantic coastal areas. Then they discovered an abundant food resource. Waste grains on agricultural fields provided a vast new food supply for these birds. Second, continuation of restrictive hunting regulations during the 1970s and 1980s allowed the population to grow while hunter harvest rates declined.

"These two factors resulted in a higher reproduction rate, a higher adult survival rate and offspring that were in much better condition to survive," the Game Commission said.

The population growth has put the tundra and wetlands of northern Canada under stress.

Population levels "have reached levels that are causing extensive and possibly irreversible damage" to fragile ecosystems in their Arctic and sub-Arctic breeding grounds," the Game Commission says.

The geese have been consuming huge quantities of vegetation, which could denude the land, eventually leading the birds to starve and their and their population to collapse. The survival of other birds would be severely tested, especially those species that already are living a precarious existence.

State agencies along the Atlantic Flyway from Canada to Maryland have concluded that the only way to deal with the problem is to reduce Snow Goose numbers through hunting.

Pennsylvania hunters kill an average of 11,000 Snow Geese per year during a 107-day season. This season's hunt was scheduled to end on March 10.

The Game Commission has now extended the hunting season to April 24. Extra precautions will be in place.

Hunters who participate in the extended season must have a Pennsylvania Migratory Bird License and a Pennsylvania Snow Goose Conservation Permit, in addition to the usual general hunting license and federal Duck Stamp. They also must report their harvest to the Game Commission.

Details about the hunting season of Snow Geese is available at the Game Commission's website.

Snow Geese take wing