THE CONSERVATION ORDER FOR LIGHT GEESE

The US Fish and Wildlife Service established a Conservation Order for Mid-Continent Light Geese in 1999 after biologists had determined that Ross’ and Lesser Snow Geese populations had reached the point of exceeding the long-term carrying capacity of their breeding habitat.
The population of Mid-Continent Light Geese exploded from 800,000 to 3,000 million in a 30-year period prior to 1998. Cause for the population explosion included: 1) increased agricultural practices in the US and Canada; 2) expanding bird sanctuaries for migrating species; 3) decline in harvest rates; and, 4) an increase in adult survival rates.
The Conservation Order now runs February 1 through April 25. Special regulations apply: Hunters may use electronic callers. Hunters may use unplugged shotguns. Shooting hours are extended to one-half hour past sunset. There is no bag limit. Hunters must possess a valid hunting license from any state. Note: Some states now require a special light goose Conservation Order permit.
Many hunters have discovered that they can successfully sneak up on light geese by using drainage ditches, fencerows and other features of the terrain. Hunters crawl up ditches and lay in wait until the masses of geese feed within range. All hunters in the party then stand up and shoot into the masses hoping to harvest as many light geese as possible. A retrieving dog greatly reduces retrieval efforts for the cripples.
Light goose hunters using the sneak method generally drive around the countryside until they find geese feeding in a winter wheat field or a harvested grin field. Then they seek permission from landowners to hunt the geese. Farmer are generally very reasonable about allowing hunters to pursue snow and Ross’ geese because they are so destructive.+