Atlantic Flyway Report

Assessing the Conservation Order for Light Geese in the Atlantic
Flyway in 2010

Submitted in Fulfillment of the Reporting Requirements of the Conservation Order on Behalf of
the Participating States in the Atlantic Flyway
Snow Goose, Brant, and Swan Committee of the Atlantic Flyway Council

Assessing the Conservation Order for Light Geese in the Atlantic Flyway in 2010
In 2010, seven Atlantic Flyway states participated in the conservation order (CO) on light geese
that was established by the light goose final rule (Federal Register Vol. 73, no 227) (Table 1).
States differed in their administration of the CO season. All of the states, except for New York,
required participants to obtain a permit to participate. Permits were obtained either online or
through the mail. Maryland also issued permits through their automated licensing system.
Maryland ($5) and New Jersey ($2) charged a fee for the permit. Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Vermont, and Virginia issued free permits. Participation in New York was complimentary of
existing waterfowl hunting privileges.
The Atlantic Flyway developed a standard survey form template for use by states in assessing the
impact of the CO (Appendix A). Hunter activity was solicited through a paper hunting diary
and/or an online data entry screen. Reporting of activity, regardless of participation, was
required in all five states that issued permits. New York surveyed a sample of people who
registered in HIP to estimate participation and harvest. Follow up letters, emails, or phone calls
to non-respondents were conducted in five states (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Virginia,
and Vermont).
The use of special measures and bag limits during the CO seasons was varied by state (Table 1).
As experience is gained on hunter activity and effectiveness during the CO, hopefully all
participating states will relax the constraints towards the maximization of harvest during the
small window of opportunity.
Table 1. Light goose harvest regulations in the key staging and wintering states within the
Atlantic Flyway, 2010.
State

Special
Measures
Outside of
CO

Participate in CO
in 2010?

CO Dates

Special
Measures
in CO?

Bag/Possession
Limit

Participation

Harvest
Survey

Vermont

No

Yes

All

15/None

Free Permit

Yes

New York

Yes

Yes

March 11April 23
March 11April 15

Unplugged, Ecalls

15/None

Yes

New Jersey

No

Yes

All

None/None

Delaware

No

Yes

All

None/None

Free Permit

Yes

Pennsylvania

No

Yes

Feb 16-April
10
Feb 1-April
17
Feb 20-April
3

Existing
waterfowl
hunting
privileges
$2 Permit

15/None

Free Permit

Yes

Maryland

No

Yes-in AP CAGO zone

Feb 1-April 17

E-calls,
extended
hours
All

None/None

Yes

Virginia

No

Yes-in AP CAGO zone

Feb 1-March
27

All

None/None

$5 fee, plus
$1.03Service Fee
if obtained via
DNR website
Free Permit

North
Carolina

Yes

No

Unplugged, Ecalls

Yes

Yes

The following summary of hunter activity and harvest associated with the CO seasons are broken
down by individual state and for the entire flyway.
In the six states that utilized a permit system, a total of 6,893 permits were issued (Table 2). A
total of 2,722 permits were returned. One state, Maryland, sampled a proportion (33%) of their
permittees. All other permit states used the entire permittee pool for harvest information
gathering. The overall response rate from the six permit states was 41%. Five states conducted
follow up inquiries to permit holders to boost response rate. In the six states that issued permits,
an estimated 49% of all permit holders participated in the CO (n = 2,823). Estimated harvest in
those states that required a permit for participation was 40,305. In New York a harvest survey
was sent to 5% (n = 2000) of all HIP registrants. Overall response rate for New York was lower
(33%) than for states that used a special permit. Participation rate in New York was only 2%
yielding an estimate of 810 participants for the CO. Including un-retrieved birds, the estimated
harvest in New York was 5,150.
Table 2. Hunter activity and estimated harvest in the Atlantic Flyway Light Goose Conservation
Order, 2010.

State
DE
MD
NJ
NY
PA
VA
VT

2010 Dates
1 February - 17 April
1 February - 17 April
16 February - 10 April
11 March - 15 April
20 February - 3 April
1 February - 27 March
11 March - 23 April

Permits
Issued

Permits Response
Returned Rate
Hunted

Percent
Participate

Days
Hunted

Geese
Geese
Geese
Geese
shot with
Shot and Shot and shot after electronic
Retrieved Lost
calls
Sunset

Geese
taken with
shot shell
>3

1,018
1,438
637
38,244*
3,107
269
425

590
196
271
NA
1,335
146
184

58%
45%**
43%
33%
43%
54%
43%

630
805
433
810
668
137
150

62%
56%
68%
2%
21%
51%
35%

2,021
2,464
1,659
2,893
2,409
506
584

16,414
14,737
5,084
4,947
2,985
891
194

556
910
661
203
141
34
14

711
5,894
997
NA
330
53
NA

3,363
6,337
2,508
4,195
1,101
640
NA

2,034
1,621
1,179
752
NA
89
NA

Six Permit State Total

6,894

2,722

48%

2,823

49%

9,643

40,305

2,316

7,985

13,949

4,923

AF Total

6,894

2,722

46%

3,633

42%

12,536

45,252

2,519

7,985

18,144

5,675

Flyway wide an estimated total of 3,633 hunters participated in the CO, similar to the estimated
number of participants in 2009 (3,614). The estimated retrieved flyway harvest of light geese
was 45,252, with an additional 2,519 birds shot and lost. The estimated total harvest of 47,771
birds is twice the estimated harvest in the first year of the CO in 2009 (24,853). The estimated
number of days spent hunting was similar between years (12,536 vs 12,617 in 2009), so it
appears that individual hunter success was much higher in 2010, perhaps a result of the hunting
conditions during February or hunters gaining experience with this new opportunity.
The most useful of the special measures seemed to be the use of electronic calls, which
accounted for approximately 38% of the total harvest. In 2009, an estimated 29% of the harvest
was achieved using electronic calls. Only New York didn’t allow shooting after sunset. An
estimated 19% of the harvest in those six states that did allow shooting after sunset occurred after
normal shooting hours. This is higher than the estimated 13% from 2009. Flyway wide an
estimated 12% of the harvest was achieved with shells fired after the customary 3rd shot. The
2009 estimate was 17%.
Snow conditions and cold weather in February in the mid-Atlantic states resulted in excellent
snow goose hunting conditions. Birds were limited to feeding in standing cornfields that were

accessible because of snow depths that often reached greater than 1.5 meters. Geese were highly
susceptible to harvest during these conditions. Testament to these favorable conditions was the
fact that 72% of the estimated harvest in Maryland and Delaware (23,434) occurred in the month
of February. This is in stark contrast to 2009, when over 90% of the Delaware harvest occurred
in March, as did 60% of the Maryland harvest. The timing of the harvest in these Chesapeake
states in 2009 was also influenced by the starting date for the CO season which was in March
2009. It was prescient that all the Chesapeake states, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia began
the CO in 2010 in February.
Further reason for lower latitude states to open the CO as early as possible, similar to 2009, the
timing of snow goose migration in 2010 was early. Geese seemed to move out of the
Chesapeake and mid-Atlantic region during the second week of March. Many birds were in
southern Quebec by the middle of March, which is much earlier than normal. Stopover in
northern New York and Vermont was very short in 2010. Most birds did not spend any
appreciable time in the northern US in March. This is likely due to the very warm weather
experienced in March throughout the northeastern US and southeastern Canada. Estimated
harvest during the intervals on the harvest survey bear further witness to the northward
movement of geese in spring 2010.
Despite an early migration, short stopover times, and lower than hoped for participation, the
second year of the CO seasons in the US portion of the Atlantic Flyway was reasonably
successful, although not as successful as needed to stem the current population trajectory of
greater snow geese. Despite an estimated harvest far greater than that of 2009, overall harvest
continues to fall short of the level to stabilize the population. Of further concern is the continued
good production of the greater snow goose population, even, it seems, in years of late springs
elsewhere in the eastern Arctic. The good production is a catch 22 in that harvest opportunity on
adult birds is greater in years of good snow goose production, however, good recruitment serves
as a buffer to achieving high adult harvest rates.
Anecdotal reports from southern Quebec in April 2010 indicated that many harvested birds were
in very good shape (i.e. thick fat pads). Thus, the lack of participation in the northern portion of
the US portion of the AF and the hasty northward movement of birds into the St. Lawrence
estuary may not have resulted in widespread detriment to feeding or movement patterns of the
geese. This lack of disturbance likely resulted in birds being in excellent condition as they
headed towards the breeding grounds.
In an effort to better promote the CO and successful snow goose hunting tactics, the AF
developed a brochure outlining the do’s and don’ts of successful snow goose hunting, an
overview of the problems posed by overabundant snow geese, and some links to more
information on snow goose recipes and hunting. This brochure was distributed on agency
websites, and posted on the Arctic Goose Joint Venture website, and www.flyways.us.

Appendix A. Hunter survey form.
Snow Goose 2010 Spring Season Harvest Survey - State Name
The special spring season for snow geese is designed to increase harvest of these birds, which have increased to
more than one million birds in the Atlantic Flyway and now threaten the long-term health of the ecosystems they
inhabit. As a requirement for establishing a spring season in State Name, we must collect information on hunter
participation, use of special regulations, and snow goose harvest during the season. This information will help
managers assess effectiveness of the spring season for reducing snow goose populations. Please take a few minutes
to accurately and completely fill out this survey and return it in the pre-paid envelope by May 31, 2009. Failure to
return this survey may make you ineligible to participate in the 2010 spring season!
Snow Goose 2010 Spring Season regulations in State Name:
Season dates:
Unplugged guns allowed: Yes

Daily bag limit: No limit
Electronic calls
allowed: Yes

Shooting hours: ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour past sunset
Hunter Survey:
1.
Your State Name HIP (or other authorization) number for 2009-10: ___________________
2.
Your home (or cell) phone number: ______________ and birthdate: ____/____/____
3.
How many days did you hunt and how many snow geese did you personally shoot during each of the time
periods listed below:

Feb 1-15 Feb 16-28 March 115

March
16-31

April 1-15 April 1630

Total

# days hunted
# geese shot
and retrieved
# geese
downed and
not retrieved
4.

How many of the total number of birds you shot were taken with the aid of the following
special regulations:
Geese shot after
sunset

Geese shot with aid of
electronic call

Geese shot with 4th,
5th, or 6th shell in
magazine

Shot and retrieved
Downed and not retrieved
5.

Please list the counties where you hunted snow geese during the 2010 spring season in
State Name, and how many geese you shot and retrieved in each county:
County
# days hunted
# geese shot and retrieved

6.
7.

Will you hunt snow geese in 2011 if a spring season is offered again in State Name?
_________
Please add any comments you have on the 2010 spring season for snow geese in State
Name:
Please return this survey in the envelope provided. Thank you very much!