Resident goose hunt trimmed in northwest
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
No one’s honking about minor changes in Pennsylvania’s 2017-18 waterfowl seasons. But a notable modification will take place in Crawford County surrounding Pymatuning Wildlife Management Area. The early season for Canada goose has been trimmed by a week, Sept. 116, the daily bag limit has been cut to one and the yearslong closed season at State Game Land 214 at Pymatuning Reservoir remains in effect. Regular-season regulations apply during Youth Waterfowl Days — statewide Sept. 16, Lake Erie Zone Oct. 21, Northwest Zone Dec. 16 andNorth Zone Jan. 20.
Waterfowl that bisect the state’s Lake Erie and Northwest zones travel via the Southern James Bay Flyway, which itself is experiencing change.
“The migratory Southern James Bay population of Canada geese no longer provides the large component of the Pymatuning goose harvest it once did, due to declining numbers overall and a northward shift in wintering range,” Game Commission biologist Jeremy Stempka said, in a spring news release announcing waterfowl hunting seasons. “Consequently, current goose hunting opportunities in the Pymatuning areaare largely dependent on local resident geese.”
While resident geese are a problem throughout much of the state, the Pymatuningarea season restrictions are intended to stabilize or even increase northwestern Pennsylvania’s resident goose population.
“With this population ... showing some recent declines, a reduction in harvest is warranted to ensure adequate goose hunting opportunities over the long term,” Stempka said. “The Game Commission will be closely monitoring the results of this year’s changes.”
Nature provided no “resident” Canada geese in Pennsylvania. The residents are a man-made population created in the 1940s when the Game Commission stocked nesting geese from the physically largest subspecies in Crawford County, and planted more in Lancaster County in the 1960s, with the goal of enhancing Pennsylvania goose hunts.
The range modification worked too well. The geese mate for life, lay five to six eggs in a clutch and are excellent parents. Adult geese have few natural predators and a high survival rate.
TheGame Commission set a management goal of 150,000 birds statewide, based on habitat and food availability, but by the early 2000s an estimated 330,000 resident geese were destroying crops and dropping waste on farmlands, parks and lawns. Crossbreeding among Canada geese and domestic geese results in big, clunky hybrids that wildlife managers would like to see eliminated from thepopulation.
Liberalized hunting seasons have reduced Pennsylvania’s resident Canada goose population, but not enough to satisfy park and marina managers who try to get rid of them through special hunts.
Doe tags and disease
Antlerless permits were still being sold in Wildlife Management Units 1A and 2B, where epizootic hemorrhagic disease has killed hundreds of deer since midAugust. Tags have sold out in 2C, where infected deer have died. Some 22,000 tags remained in 2A, which had not been hit by EHD.