The Overpopulation Of The Snow Goose In North America

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the numbers and the degradation but may need to do more studies on the impact to other species and look for other options to control the populations.

Population Trends

The numbers of all "light" colored geese has been on the rise since data was first collected. The Lesser Snow Goose (LSGO) has drastically increased in number since data was first taken. Numbers range from around 800,000 in 1969 to as many as 6 million in 1996 (CWS 1999). While the Greater Snow Goose (GSGO) has risen in numbers from a few thousand to almost 500,000 (CWS 1999). This brief article did not provide much insight into actual numbers. Abraham and Jeffries in their report dig deeper and provide more significant and detailed population counts. Their numbers add in the Mid-winter index, which is the number of geese counted during mid-winter and referred to as MWI. Their numbers also have a count for Ross’ Goose (ROGO) which primarily flies with the (LSGO) and is very hard to distinguish (Abraham and ...

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that farther to the North in states like Nebraska and North Dakota the conversion of grassland prairie into cereal grains has provided a tremendous amount of food for the geese. In addition it has also blurred the area typically considered the wintering range. It may also provide a natural rest stop along the way for migrating birds assuring greater health at nesting grounds (Abraham and Jeffries 1998). The establishment of refugees has reduced the amount of birds taken by hunters allowing more birds to complete a full migration cycle (CWS 1999). Hunting of the Greater Snow Goose was banned in the us from 1931-75 (Abraham and Jeffries 1998). Hunting was not allowed to promote ...

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