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Iowa Goose Hunters Could See Record Season |
If any group of waterfowl enthusiasts has
the right to be happy, Iowa's Canada goose hunters can go to the head of the
class. After providing decades of financial and volunteer support involving
aggressive wetland restoration and Canada goose recovery programs, those same
hunters are currently reaping the benefits of their
labors.
According to DNR Waterfowl Biologist, Guy
Zenner, Iowa
goose hunters have bagged more than 70,000 honkers during each of the past two
hunting seasons. The statewide take has established two back to back record
goose harvests, and there's no reason to suspect that this year's hunt won't be
a replay.
"Although recent duck migrations have been
variable and unpredictable, Iowa goose hunting has become something that hunters
can depend on," said Zenner.
"Statewide, I'd say that things are looking
very good again this fall. There's plenty of water now and most of our river
systems, marshes, and other wetland habitats are in really good condition. The
annual grain harvest has begun, and farmers are already taking out corn and
soybeans in virtually every Iowa county. As migrating geese began
arriving from the north, an enticing combination of food [waste grain] and water
will make the Iowa landscape extremely attractive," added
Zenner.
According to a report released late last
summer by the Canadian Fish & Wildlife Service, this year's production of
giant Canada geese was very good in southern Manitoba, and nesting success was
rated as ‘good to excellent' for Canada geese nesting on the remote windswept
tundras of the Hudson Bay lowlands.
By contrast, a late [June] snow melt on the
northern Arctic's Baffin Island resulted in a reduced hatch of lesser snow geese
and a poor hatch of Richardson‘s [Hutchin's] Canada geese. Snow goose
production across the central and western portions of the arctic was ‘very
good.'
"The production of giant
Canada geese [from Iowa] was about average this summer, and we know that
overall numbers from most goose populations have increased in Canada," said Zenner. "Whenever the
next series of cold snaps hit, we should begin to see new geese arriving from
Minnesota and Canada. During the first half of
October, we'll also start to see more and more flocks of the smaller, arctic
nesting species. From then on, the goose migration will continue for the
remainder of the season until everything freezes shut up
north.
"Hunters know the flocks are coming. Right
now, it's just a question of waiting for cold weather to push the geese south,"
he said.
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