By Joe Mosby
Snow geese in Arkansas and Rodney Dangerfield have a lot in common. They get no respect.
The legions of waterfowl connoisseurs in our ranks are of the greenhead-only mindset, meaning mallard drakes are their thing. Talk to them about hunting snow geese, and they may look at you as they would a raving lunatic.
But snow geese are present in great numbers in parts of Arkansas when other hunting seasons have closed. Snow geese often are found feeding on young winter wheat. They begin migrating north when weather warms in late winter and early spring.
Snow geese milling around a northeast Arkansas field fill the sky in a mid-winter scene common in the state. (Joe Mosby photo)
What is available is this hunt that isn’t called a hunt. It’s a conservation order. Yes, the federal folks created the term, but the bottom line is we have too many snow geese in North America, and we can go after them from now until April 25 with practically any method.
An exception is Saturday and Sunday, when the Youth Waterfowl Hunt is under way, and the special snow goose event is closed.
Technically, this isn’t a special hunting season but a Conservation Order. The regulations are relaxed because it’s important that hunters be allowed to harvest as many snow geese as they can. There’s no daily bag or possession limit on light geese during the Conservation Order, guns do not have to be plugged, electronic calls can be used and shooting hours have been extended to a half- hour before and after sunset. Non-toxic shot is required.
The requirements for hunting are a valid hunting license, either from Arkansas or from the hunter’s state of residence, and a special snow goose registration number.
The hunting licenses can be either resident or non-resident. Hunters may get registration numbers free online.
You will need your hunting license number and your driver’s license or Social Security number for identification. When you complete the application, you will be given a registration number. Hunters also may get the registration numbers by calling the AGFC at 800-364-4263 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Overpopulation of snow geese is destroying their breeding grounds in the far north of Canada, and their numbers need to be reduced. Hunting is the chosen method of United States and Canadian authorities.
The target is what many people call “light geese” and the term includes snow geese, blue geese and Ross’ geese.
Snow geese winter in Arkansas in large numbers, sometimes in flocks of several hundred or even 1,000 or more birds. Agricultural lands of east Arkansas are where most of them are found, but they may turn up in many other areas of the state, AGFC officials said.
Luke Naylor, waterfowl biologist with the state Game and Fish Commission, said the special snow goose conservation season began several years ago and continues this year in an effort to reduce the snow goose population.
“The Conservation Order, with its relaxed harvest regulations, is an attempt to reduce the population to a more healthy level by allowing hunters the opportunity to harvest more geese,” Naylor said.
“Snow geese numbers have increased to the point that they’re damaging their nesting habitat in the sub-Arctic and Arctic tundra, posing a serious threat to the long-term health of the Arctic ecosystem and its associated wildlife communities,” he said.
“This is a unique situation for waterfowl hunters. Most waterfowl regulations are created to protect species from overharvest, Naylor said.” “With snow geese, the objective is to maximize the harvest, and for exactly the same reason — to protect the species and other species associated with Arctic tundra habitat.”
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Joe Mosby is a retired news editor of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Arkansas’ best known outdoor writer. His work is distributed by the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. He can be reached by e-mail at jhmosby@cyberback.com.
