I remember a story told to me by a friend who is part of a group of goose hunters that tries to go to Canada goose hunting every fall. Goose populations have exploded to the point where many farmers welcome hunters to remove them from their property. My friend recalls their group eating in a Canadian restaurant and having landowners approach them, begging them to come hunt geese on their farms.
Unless you’re absolutely driving blind or totally oblivious to your surroundings as you travel, you have noticed hordes of white geese in local fields. Looking like God shook them from a giant salt shaker, “light geese” (which include Ross’ geese and both greater and lesser snow geese) are overly abundant most years around Kansas, and with the absence of winter over much of the state, their populations only grow. But never fear, that institution known as “The Fed” has again come to the rescue. A federally-authorized program known as the Light Goose Conservation Order, February 19 – April 30, 2018 is here to help.
The Light Goose Conservation Order 2018 allows for UNLIMITED harvest of light geese in Kansas from Feb. 19 through the end of April. Now a conservation order is an odd name, you might say for an order that allows for increased harvest of wildlife. The light goose populations have exploded in the past few years to the point where light geese have nearly denuded portions of their fragile arctic tundra breeding habitat, also negatively impacting other species of songbirds and water birds in the process
This program comes with lots of perks for hunters. First of all, it allows for unlimited harvest as there is no daily bag or possession limit. This also means unlimited goose breasts for the freezer or unlimited goose jerky, and extended hunting days for the hunters. The order also allows hunters to use electronic game calls (not legal during normal goose seasons) and unplugged shotguns, meaning now 5 or more shells can be loaded into shotguns instead of just the 3 allowed during normal waterfowl seasons. All Kansas hunters need to take advantage of this special extended season is a regular 2018 Kansas hunting license and the Kansas HIP Permit, State Waterfowl Stamp and Federal Waterfowl Stamp required for any waterfowl hunting.
It’s seldom that Kansas hunters are asked to “save the day,” but in essence that’s what we’ll be doing by participating in this special extended goose hunting season. I know when the weather gets nice like this many of us put away the steel shot shells in favor of turkey loads, and even exchange the shotgun for a fishing rod. But why not keep the decoys out of storage a little longer this year and put a few more goose breasts in the freezer to go along with some fresh sweat corn on the grill come July. Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!
Steve can be contacted by email at [email protected].
