Early Canada goose season harvest estimates up
Southern Duck Zone opens on Sept. 29
MADISON -- Preliminary estimates from the early Canada goose hunting season in Wisconsin show that hunter success was up, with this year’s harvest exceeding last year’s total. State wildlife officials say approximately 22,095 Canada geese were harvested this fall from Sept. 1 through 15.
“This number exceeds all earlier years’ totals for the early goose season,” says Kent Van Horn, migratory game bird ecologist for the state Department of Natural Resources. “We predicted it would be a good year for Canada goose hunting in Wisconsin and it was. Hunters had a good early season.”
In comparison, last year’s estimated harvest during the early season was 20,034 geese.
The early goose season targets the resident population of Canada geese that breed in Wisconsin, since Canada geese that breed in Ontario do not migrate to Wisconsin until later in September or October. Canada geese that breed in Wisconsin are viewed differently by Wisconsin residents.
Van Horn says that while some residents value these geese for aesthetic reasons and some enjoy them as a recreational hunting resource, other residents view them as a nuisance, particularly in urban and suburban park-like settings. The harvest level this year continues to demonstrate that the early September Canada goose hunting season remains an effective tool for managing our resident Canada goose population.
