# WI goose hunting going to pot



## bratlabs (Mar 11, 2005)

I thought the WI guys should see this crap. Maybe some of you guys that are into politics can enlighten me as to how this can happen, it sounds like hunting club money is involved somewhere.

Geese in Illinois are sitting ducks
State hunting officials have decided to end quotas as warmer winters change birds' migratory patterns

By Charles Sheehan
Tribune staff reporter

March 29, 2006

When the goose hunting season opens later this year, Illinois probably will be without the quotas that have governed harvests for more than four decades, state officials said Tuesday.

The decision to end goose quotas has nothing to do with reducing the most prevalent species of Canada goose in Illinois--the giant--which has become the bane of picnickers at Chicago's Grant Park and of country club keepers.

Rather, it is a response to the changing migratory habits of the Mississippi Valley population (MVP), a species that for as long as anyone can remember has migrated in great numbers to Southern Illinois, a one-time mecca for goose hunters.

But the numbers of MVP geese making that trip to refuges in Southern Illinois and farther south has fallen precipitously over the last 20 years, partly because of warmer winters, state officials say.

Aerial surveys in 1985 indicated there were about 355,000 MVP geese in Southern Illinois. This year's survey showed there were about 55,025.

The state has been moving toward an end to quotas for years because of the decreasing numbers of MVP geese in Illinois, said Sam Flood, acting director of the state Department of Natural Resources. At the same time, giant Canada geese have flourished, which has been reflected in Illinois hunters' harvests.

If approved as expected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in July, the no-quota experiment will run for at least five years.

The end of the quota system for hunters means the end of erratic hunting seasons since the 1960s that are called off when the quota number is reached.

The quota for the last season in Illinois was 44,800 geese.

The hunting season in the northern zone ended 10 days early this year and more than a month early in central Illinois, said state waterfowl biologist Ray Marshalla.

The long migration

MVP geese nest in Hudson Bay or Northern James Bay in Ontario each year. Around September, they begin the long migration through Wisconsin and Michigan to Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky.

The migrating geese until recent years made up 95 percent of the harvest in Illinois, state biologists said. MVP geese now make up only about 35 percent, and it is the giant Canada geese that find themselves increasingly in the crosshairs.

Giant Canada geese were thought to be extinct by the 1950s, but in 1962 a small number were found wintering in Rochester, Minn., and they have been reintroduced throughout the region with tremendous success.

"Harvest quotas were established years ago to protect the subarctic nesting MVP geese when those birds comprised the majority of the state's harvest, but hunters in Illinois these days are taking far more resident giant Canada geese," said Flood.

About 82 percent of all geese harvested by hunters during the last three years in the Mississippi Flyway in six Midwestern states have been giant geese, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

"You can look at what happened this last season when the snow line stopped right about where I-80 is," Marshalla said. "The southern zone [in Illinois] reached only half of their quota and in the north zone, they had to shut down the season 10 days early because the quota was reached."

The five other Midwest states that are part of the Mississippi Valley Population Committee, which monitors migration along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will end their quotas next year.

In addition to warmer winters, modern farming techniques have also changed the behavior of migrating MVP geese, said Marshalla.

No-till farming

No-till farming employed on a growing number of fields has left acres scattered with uncollected ears of corn. For geese traveling hundreds of miles, the corn that now speckles agricultural fields is like neon fast-food signs for college students on a road trip. When the geese find abundant sources of food, they stop their migration south.

Biologists travel to Canada every year to do aerial surveys of MVP geese nesting sites. Those numbers are used to determine quota numbers for the state's three waterfowl zones, divided from north to south.

The Mississippi Valley population's size is strictly monitored because heavy snow conditions in Canada could kill off large numbers of geese even before migration toward hunting fields in Illinois, Marshalla said.

The unpredictability of hunting seasons have cost club operators like Matt Porter of McHenry a lot of money and have ruined vacations for hunters.

Porter's Hunt Club opened in 1991 after he spent years hunting in the southern tip of the state.

"It was a burden on hunters, it was a burden on the conservationists who had to track numbers and it was a burden on wardens who had to do enforcement," he said. "It's great news."

The start of the season for the three waterfowl zones has not been determined.

Season length will depend on the zone and the daily bag limit, still to be determined.

Our season was 90 days and now they want to make it probably 70 days and we dont even met are quote, but Ill. closed early and now they getting rid of their quote??


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## dvegas (Apr 24, 2005)

What is your point? Illinois no longer shoots the number of MVPs it used to. What does Wisconsin's season shortening have to do with the removal of quotas in Illinois? And lastly, why would you think that clubs have anything to do with this?


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## bratlabs (Mar 11, 2005)

First of all welcome to Nodak forums :beer: , secondly my point is why shorten the WI season and possibly the daily bag limit(qouta) but eliminate the quotas for IL? It seems all the clubs in Southern IL have said they havent been killing the #s like they use to and now IL wants a full length season no matter how many they kill, the qoute from Matt Porter doesnt help the arguement that its not the clubs. I talked to a guy that lives in IL and pro staffs for Heartland Calls today and found out a little more about the whole deal and it doesnt sound as bad as I intially thought. I also dont agree with a 5 yr. experiment period, why not 2 yr.? Alot of damage could be done in 5 yrs.. One article I read almost sounded like the whole flyway might be doing this no quota experiment, any info. on that? I just dont want to see the resource exploited for a few and not managed for the majority, and thats my point.


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## duck991 (Feb 17, 2005)

I guess i don't understand your complaint, are you mad about your hunting club going under or what.The changes will have little to no impact on you I would also bet they open a late season (10 day) like they do in minnesota.There is way to much money wasted on quotas when they need to spend it on habitat so the birds come back to the mississippi flyway.


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## C BROWNDUCK (Oct 11, 2003)

i think your worrying about nothing, the only time they do away with quotas is when there is no chance in heck they can reach it and with only 55000 geese in the area, reaching a quota of 48000 is impossible, we used to have a quota at swan lake in missouri, in the early 70's, the season would close in 3 or 4 days, the glory years, but as time went on, fewer and fewer geese were making it to us and quota or no quota didnt make a hill of beans difference.....sounds as though more geese are staying up your way and you probably should be happy!!!!


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## bratlabs (Mar 11, 2005)

duck991 said:


> I guess i don't understand your complaint, are you mad about your hunting club going under or what.


I am in no way affiliated with are will ever be with a hunt club. We do have alot of birds around here later in the season, Im just afraid that with no qoutas for my southern neighbor the numbers of returning giants to southern WI will drastically decline. Dont get me wrong, I want the fairest season for all and will sacrifice to acheive that and I only wish the best for the ILL. goose hunters. I hope that Im worrying about nothing, Ill guess Ill have to wait and see. That would be great if they opened a late season the end of Dec. but with talk of a 70 day season I personally dont see it happening unless they split the season or a later start date.


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## Clark Griswald (Mar 16, 2006)

it sounds like this is going to happen according to Kent Van Horn the states head waterfowl manager. The reason he is complaining is because we have not been reaching our quota in 90 days and now they are shorting our season to 70 days. That is rediculous, we should be gettin more days if anything not shorting our season.


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## fishless (Aug 2, 2005)

Im not suprised wi doesnt reach there quota, with all there different management zones, tags ect. I thought they were just saving the geese for ill. anyhow.


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## Click9 (Mar 7, 2005)

Clark Griswald said:


> The reason he is complaining is because we have not been reaching our quota in 90 days and now they are shorting our season to 70 days. That is rediculous, we should be gettin more days if anything not shorting our season.


My thoughts exactly!!


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## duck991 (Feb 17, 2005)

The true reason wisconsin's goose hunting is going to pot is because the law lets click9 hunt. :beer: I live in the most liberal state of them all with our 4 duck limit,and our season that ends before the ducks leave canada.This said i still love to hunt and find ways to do what i love no matter how they mess with the seasons or quotas.


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## bratlabs (Mar 11, 2005)

He cant hit anything, so that might be why we have trouble filling our qouta!! oke:


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## Click9 (Mar 7, 2005)

lol duck991 :lol: Sorry I didn't get a chance to get in touch with you when you were in SD. Phone reception was bad and we were on the move chasin' snows. Maybe have to get out on a Canada hunt this fall.



bratlabs said:


> He cant hit anything, so that might be why we have trouble filling our qouta!! oke:


Your right I was a terrible shot this spring! :beer:


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## bratlabs (Mar 11, 2005)

Clark Griswald said:


> it sounds like this is going to happen according to Kent Van Horn the states head waterfowl manager.


Hey Clark, any word on WI qoutas yet? Last I heard we may have a 1 goose per day season at 70 days which doesnt make any sense to me if its true, we dont fill our qouta in 90 days with 2 a day for most of the season.


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## dvegas (Apr 24, 2005)

The reason Illinois is going without a quota is because the majority of the geese we kill are not migrators. This past season was the first since 2000 that we have had a big push of geese from anywhere else then Illinois.


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## Clark Griswald (Mar 16, 2006)

if anything is going to happen i was told it was gonna be 2 a day for 70 days, but they are trying to work it out for 1 a day for the first month and then 2 a day for longer than just the 70 days, so then we can have a longer season. But if nothing else we will have a 2 a day for 70 days it sounds like.


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## Click9 (Mar 7, 2005)

Clark Griswald said:


> if anything is going to happen i was told it was gonna be 2 a day for 70 days, but they are trying to work it out for 1 a day for the first month and then 2 a day for longer than just the 70 days, so then we can have a longer season. But if nothing else we will have a 2 a day for 70 days it sounds like.


I sure hope we get the first option you mentioned. We sure love hunting those late season honkers! Right Bratlabs :beer:


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## bratlabs (Mar 11, 2005)

Damn straight!! The later, the better.


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## duck991 (Feb 17, 2005)

Nice pics trevor, but i am sure you didn't hit any of them on purpose they felt sorry for you and had a heart attack.One more thing who let you guys take pics of birds they killed,did you pay per pic?  I got had to come home early my buddies grandmother past away so we only scouted never even fired a shot.


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