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South Dakota Targets Goose Flock That Has Grown Too Large

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The restoration of Canada geese in South Dakota has gone so well that the state is destroying nests, setting liberal bag limits in early hunting seasons and spending thousands of dollars to keep the birds out of farm fields.

Canada geese were thought to be nearly extinct by the 1950s for reasons that included liberal hunting and habitat loss. The state Department of Game, Fish and Parks, using captive flocks, began a restoration program in the 1960s with the initial release of 32 geese in Mellette County in 1967.

Natural reproduction and the continued stocking of geese for another two decades pushed the population to an estimated 166,000 last spring and an average of 147,000 the past three years.

"That's considerably above our management objectives and we're trying everything we can to get it down to 80,000 to 90,000, which would leave plenty for hunting and for people that like to look at them,'' said Spencer Vaa, senior waterfowl biologist for the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks. "At the same time it would lessen the depredation problems with farmers, in particular those that raise soybeans.''

Resident Canada geese, which weigh 10 pounds or more, nest and raise their young in the state. They've become established in cities where they can loaf and feed without being disturbed or hunted.

The GF&P has received more than 700 complaints from farmers this year about geese eating soybean, corn or wheat plants soon after they've emerged. Damage typically is confined to about 3 acres per field. There were 554 complaints about goose depredation problems last year.

The department spent $457,600 on control efforts in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. Expenses in the fiscal period ending June 30 this year for labor, mileage, equipment and supplies were $522,000, said Keith Fisk, administrator of the wildlife damage program in the GF&P.

By comparison, the department spent more than $1 million on deer depredation problems last winter, although Fisk said conditions were more severe than usual and forced deer to eat hay and feed meant for livestock.

New to the goose management plan this year is what's called a "management take'' that allows hunters in 15 eastern counties to shoot eight Canada geese daily Aug. 14-29.

The state is already using the maximum 107 hunting days allowed under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which doesn't allow hunting before Sept. 1, said Vaa.

States are allowed to reduce a too-large resident goose population with an August season that doesn't count against the 107-day limit.

The August season and another that covers most of the state beginning Sept. 4 both have daily bag limits of eight and target resident Canada geese. The daily bag limit drops to three on Oct. 1 when migrating geese begin passing through the state.

Keeping geese out of fields can involve supplemental feeding sites, vegetation barriers, hazing and placing fences during the summer molting period when geese lose wing feathers and can't fly.

The state also has a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allowing annual depredation kills of up to 1,500 geese and the destruction of 1,000 nests.

There have been fewer than 100 depredation kills each year, but there was a shift this year to destroying nests, which average a half-dozen eggs.

The GF&P destroyed 348 nests and 1,836 eggs last year. This year it was 937 nests and 5,395 eggs.

Much of the nest destruction was in northeast South Dakota and in places like Day County where the GF&P spent $134,011 on depredation and control efforts a year ago.

"In some of those areas that historically have seen a significant amount of depredation we did nest work and this year there was almost no damage to landowners or it was very reduced, and there wasn't a lot of staff time involved there anymore,'' Fisk said.

"We might have put up a couple miles of fences on wetlands, but since we did that nest work it really eased the workload in some areas.''

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