Snow goose conservation season opens Feb. 4

LITTLE ROCK - Waterfowl hunting is traditionally a winter
sport, but goose hunters in Arkansas will have an extra
three months to hunt “light geese” (snow geese, blue
geese and Ross’s geese). A special snow goose
conservation season will open on Feb. 4, and extend
through April 27.
“This isn’t a special hunting season but a Conservation
Order instead,” said Luke Naylor, waterfowl biologist for
the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. “Whatever you
want to call it, 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 possessionlimit
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 ½ hour before and
after sunset,” he explained.
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, which are free, by calling the AGFC at
(800) 364-4263 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Naylor said the special snow goose conservation season was initiated several years ago and continues this year in an effort to
reduce the snow goose population from present levels.
“Snow geese overwinter survival rates have increased in response to more favorable feeding conditions on the southern
wintering grounds,” explained Naylor. “They’ve increased to the point that they’re damaging their nesting habitat in the sub-
Arctic and Arctic tundra salt marshes, posing a serious threat to the long-term health of the Arctic ecosystem and its
associated wildlife communities. 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,” he added.
“This is a unique situation for modern-day waterfowl hunters,” says Naylor. “For most waterfowl species we try to limit the
harvest to protect the species. 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,” he said.