C. Boyd Pfeiffer, The Examiner
2008-06-27 07:00:00.0
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BALTIMORE -

The option of Canada goose hunting starting as early as Aug. 1 has been nixed by Maryland, according to Department of Natural Resources waterfowl project leader Larry Hindman.

“We had the option this year of opening the season (for resident Canada geese) as early as Aug. 1,” Hindman said. “However, we took it to the Maryland Waterfowler’s Association and other stakeholders, and we are not going to do it this year. “There was a fair amount of opposition to it, [and] I am not aware of any state that is going to take it."

The August option was made last year by the feds to cut down on the numbers of resident geese from the 83,000 population then in Maryland to the long-term goal of 30,000. The population numbers for the 2007-2008 harvest are not in yet from the feds and are expected sometime in early July.

Opposition to an August goose-hunting season seemed to be of typical concerns, according to Hindman. He listed in no particular order, the warmer weather, a lack of hunting access, possible spoilage of game and the difficulty of hunting prior to Labor Day when kids and families are using public areas.

Some problems are solvable, such as using a goose-size cooler and reusable ice packs to keep geese palatable. Encouraging farmers to allow hunting can be met with facts about keeping crop predation down while following farmer requests to protect property.

Warmer — or hotter — weather conjures up images of Canada goose hunting in shorts, a short-sleeve shirt and pith helmet with a pitcher of ice tea and sunscreen handy, and a battery-operated fan running in the blind to keep cool. That's not exactly the cold weather, stamp-your-feet-warm, snow-and-sleet hunting that’s imagined by most waterfowlers.

Hunting did get a nudge in the right direction recently with changes to allow unplugged shotguns and an extension of hunting to a half-hour past sunset. That should have had some effect. Naturally, any effort of chopping populations through hunting is only going to have limited success, since hunting is understandably not permitted in areas where the geese are the most problem. These are the suburbs and urban areas where hunting is not allowed. In the suburbs particularly, there are too many big homes, too many small ponds, too many geese, and no hunters allowed.

The seasons this fall will be identical to last year, said Hindman, opening Sept. 1 for early resident seasons in both Eastern and Western zones and extending through Sept. 15 for the Eastern zone and Sept. 25 for the Western zone. Check the DNR online site at www.dnr.maryland.gov/huntersguide/ewfchart.asp.

There are other ways of dealing with resident Canada geese, although they would not exactly fit into any sporting lexicon. Hindman notes that farmers can apply for crop depredation permits to kill geese — including shooting them — to protect crops from excessive damage. Only about 14 of these were issued last year.

In addition, landowners of any property can apply for nest registration online to get a free permit for reducing Canada geese by oiling (corn oil) or addling eggs. Oiling the eggs to prevent their breathing or shaking (addling) them to destroy the embryo knocks the population down. Just removing the eggs will not, since the female will in many cases just lay more eggs.

For a free permit, you have until June 30 to go online at www.epermits.fws/eRCGR/geSI.aspx.

Back to hunting, Hindman does expect August resident goose hunting to become standard in time, despite current opposition.

"When we opened the Sept. 1 season in 1994, we got the same kind of opposition," Hindman commented. "Should it [August hunting] be implemented, people will go hunting and will enjoy some success, and it will be accepted in a few seasons."

C. Boyd Pfeiffer is an internationally known sportsman and award-winning writer on fishing, hunting, and the outdoors. He can be reached at cbpfeiffer@msn.com.