Waterfowl hunters in Iowa harvest Canada geese from 3 of the 11 races of Canada geese that are found in North America: giant Canada geese(Branta canadensis maxima), interior Canada geese (B. c. interior) and Richardson’s Canada geese (B. c. hutchinsii).  In some cases, these races are further divided into subpopulations for management purposes.  For example, the Eastern Prairie Population (EPP) and Mississippi Valley Population (MVP) are subpopulations of interior Canada geese.  Giant Canada geese, the largest of the 11 Canada goose races (9+ lb.), nest in southern parts of the Canadian provinces and from the Midwest to the Atlantic coast.  EPP and MVP Canada geese, subpopulations of the interior race of Canada geese (6-9 lb.), nest on the west and south sides of Hudson Bay.  Tall Grass Prairie Population (TGPP) Canada geese are comparatively small geese (<6 lb.), often referred to as "hutchies", that nest in the Arctic on Baffin Island.  With the exception of Giants, these groups of geese were named during the mid 20th century for their primary wintering sites:  MVP for the lower Mississippi Valley, EPP for geese that wintered around Swan Lake in MO and TGPP for the small Canadas that wintered in the tall grass prairie region that stretches from Iowa to Louisiana.

For most of the 20th century, the status of subarctic and arctic-nesting Canada goose populations (EPP, MVP and TGPP) determined hunting regulations for all Canada geese in the Mississippi Flyway.  Giant Canada geese were not considered in the equation because their numbers were insignificant (an estimated 20,000 in the early 1960’s).  When sub-arctic and arctic-nesting Canada goose populations were high, hunting regulations were liberal.  In Iowa, for example, a liberal Canada goose hunting season was 70-days long with a 2-bird bag limit.  When the Canada goose populations were low, hunting opportunities were restricted.  A restricted Canada goose season in Iowa was usually 45 days long with a 2-bird bag limit, although seasons were as short as 23 days with a 1-bird bag in the 1970’s. 

Today, Canada goose hunting regulations are complicated by increasing numbers of giant Canada geese, the mixing of different races of Canada geese on migration and wintering areas that used to be specific for a single population, and the fact that some of these populations are increasing while others are decreasing.  To add to the challenge of managing harvests of these birds, all races or populations of Canada geese are not harvested uniformly over their migration ranges and, except for TGPP which are noticeably smaller, are indistinguishable from each other when on the wing.  These difficulties, however, do not relieve the states or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) of their legal responsibility to control harvests so that all distinct populations are maintained at viable levels.

Over the years, the Iowa DNR has cooperated with the USFWS and other states and provinces in the Mississippi Flyway to provide reasonable hunting opportunities within the limits of the status of these various Canada goose populations.  This has resulted in adjustments to season length and bag limits from time to time to reduce harvests of one or more groups of geese.  It is important to remember that the regulations setting process is a cooperative, democratic process (see The Process of Setting Hunting Regulations).  Cooperation among states and provinces is essential to effectively manage migratory waterfowl resources.  The process contains checks and balances that enable a group of states to impose restrictions on another state or limit another state’s harvest opportunity if the group feels the state’s hunting season proposal is not in the best long-term interest of the resource that they all share. 

Hunters must realize that when restrictive goose hunting regulations are put in place, they are, in fact, designed to reduce their opportunity to shoot geese, thereby reducing the goose harvest.  Population status is very carefully considered before any such restrictions are implemented.  The restrictions, however, must also be effective to see improvements in the status of the goose population of concern.  Because Canada goose migration chronology and staging habitats have changed over time, hunting restrictions that were used in the past to reduce harvests may not effectively reduce harvests today.  Changes in goose migrations and staging habits may require new and innovative regulations to reduce harvests of geese from a specific population.  When restrictive regulations are in place, however, hunters should expect to have something less than an ideal season.  If a states restrictive regulations do not reduce its harvest from the population of concern, other states can take action, through the Flyway Council, to insure that more effective regulations are used in the future.

The reproductive biology of Canada geese also influences harvest restrictions.  Canada geese usually do not nest until they are at least 3-years old.  Thus, young geese have to survive 3 hunting seasons before they begin to reproduce.  Canada goose populations, therefore, do not recover rapidly after a population decline.  This delay may even be longer for subarctic and arctic-nesting Canada goose populations because they have low reproductive rates (i.e. first nest at age 4 and have small clutches) and high mortality rates (they are hunted throughout a long migration).  Canada goose hunting restrictions designed to help a goose population recover nearly always remain in place for 2 or more years.

The Mississippi Flyway Council believes that a conservative approach to Canada goose harvest management is in the best long-term interest of Canada goose populations and goose hunters. Giant Canada goose populations, however, have complicated Flyway Canada goose management strategies by creating the illusion that all Canada goose populations are doing well and that hunting restrictions are unnecessary.  Succumbing to this illusion could have dire consequences for hunters. 

For example, increasing numbers of giant Canada geese masked the decline of the Southern James Bay Population (SJBP) of Canada geese in the eastern Mississippi Flyway.  The SJBP was traditionally monitored through winter counts. When this population was surveyed on its nesting grounds, it became painfully obvious that the SJBP had declined substantially.  The Flyway Council and the USFWS took drastic steps to curb the harvest of geese from this flock, some areas having only 16-day seasons.  When the Atlantic Population of Canada geese declined in the 1990’s, regular Canada goose seasons were closed in most of the Atlantic Flyway despite overabundant giant Canada goose populations.  Even when giant Canada goose numbers are increasing, the status of other Canada goose populations cannot be ignored.  Hunting regulations are often designed for the least common denominator.  In this case, the Canada goose population that is of greatest concern.

Special Canada Goose Seasons
The challenge of managing local Canada goose populations in conjunction with other less stable or declining goose populations has led most states to implement some kind of  special early or late Canada goose season.  These “special” seasons are designed to provide hunters with additional opportunities to harvest local giant Canada geese when few, if any, migrant Canada geese are available to be harvested.  In fact, until 1996, special early Canada goose seasons could only be implemented in the Mississippi Flyway where states could show that the expected goose harvest would be 90% giant Canada geese.  This was done using neckcollar observations of both giant Canada geese and EPP and MVP Canada geese that had been marked on their nesting grounds.  In addition, the state implementing the special season had to evaluate the season’s impacts on other goose populations for at least 3 years to conclusively show that 90% of the harvested geese were giants.  Since MVP, EPP and giant Canada geese cannot be separated by casual observation, biologists took specific measurements of wings, legs and heads from harvested geese collected during the special season.  The combination of these measurements, along with the bird’s age and sex, can be used to determine, with relative certainty, which population (EPP, MVP or giant) the goose was from. 

These evaluations were conducted in many parts of the Mississippi Flyway during the 1980’s and 1990’s.  Combined, they indicated that very few subarctic or arctic-nesting Canada geese (EPP, MVP, or SJBP) migrate into the states before September 15.  Consequently, in 1996, the USFWS permitted any state within the Flyway to implement special early seasons for giant Canada geese between September 1-15 without conducting a rigorous evaluation. 

In Iowa, the giant Canada goose population in the northcentral and northwestern parts of the state appeared to have saturated most of the available nesting habitat in 1996 and was believed capable of sustaining some additional hunting pressure.  As a result, a special 2-day early September Canada goose season was implemented in those regions.  Hunters took advantage of this opportunity and harvested 10,000 to 16,000 Canada geese during those special 2-day seasons between 1996 and 1998.  Nearly all the harvested birds were giant Canada geese that had hatched in Iowa, although a few undoubtedly originated in southern Minnesota. 

At the time, it was not known if our local Canada goose populations could maintain themselves in the face of this additional hunting pressure.  Some very recent information suggests that they may not be able to.  Because the status of our own giant Canada goose population largely determines the goose hunting opportunities and success across the state, this situation will be closely monitored to ensure that these local populations remain at viable levels.  In other words, the special 2-day Canada goose season may not be open consistently from year to year.  Implementation of this special season will depend upon the status of our local giant Canada geese. 

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