Pennsylvania Goose Hunting Early Season Rules The early season for Canada geese runs Sept. 1-25 and will again feature a daily bag limit of eight birds across most of the state, including the Lehigh Valley.
The September goose season, first implemented in 1992, is specifically designed to target resident flocks that are considered a nuisance in many areas because of the damage they do to farmers' fields and the feces they deposit at public parks, swimming areas and golf courses.
The bag limit for the September season was expanded to eight statewide in 2004 -- the same year the resident goose population peaked at an estimated 299,000 birds.
Since then, Dunn noted, there is evidence the early hunt, along with other goose-control efforts such as egg oiling, is helping get the birds' population under control. This year, the commission estimated the resident goose population at 246,500, which is down 4 percent from 256,000 last year and nearly 14 percent lower than the five-year average of 285,250.
In 2006, the most recent statistics available, the commission estimates 67,410 Canada geese were killed during the September season, representing 42 percent of the annual total. In 2005, hunters killed an estimated 70,590 birds in September, or 39 percent of the total.
Tracking the early-season goose kill is one of the best ways to monitor resident bird mortality, since separate populations of migratory Canada geese don't show up in Pennsylvania until after the September season is over.
''Hunting remains the most effective and efficient way to manage resident Canada geese, provided hunters can gain access to geese in problem areas,'' said John Dunn.
Unlike their migratory cousins, which travel to arctic Canada to breed each spring, resident geese are born here and generally die here, moving only when forced out by extreme weather or human intervention.
Dunn said the number of resident Canada geese tripled between the late 1980s and early 2000s, an increase he attributes largely to suburban development with manicured lawns and detention ponds. In the process, humans unwittingly created lots of excellent goose habitat.
Here is some specific goose hunting information for managed areas you should be aware of:As in recent years, there will be no September goose season within the commission's Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lebanon and Lancaster counties to address the ongoing decline in resident goose numbers there. Also, the daily bag limit for the September season is one bird in areas around the management area
The early statewide season for resident Canada geese will open Sept. 1, and continue through Sept. 25. There have been changes to bag limits and zone boundaries this year. The Southern James Bay Population (SJBP) zone boundaries have been changed, and the bag limit has been reduced to three geese daily, and six in possession. The SJBP zone is defined as: the area north of Interstate 80 and west of Interstate 79, including in the city of Erie west of Bay Front Parkway to the Lake Erie Duck zone, which includes Lake Erie, Presque Isle and the area within 150 yards of the Lake Erie shoreline.
Also, this year, hunters can take one Canada goose in the Pymatuning zone, while hunters may take up to three geese on Pymatuning State Park Reservoir and an area extending 100 yards inland from the shoreline of the reservoir, excluding the area east of SR 3011 (Hartstown Road). However, in the Pymatuning zone, all of State Game Land 214, which is comprised of nearly 5,400 acres in Crawford County, is closed for the early Canada goose season.
Dunn also noted that the controlled hunting areas at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lebanon-Lancaster counties will remain closed to address the decline in the resident Canada goose flock. In the area of Lancaster and Lebanon counties north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike I-76, east of SR 501 to SR 419, south of SR 419 to Lebanon-Berks county line, west of Lebanon-Berks county line and Lancaster-Berks county line to SR 1053 (also known as Peartown Road and Greenville Road), west of SR 1053 to Pennsylvania Turnpike I-76, the daily bag limit is one goose, possession limit two geese. The early season is closed on State Game Land 46 (Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area).
Excluding these three areas, the early season in the remainder of the state retains a daily bag limit of eight and possession limit of 16.
Dunn noted that recent liberalizations in Canada goose hunting opportunities, along with control programs being implemented by many municipalities and public and private landowners, finally might be stabilizing the growth of the state's resident Canada goose population. The 2008 Pennsylvania resident Canada goose population was estimated at 246,500, which is similar to the recent five-year average of 285,250.
"Hunting remains the most effective and efficient way to manage resident Canada geese, provided hunters can gain access to geese in problem areas," Dunn said.
For further goose hunting information: Season dates and bag limits for the remaining 2008-09 waterfowl seasons will be finalized later this month and posted on the Game Commission's Web site, http://www.pgc.state.pa.us
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