# snow goose season,, really worth it/necessary??



## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

I hear a lot of mixed feelings on the snow goose thing..Some say its just a thing for all the clubs and leased up private land. as well as the fact that we don't have that many snows here to justify it. and all the crazies out there chasing them is just going to lead to the snow geese changing migration patterns and getting the heck out of here in a bigger hurry than usual..I am usually in favor of any hunt if the average joe hunters are able to get out and have a chance at a few.. I guess I'm curious about peoples opinions if this hunt really only benefits a few and was basically lobbied by special interests like clubs and guides with leased land..I'm not all caught up on the info and just thought I'd open it up for debate.


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## king eider (Aug 20, 2009)

I know a few farmers in Corinne are happy to see them birds pushed around. Although I don't know how successful it is from a farmers point of view. Anyhow, if your lucky enough to be in the right spot, have fun shooting them!!!


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## huntall (Sep 11, 2007)

I know of a Politician in Corinne that makes $80,000 plus per year on hunting clubs - He played a huge part in getting the season opened.
Wonder why he would be favoring that ? :lol: 

Season good or bad - I don't know, but if you are fortunate enough to be in a club up there, it's a good thing, but clubs cost $


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

It is about reducing the snow geese numbers so that they are not above the carrying capacity of the nesting habitat. It is not always about someone making a little money. Sometimes it is about using hunting as a management tool. Now that is a revolutionary concept.


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## captain (Nov 18, 2007)

I think it is a good thing. I just wish it would go a little later into the year. The hunt last year didn't affect the migration much from what I understand. Talking to several farmers in Corrine the snow geese still did quite a bit of damage to their fields after the hunt. Also, this is not considered a "depredation hunt". That is the main reason why extended magazines, electronic calls, and a later season have not been approved. I believe that the fish and game aknowleged that there was a huntable population and gave us an opportunity to hunt them. I am personally greatful for the chance we have. Last year we went out to Salt Creek and took pictures of decoying ducks, swans, and canadian geese during the hunt. We didn't see a snow all day, but to be out hunting the end of February was a great experience. If a guy has access to private property it would even be better. I do know for a fact that several guys shot snows at Salt Creek Last year.


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## nickpan (May 6, 2008)

They do a good deal of damage to the fields in Corinne, especially if the snow is gone by the time they arrive. But like some of the guys have said, it is not just about the farmers. Nesting habitat can get destroyed as well. And anybody that things the clubs in Corinne "slaughter" them is totally wrong. These birds are on the move constantly field hopping and don't just decoy readily. And the numbers aren't all that huge. Yeah a few birds are killed but its not like what you see on tv from back east. And last year the bunch of them didn't even show up till the last week of the season.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

I say it's a good thing for us to have the opportunity, even if most of us are stuck hunting public areas. At least the DWR leaves some of the WMA's open for us to hunt. Also it is a regulated hunt with "season rules" in effect, so there are limits and guidelines in place. It's not a conservation order like they have in other parts of the country. IMHO it's a good deal... :wink:


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## Mojo1 (Sep 8, 2007)

Is it worth the cost and effort? Only the hunter can answer that.

Necessary? Depends on who you ask? Ask an anti-hunter, and they will answer NO! Ask a farmer that has flocks of them hitting his crop field and he will say YES!

Will the hunt change the snow geese patterns, yes it will, they are some of the toughest birds to consistently decoy and kill, in other words they learn very fast how to avoid hunters. Back east we routinely field spreads of 500 to 1500 decoys to lure them in.

That leads to the talk of it only benefitting the clubs and guides, why do I say that? Because as the birds get the pressure it takes more and more decoys to pull them in and requires you to move the spreads more often. The clubs and guide service can do this because they either pool their resources (clubs) or are making $ to afford to do those things (guides). To the hunters that don’t have the $ or resources to do that, it will appear to only benefit those that do.

Am I saying an average hunter will never kill any, no I’m not, but you aren’t going to have the success of the bigger groups.

I would think everyone should just be thankful they have the chance to hunt them here, instead of having to travel out of state to do so.


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## nickpan (May 6, 2008)

> Will the hunt change the snow geese patterns, yes it will, they are some of the toughest birds to consistently decoy and kill, in other words they learn very fast how to avoid hunters. Back east we routinely field spreads of 500 to 1500 decoys to lure them in.


This is a benefit for the farmers. Yeah you may not kill anything, but as far as the farmers are concerned they don't care where they are, as long as they are out of their fields. Any lease money therefore would be an extra income, rather than using that $$ to pay for crop damage. This could help the average joe be more successful at WMA's. Look at it this way, if there was a hunt, but private property was banned from any hunter, there would be less birds frequenting public places. Hunters on private property help those who aren't.



> That leads to the talk of it only benefitting the clubs and guides, why do I say that? Because as the birds get the pressure it takes more and more decoys to pull them in and requires you to move the spreads more often. The clubs and guide service can do this because they either pool their resources (clubs) or are making $ to afford to do those things (guides). To the hunters that don't have the $ or resources to do that, it will appear to only benefit those that do.


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The clubs in that area are not ran as most of you think. The majority consist of members who buy their own gear and hunt on their own time just as any other average joe duck hunter. Basically you pay your dues and get access to the land, end of story. Most are just a bunch of buddies who way back in the day started helping the farmers out and pay next to nothing to hunt their land, instead they have good friendship relations with the property owners and do alot to help them out. Yes there are a few clubs up there that are 'commercialized' or for the select few wealthy privileged individuals, but in all actuality, i have had better hunts more consistently on public ground than most of the guys at the high dollar clubs out there. I know several guys from various clubs that wish they weren't forking out all the money. Its not like these clubs are running outfitting/guiding operations like the guys back east, as the birds and the resources just don't compare and would be a waste IMO. And if there are some out there that are, i'm sorry for the guy that gets suckered into going and paying them to hunt. One of the biggest misconception of the "Private Clubs" are gauranteed harvest, dream like hunts. Not the case. For example, I know several guys from the Chesapeke Gun Club, which has one of the best habitat/hunting conditions and operations up north and they get skunked day in and day out. And we are talking BIG $$$$$ to join and hunt this club. I think some season totals from one of the clubs that has access to nearly all west corinne was less than 100 birds easy IIRC.

Personally, guys that have the opportunity to hunt private ground are a good thing for the public hunter. Birds don't like pressure and getting shot at, regardless of how tasty the field looks. They will go elsewhere. No matter where you are it is still called hunting.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

I agree with the club thing.We use to belong to a club up north and we had to pay are dues every year and they was not cheap. All a club is for is to get on land that only you pay for and hunt. When we hunt the club there was days we hunted for three days and never fired a shot and we was right by a couple high end dollar clubs. Every one think that club kill all of the birds and so on they don't.There some clubs up there that cost couple million dollars to join and stay with a year and they don't kill the geese and ducks that bad.


For the snow geese hunt.Yea it a great Idea.It give another month to hunt geese and make the summer shorter for us.Do we kill as many snow as back east hell no.But we do kill some and it give you another chance to work your dog,spend time with your hunting buddy's.I'm glad they leave some WMA'S open for us public hunters to give it a try.


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## 1BandMan (Nov 2, 2007)

Its a gnat on a fly's butt. 

There's usually not enough birds to worry about. Some folks do really, really well but overall.....well not that awesome.

It is indeed another opportunity, but for very few as the birds are concentrated in just a few areas with even fewer opportunities to have them in range to put any on the gound or splash in the water. 
Maybe it will evolve into something more but it's not up to much in my opinion.


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## LETTER-RIP (Sep 14, 2007)

did not put much thought into it at first. sounds like it will give some folks the option to go out and hunt. which this time of year there is not much else to do but fish. 
all the talk about money has me feeling like a tight wad! i have been invited to hunt some pp. for a weekend. 200$. to me that seems like alot of money to pay to shoot 20 birds. and there is no garantee that i will shoot my 20 birds over the weekend.


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## rjefre (Sep 8, 2007)

An "invitation" to pay 200 bucks to hunt a field? Sounds more like a *solicitation* to me. Value is a relative term though, and $200.00 could be a bargain to many people.
R


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

I'm not much of a waterfowl guy myself. But hunting/shooting snows is really a big deal. They are totally overpopulating their summer nesting grounds to a point of some serious habitat destruction issues. When I lived in the central fly way, the season on them was long and there was no limit, and hunters were "encouraged" to kill as many as they could. And snows were one animal that could be left to rot. I had several friends that were hard core waterfowlers, and they viewed snow geese kind of like a trout fisherman views carp. I had friends in Nebraska that would kill several hundred each season, with many taking over 100 on any given day. They used rag decoys to draw them in, and would put out 400-500 in a corn field to get enough white ont he ground to bring them down. And even with all that, it barely dents the enormous populations of these things.


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## Duckholla (Sep 24, 2007)

I'd say there are enough in Utah that there is a need:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=396&sid=8879144&pid=46


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

eastern conservation hunts are a totally different thing than what we have here...we don't have anywhere near the numbers they have back east...heck,, 1 field back east has more snows in it than we have pass through the whole state... relatively speaking with snow geese, we have a pretty small flock that comes through the state.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

I know the conservation hunts in other states don't compare to Utah. But the problem is all about the summer nesting ground in Alaska & Canada. Anything any of the states can do to reduce numbers there, is a good thing.


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## 1BandMan (Nov 2, 2007)

I think most folks understand the snow goose population issues and also the reasoning for the conservation hunts with the birds eating themselves out of house and home. If numbers cant be controlled they will eventually be controlled through natural means but at the cost and loss of tundra habitat and other ecological issues. 

I think most folks also understand that the numbers have come up in Utah to the point that a hunt is doable, but again, it's not up to much in Utah due to the concentration of the birds limited to certain areas. If you can successfully hunt them, bonus for you. But... yes, the hunt is very limited to a certain few in Utah. 
Should we discontinue the hunt? I don't think so. Maybe it will evolve into something more. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is disrupting the nesting of other waterfowl or is detrimental in some other way(s).....well then maybe it will have to be looked at it again.


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

I see the reasoning on both sides, however I don't think our hunt here helps out much at all when it comes to reducing numbers and damages in the arctic region...I guess I'm just worried that hounding this flock of snows every year will change there flight patterns 5 or 6 years down the road and you'll see less and less at the snow goose festival and so on. but who knows, I think it's cool people get a crack at them now and hope it doesn't disturb any pattern. just always curious about peoples thoughts and data on the issue. guess we'll see in the coming years.


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