TENTATIVE 2010-11 Canada Goose Seasons

Goose Hunting Area Boundary Descriptions

Shooting Hours: one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.

Bag Limits: The daily bag limit is the maximum number of birds that any person may take or possess in the field during any one day. The possession limit is twice the daily bag limit for all waterfowl species except snow geese. The possession limit is the maximum number of birds that any person may possess in total in the field, at home, in transit, or in storage. See table below for specific bag limits for each Goose Hunting Area.

Non-toxic shot: Required

Other: You must register with HIP to hunt geese.

^a Final regulations will be posted on the DEC website and announced in a press release in August.
^b See map (above) and boundary descriptions (below) before going afield.
^c September season in Western Long Island will be closed to allow extension of the regular season in this area only.
^d The Special Late Season is open only in a small portion (north shore) of the Central Long Island Area (see description below).
^e Cackling geese and white-fronted geese may be taken as part of the Canada goose daily and possession limits.

Special Late Canada Goose Season

DEC offers a special Late Canada Goose Hunting Season. The Late Canada Goose Hunting Area is that area of the Central Long Island Goose Hunting Area (see Regular Goose Season map) lying north of State Route 25A and west of a continuous line extending northward from State Route 25A along Randall Road (near Shoreham) to North Country Road, then east to Sound Road, then north to Long Island Sound, and then due north to the New York-Connecticut boundary.

Season Dates: February 10 – February 15

Bag Limit: 5 geese per day, 10 in possession.

Shooting Hours: One-half hour before sunrise to sunset

Non-toxic Shot: Required

Other: All migratory bird hunters must register with HIP.

New York State Goose Hunting Area Descriptions

For descriptions of these areas based on road boundaries, rather than Wildlife Management Units, see Road Boundary Descriptions of New York State Goose Hunting Areas

1. The Lake Champlain Goose Hunting Area is the same as the Lake Champlain Zone.
2. The Northeast Goose Hunting Area is the same as the Northeastern Waterfowl Hunting Zone. (That area north of a continuous line extending from Lake Ontario east along the north shore of the Salmon River to Interstate 81, south along Interstate Route 81 to Route 31, east along Route 31 to Route 13, north along Route 13 to Route 49, east along Route 49 to Route 365, east along Route 365 to Route 28, east along Route 28 to Route 29, east along Route 29 to Interstate Route 87, north along Interstate Route 87 to Route 9 (at Exit 20), north along Route 9 to Route 149, east along Route 149 to Route 4 north along Route 4 to the New York-Vermont boundary, exclusive of the Lake Champlain Zone.)
3. The East Central Goose Hunting Area consists of the following WMUs: 4A, 4F, 6P, 6R, 6S, 7M, and 7P. The East Central Goose Hunting Area also includes those parts of WMUs 7F and 7J lying south of Route 31 and east of Route 81.
4. The South Goose Hunting Area consists of the following WMUs: 3A, 3C, 3H, 3K, 3N, 3P, 3R, 4G, 4H, 4O, 4P, 4R, 4W, 7R, 7S, 8M, 8N, 8P, 8T, 8W, 8X, 8Y, 9A, 9C, 9F, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M, 9N, 9P, 9R, 9S, 9T, 9W, 9X, and 9Y. The South Goose Hunting Area also includes: that part of WMU 8G lying south and west of a continuous line extending along the New York State Thruway from Crittenden-Murrays Corners Road (near the Erie-Genesee County line) to Exit 48 in Batavia, then south along State Route 98 to State Route 20; that part of WMU 3G lying in Putnam County; and that part of WMU 3S lying north of Interstate Route 95.
5. The West Central Goose Hunting Area consists of the following WMUs: 7A, 7H, 8A, 8C, 8F, 8H, 8J, 8R, and 8S. The West Central Goose Hunting Area also includes: that part of WMU 6K lying west of a continuous line extending along the north shore of the Salmon River from US Route 11 to Interstate Route 81, then south along Route 81 to Route 49; those parts of WMUs 7F and 7J lying west of Interstate Route 81; and that part of WMU 8G lying north and east of a continuous line extending along the New York State Thruway from Crittenden-Murrays Corners Road (near the Erie-Genesee County line) to Exit 48 in Batavia, then south along Route 98 to Route 20.
6. The Hudson Valley Goose Hunting Area consists of the following WMUs: 3F, 3J, 3M, 4B, 4C, 4J, 4K, 4L, 4S, 4T, 4U, 4Y, 4Z, 5R, 5S, and 5T (excluding that area that is within the Lake Champlain Zone); that part of WMU 5J lying east of a continuous line extending along Interstate Route 87 from Route 29 at Saratoga Springs north to Route 9 (at Exit 20), then north along Route 9 to Route 149; and that part of WMU 3G lying in Dutchess County.
7. The Western Long Island Goose Hunting Area is that area of Westchester County and its tidal waters southeast of Interstate Route 95 and that area of Nassau and Suffolk Counties lying west of a line extending from the New York-Connecticut boundary due south to the northernmost end of the Sunken Meadow State Parkway, south along the Sunken Meadow State Parkway, the Sagtikos State Parkway, and the Robert Moses State Parkway to its southernmost end, then due south to international waters.
8. The Central Long Island Goose Hunting Area is that area of Suffolk County lying between the Western and Eastern Long Island Goose Hunting Areas, as defined above and below.
9. The Eastern Long Island Goose Hunting Area is that area of Suffolk County lying east of a continuous line extending due south from the New York-Connecticut boundary to the northernmost end of Roanoke Avenue in the Town of Riverhead, south on Roanoke Avenue (which becomes County Route 73) to State Route 25, west on Route 25 to Peconic Avenue, south on Peconic Avenue to County Route (CR) 104 (Riverleigh Avenue), south on CR 104 to CR 31 (Old Riverhead Road), south on CR 31 to Oak Street, south on Oak Street to Potunk Lane, then west on Stevens Lane, then south on Jessup Avenue (in Westhampton Beach) to Dune Road (CR 89), then due south to international waters.
10. The Special Late Canada Goose Hunting Area is that portion of the Central Long Island Goose Hunting Area lying north of State Route 25A and west of a continuous line extending northward from State Route 25A along Randall Road (near Shoreham) to North Country Road, then east to Sound Road, then north to Long Island Sound, and then due north to the New York-Connecticut boundary.
    

    Snow Goose Season

    Special Snow Goose Harvest Opportunity

    Areas open: Western, Northeastern, Lake Champlain and Southeastern Waterfowl Zones
    Areas closed: Long Island Zone
    Season dates: March 11 – April 15, 2010
    Shooting hours: ½ hour before sunrise to sunset
    Bag limits: 15 snow geese per day, no possession limit
    Special measures allowed: electronic calls, unplugged shotguns (more than 3 shells)
    Non-toxic shot: required
    Requirements to participate: current small game hunting privileges, federal duck stamp and registration in New York’s Harvest Information Program (HIP). NO special permit is required but participants must provide harvest information if requested by DEC.

    Snow Goose Population and Harvest Trends

    The Atlantic Flyway population of light geese, composed mostly of “greater” snow geese, increased from approximately 50,000 birds in the mid 1960s to more than one million birds in recent years. Population estimates in May 2009 reached a record high of 1.4 million birds. Most of these birds pass through New York during spring and fall migrations and spend the winter in New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. Managers concerned about the impacts of too many snow geese have recommended a population goal of 500,000 – 750,000 in the Atlantic Flyway. The only practical way to reduce the population to that level is to increase hunter harvest, which in recent years has averaged between 30,000 – 40,000 birds in the flyway, including about 5,000-10,000 in New York.

    New York has had a long hunting season for snow geese for many years, but until recently, federal regulations did not allow the season to be open after March 10, when large numbers of snow geese begin migrating north from their wintering areas. From mid March to mid April, more than 100,000 snow geese may spend time in New York, fueling up for their return to the arctic breeding grounds in May. Even larger numbers of snow geese congregate along the St. Lawrence River in southern Quebec, where annual surveys have documented the dramatic growth of this population (see chart below).

    

    Why have snow goose populations increased so dramatically? First, the availability of waste grains on agricultural fields provided a vast new food supply for these birds. Second, continuation of restrictive hunting regulations during the 1970s and 1980s allowed the population to grow while hunter harvest rates declined. These two factors resulted in a higher reproductive rate, a higher adult survival rate, and offspring that were in much better condition to survive.