blake
Life Member
NEWS!
Snow geese abandon eastern Iowa habitat
by Iowa DNR Biologist Bill Ohde
This year, I witnessed the peak population of two snow geese at the Port Louisa National Wildlife refuge in eastern Iowa. Years ago, I remember seeing several thousand snow geese gathered there.
What happened? Did the geese abandon their traditional flyway to join up with the great flocks still flying over western Iowa, or were they eradicated? Dare we ignore the fact that now a hunter can legally bag only two Canada geese a day but may slaughter 20 snow geese?
As things stand, the difference between two and 20 is meaningless unless it measures the indifference of those entrusted with the management of goose hunting on the Upper Mississippi River.
Soon it may be over. In the silence where the voices of the snow geese used to break the stillness of an autumn night in eastern Iowa, we will be left to mull over the excuses of those who could have at least tried to save these tribes and their migratory tradition, but decided instead to facilitate their destruction.
We will then settle for the silence or drive across the state to hear the voices of the geese that used to fly from the tundra to visit us.
This post is for informational purposes only.
Snow geese abandon eastern Iowa habitat
by Iowa DNR Biologist Bill Ohde
This year, I witnessed the peak population of two snow geese at the Port Louisa National Wildlife refuge in eastern Iowa. Years ago, I remember seeing several thousand snow geese gathered there.
What happened? Did the geese abandon their traditional flyway to join up with the great flocks still flying over western Iowa, or were they eradicated? Dare we ignore the fact that now a hunter can legally bag only two Canada geese a day but may slaughter 20 snow geese?
As things stand, the difference between two and 20 is meaningless unless it measures the indifference of those entrusted with the management of goose hunting on the Upper Mississippi River.
Soon it may be over. In the silence where the voices of the snow geese used to break the stillness of an autumn night in eastern Iowa, we will be left to mull over the excuses of those who could have at least tried to save these tribes and their migratory tradition, but decided instead to facilitate their destruction.
We will then settle for the silence or drive across the state to hear the voices of the geese that used to fly from the tundra to visit us.
This post is for informational purposes only.