All snow geese nest in the arctic, principally in North America. They migrate to wintering grounds in the southern United States and Mexico. Ross' geese, another arctic nesting North American species, are similar to snow geese but much smaller - less than four pounds. Most snow geese and all Ross' geese are white with black wing tips. White and blue-phase birds are simply genetic variations within the same species, just like yellow and black Labrador retrievers.
Greater snows occur only in the white phase.
Management of each population is guided by plans created through cooperative efforts of the flyway councils, representing states, provinces, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Canadian Wildlife Service. The birds that migrate through North Dakota are part of the Mid-Continent Population. These geese nest from the southern shores of Baffin Island, to South Hampton Island, along the western portions of Hudson Bay and west across the northern coast and islands of Canada to about the 100th meridian. They migrate south along Hudson Bay and stage in the prairie regions of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the Dakotas each fall. Wintering grounds are principally in Texas, Louisiana, and eastern Mexico, but some birds winter as far north as Kansas.