In an attempt to control goose numbers through hunting, wildlife managers increased the daily bag limit from five to seven and eventually to 10 birds over the last decade. But hunting hasn't put a dent in the population. In recent years sportsmen harvested around 500,000 white geese annually, barely a glitch in the booming community that now has risen to an estimated 5 million snow geese. The best case scenario is that the population will drop far below its historic average and remain there until the forage reestablishes itself. A less optimistic forecast is that disease, another by-product of overpopulation, could wipe out white geese, as well as other Arctic breeding birds.
Sportsmen wonder why it took so long to address the problem.
After all, the devastation was first observed over a dozen years ago. Let's hope the geese can survive all the political posturing. Kris' Kitchen . Outdoor Secrets . Good Fishing .