Background Information and Q&As

Wrangel Snow Geese and Proposed Spring Harvest for Western Snow Geese

Key Points • The Wrangel Island population has recovered from low population levels and is now above its population objective. • A small proportion of the Wrangel Island population has already been exposed to annual spring harvest in Saskatchewan since 1999, yet the Wrangel Island population has increased in recent years. • If there is a spring harvest for Snow Geese in Alberta and Northwest Territories, the number of Wrangel Island that would be harvested annually likely would not be more than a couple of thousand birds. This is unlikely to have a serious impact on the population.

Wrangel Island Snow Geese – Background Information Distribution • Nest on Wrangel Island, (northeast of the Russian mainland) • Migrate along the Pacific coast or through western Canadian prairies and northwest (Figure 1). • Winter either at the Fraser and Skagit River Delta (British Columbia and Washington) or California.

Population Status • Annual surveys were done on Wrangel Island from 1970 to 2011. • The population decreased from approximately 150,000 in 1970 to 56,000 in 1975, the population then fluctuated at a population level of about half its former size, but has recovered in recent years to more than 150,000 again (Figure 2). • The population is currently above the population objective of 120,000 (North American Waterfowl Management Plan 2012).

Management Issues • In the late 1990s, the Wrangel Island population was still well below the population objective of 120,000 birds. One of the reasons why Canadian Wildlife Service did not implement a spring harvest in Alberta and Northwest Territories at that time was due to possible impacts to the Wrangel Island population. Given that the population is now above its population objective, concerns about increased harvest on this population are likely less than a decade ago when the population was at much lower levels. • Spring harvest was implemented in Saskatchewan in 1999 in an effort to reduce the midcontinent population. In western Saskatchewan, some Wrangel Island birds have been harvested during the spring hunt. Despite this, the numbers of the Wrangel Island population have increased. • Recently, Wrangel Island geese wintering in the Fraser-Skagit Delta have caused crop depredation complaints, aircraft safety concerns at the Vancouver International Airport, nuisance issues in urban areas, and bulrush habitat degradation in area marshes.

Figure 1. Fall migration of Western Arctic (upper left) and Wrangel Island Snow Geese (upper right) and spring migration of Western Arctic (lower left) and Wrangel Island Snow Geese (lower right). Relative arrow size indicates approximate proportion of population using that migratory route.

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Figure 2. Total spring population of Snow Goose at Wrangel Island, 1970-2011.

Questions & Answers

1. How many Wrangel Island birds migrate through the prairies and northwest Canada? • In fall, about 17,000 birds migrate through the western Canadian prairies and northwest Canada (11% of the current total population of 150,000). • In spring, about 45,000 birds migrate through the western Canadian prairies and northwest Canada (30% of the current total population of 150,000). • This is based on observations of collared geese and recoveries of bands from 1987- 92 and the assumption that the current proportions of the Wrangel Island population using different migration pathways has not changed.

2. In Alberta in spring, what is the proportion of Wrangel Island birds? • The current spring population for Western Arctic Snow Geese is at least 500,000 birds. • In Alberta in spring, 10% or less of the Snow Geese would be from the Wrangel Island population, with the remaining geese from the Western Arctic population.

3. How many Wrangel Island birds would be killed during a spring harvest in Alberta? • The average annual fall harvest in Alberta for Snow Geese is currently about 10,000 birds and it is reasonable to assume that the number of birds killed in spring would be similar. • Assuming that ≤ 10% of the spring birds are from Wrangel Island, then about 1000 Wrangel Island birds would be harvested. • This assumes the Western Arctic and Wrangel Island birds have an equal probability of being shot.

4. How many Wrangel Island birds would be killed during a spring harvest in the Northwest Territories? • Only about 200 waterfowl licenses are sold annually in the NWT. • Most of the harvest in the NWT is aboriginal subsistence harvest, which can occur at any time of the year without a waterfowl license. • The number of Wrangel Island birds killed during a spring sport harvest in the NWT would likely not be any more than in Alberta (i.e., likely less than 1000 birds).

5. Would a spring harvest in Alberta and Northwest Territories have a negative impact on the Wrangel Island population? • If there is a spring harvest for Snow Geese in Alberta and Northwest Territories, the number of Wrangel Island birds that would be harvested annually likely would not be more than a couple of thousand birds, which would be less than 2% of the population. • This is unlikely to have a serious influence on the population, particularly now that the population has been increasing in recent years.