Snow geese (Chen caerulescens) making use of Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area (Lebanon Co., PA) on their journey north in early spring. -- photo by Karen Hoffman Atwood

"At our recent meeting [Sept.] in Tucson, the NAS Board of Directors approved unanimously a resolution to protect wildlife habitat and ecosystems in the subarctic currently under threat from damage by burgeoning populations of lesser snow goose. Specifically the Board voted to support the science-based recommendations of the Arctic Goose Task Force to reduce the mid-continent population of the lesser snow goose through expanded hunting. Audubon's concern in this situation is in line with our mission to protect birds, wildlife, and their habitat, using the best tools available.

As a result of land-use practices in the south-central U.S., the snow goose population that winters in that area is exploding. The immense flocks of geese then migrate north each spring, eating virtually all the plants in their Arctic breeding grounds and causing widespread devastation to habitat that otherwise would be mostly pristine tundra west of Hudson Bay in Canada.

Ironically, the problem [...] is one of our own making. Efforts to protect and enhance populations of waterfowl have worked too well for snow geese. The mid-continent population (breeding west of Hudson Bay, and wintering on the southern Great Plains and western Gulf Coast) has grown by almost 300% since the 1960s, and is now estimated at over three million. Land-use and wildlife-management practices have led to unnatural survival levels for snow geese on their U.S. wintering grounds. Their burgeoning numbers are now in the process of destroying their own Arctic breeding habitat.

The snow goose population nesting west of Hudson Bay, Canada, has reached incredible densities (sometimes with as many as 3,000 nests packed into one square kilometer of tundra). The geese are now eating everything in sight. Because they grub out plants by the roots, large numbers of them can literally destroy the tundra. To quote Robert F. Rockwell, Kenneth F. Abraham, and Robert L. Jeffries (Winter, 1997, issue of the Living Bird Quarterly), 'Scientists are concerned that the increasing numbers of geese may soon lead to an ecological catastrophe as these voracious feeders turn the delicate arctic habitat they inhabit into a barren wasteland.'

If we do nothing about the situation, the geese will spread across much of the Arctic, devastating huge areas of tundra, and then millions of them will suffer malnourishment, disease, and starvation, leading to a population crash. But by that time, they will have destroyed the habitat for many other species. Studies show that once degraded, this habitat will take decades, at least, to recover. Populations of many other bird species will be hurt by the resulting loss of habitat. These are among the tundra and marsh species that are likely to suffer local starvation and population decline because of the current habitat destruction:

• northern pintail
• green-winged teal
• oldsquaw
• yellow rail
• semipalmated plover
• American golden-plover
• semipalmated sandpiper
• least sandpiper
• dunlin
• stilt sandpiper
• red-necked phalarope
• parasitic jaeger
• Arctic tern
• short-eared owl
• American pipit
• Savannah sparrow
• American tree sparrow
• Lapland longspur
• hoary redpoll

Also possibly affected will be many other bird species such as short-billed dowitcher, Hudsonian godwit, and Smith's longspur, as well as many tundra plants, butterflies, and other organisms.

The problem is urgent. Long-term solutions may involve changes in land-use practices in the southern and central U.S., but more immediate steps are essential. Audubon thus endorses the recommendations of the Arctic Goose Habitat Working Group, an international team of scientists studying the problem.

The Board resolution commits the NAS to work closely with federal, state and Canadian agencies to define the most effective mix of short- and long-term solutions to the snow goose population problem. By acting now, we hope to reduce the loss of critical habitat and to protect the many bird species and other wildlife that depend on this habitat.

For More Info, and a copy of the Resolution, Contact: Vincent Muehter at NAS-HQ, or e-mail him at: vmuehter@audubon.org.