SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 19, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources is proudly detailing its success in tracking geese and the benefits passed on to hunters.
“Canada goose banding went really well last summer,” the agency said. “We banded a total of 2,054 geese in nine areas in northern and northeastern Utah!”
Goose banding in Utah has a long and storied history, the DWR said online. “We started banding geese in 1965 and haven’t missed a year since.
“No other state has banded geese for more consecutive years. Also, no state west of the Mississippi bands more geese than Utah. In fact, we’re consistently among the top 5 goose-banding states in the nation!”
Placing bands on Canada geese helps biologists and hunters a number of ways, the DWR said. “For example, bands placed on birds in urban settings showed very few visited the marshes during the early part of the hunting season.”
With that information, the dark goose hunting season dates in the Northern goose area and along the Wasatch Front were changed. The season now pauses for a short time during the early part of the hunt, but runs longer into the winter. “The change has given hunters better hunting and reduced the number of geese causing issues in urban areas.”
