CORNING--A mid-March, spring blizzard is currently arriving in southwest Iowa. It's not your usual kind of snowstorm, however. This one doesn't consist of snowflakes but rather of snow geese.

Hundreds of thousands of lesser snow geese are currently pushing their way northward toward the remote, arctic breeding grounds of their ancestors. A spring spectacular of the highest order, the spring snow goose migration is hailed by scientists as one of the greatest wildlife assemblages on earth. It is a sight and sound that cannot be fully appreciated until witnessed firsthand.

Some of the most impressive concentrations occur along the broad floodplains of the Missouri River corridor in extreme western Iowa. Here snow goose numbers often reach or exceed one million birds. But along with those numbers, come problems. As contemporary populations of snow geese have continued to soar, the damage to fragile arctic nesting habitats has become dramatic and intolerable.

"Total snow goose numbers have more than tripled during the past 30 years," says DNR waterfowl biologist, Guy Zenner.

"Today, we've come to a point where we're literally seeing arctic nesting snow geese eat themselves out of house and home," Zenner said.

Scientists note that a full third of the vast arctic tundra is already destroyed, and that another third has been severely impacted by foraging snow geese. Were the damage stop immediately it could take a full century, perhaps more, for fragile plant life to recover. In addition to snow geese, the devastation is having a negative impact on nesting ducks, shorebirds, and other migratory nesters.

In an effort to reduce the numbers of light geese, a special spring [conservation order] hunt was initiated in 1999. The goal of the emergency act was to reduce the snow goose flock [estimated at more than 6 million birds] by 50 percent. With the seventh year of special goose hunts currently underway, biologists are encouraged as the measure shows preliminary signs of success.

"For the first time since records were kept, we are seeing the combined [regular and conservation order] harvest of snow geese reach or exceed one million birds," said Zenner.

"In Iowa, success has fluctuated with weather conditions. During the past five seasons we have harvested anywhere from around 12,000 to over 32,000 geese during the special [conservation order] seasons.

"I think it is important to note that our combined annual snow goose harvest now represents about four times the average that occurred from 1988 to 1997. To me, the figures are extremely encouraging and suggest that, given the appropriate time and tools, hunters may just be able to bring this population under control."

Depending on spring weather patterns, biologists predict that good numbers of snow geese, including an increasing number of juveniles, should continue to migrate through the state for the next two weeks. This year's snow goose hunt continues through April 15.

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