Breeding Pairs Of Geese Are Down In Panhandle

Canada geese could raise more goslings than they did last year along the Snake River, but breeding pairs in the Panhandle may be down this spring.

The state Department of Fish and Game counts breeding pairs, female geese using manmade nesting platforms in North Idaho, or non-breeding groups.

In the Panhandle, nests at the McArthur Lake Wildlife Management Area declined from 39 last year to 23 this spring, but that location has seen a steady decline in recent years while nesting geese were abundant throughout the region.

At the Pend Oreille management area, nests decreased from 104 last spring to 99 this year, a 5 percent drop. It still is 44 percent higher than the previous five-year average. Nesting at the Coeur d’Alene management area decreased from 94 last year to 86, but it is higher than both the five-year and 10-year averages.

The same situation is seen in north-central Idaho, where the count on the lower 22 miles of the Clearwater River is off from last year by 24 percent. The region is 82 percent ahead of the previous 10-year norm.

In the Salmon area, from the U.S. 93 bridge at Challis to North Fork, the total geese counted was down from 982 to 572 and the nesting pairs fell from 332 to 236. The single geese observed, however, were up from 115 to 151.

The Upper Snake River count showed 543 nesting pairs and a total count of 1,168. Figures from last year were not available.

Nesting pair numbers around Fairfield rose from 79 last year to 139. Indicated pairs, where single geese are seen but the female is probably hidden, were 318 this spring and 128 in 1996. Total geese rose from 214 recorded last year to 713.

On the Snake River in the Magic Valley, nesting pairs were 142, compared with 47 last year. Indicated pairs increased from 160 to 244, and the total count improved from 429 in 1996 to 738.