The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is undertaking its annual tradition of establishing the late-goose hunting season to allow farmers to control populations in early spring. Hunters, however, are urging the department to shift the season to earlier in the year, and the proposal is under review at the Fish and Game Commission.
Yet Katie Little, a policy advocate for the California Farm Bureau, is worried about the impacts to farmers. She explained to the commission recently that foraging geese, if unchecked, can cause significant damage to crops and pastures in Northern California. Rice and dairy farmers have already lost millions to the drought and this would set them back further, she argued.
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Little shared that UC Cooperative Extension specialists are studying the impacts of waterfowl to ag. She hopes the results will provide more information to the commission before it votes on the proposal in April.
