This Labor Day is the first day for several hunting seasons in Iowa, including rabbit and squirrel, and there’s a special first-ever September season on Canada geese. Guy Zenner is a state waterfowl biologist for the D-N-R, says it’s the first time they’ve opened a small zone geese season. The regular season on the geese usually starts around October first. This special season covers an area in two zones — one around Des Moines, the other from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City. Zenner explains why this special season was created. He says hunters will be able to take some of the birds when there are no migrating birds in the state, those that would be flying over Iowa during the fall. Zenner says the D-N-R is trying to let hunters thin out some of the flocks around the metro areas where geese have become something of a problem. He says the birds thrive in urban areas because they have a high reproductive potential with few city predators and they have high survival rates. The special September Canada goose season opened today and runs through September 15th. He says the Canada goose numbers will not be drastically reduced overnight, but this is a first step toward bringing the numbers down. Information on the special season is available on the D-N-R website “www.iowadnr.com” and at license vendors. The daily bag limit for the special season is three, with a possession limit of six. Hunters will need a valid hunting license and the migratory game bird fee, if normally required.
