EXPANDED STATE PARK HUNTING
Eastern end goose hunters may be aware that last year, Greenbo Lake State Resort Park was open for goose hunting, to help manage a decent-sized flock in that area. The season ran from mid-December through the end of January, and hunters could hunt certain portions of the lake and adjacent shoreline owned by the park. About the only other restriction was to check in each day.

This year, Pritchert expects several other state parks to more or less follow suit, and be opened to goose hunting like Greenbo.

“While the lakes associated with many of these parks have generally been open to on-the-water hunting out of a boat, we’re cooperating with a half dozen or more locations this winter to permit some goose hunting on park grounds, in addition to the waterway or reservoir on which the park is found,” explained Pritchert.

Hunters should closely check the final waterfowl season regulations. But additional state parks located at Yatesville Lake, Paintsville Lake, Lincoln Homestead, Barren River Lake, Barkley Lake, Grayson Lake and the Pennyrile State Resort Park will likely allow goose hunting this season.

“They approached us about a way to help manage resident goose flocks that stay on the park grounds much of the time,” said Pritchert.

The report on Peabody goose numbers is decent, but Pritchert says that last year’s reduction in hatch survival may knock the population back some this season.

“Some have seen a pretty big increase in goose numbers, and the preference is not to wind up in a situation of having to capture and relocate birds to keep from getting more than what visitors (and parks grounds keepers) might enjoy.

“Moving birds just to get them out of a location is an expensive and time-consuming solution when harvesting those birds safely can be an option or, as it sometimes happens, let the hunting activity discourage the geese from staying on the park grounds 24-7 and creating conflicts.

“We suggested allowing some hunting in specific areas where the birds sometimes group up and cause some problems. And I believe that will be a good solution for the park, while at the same time providing some additional hunting opportunity for local hunters,” he said.

Hunters need to understand that while the KDFWR regulates the season and limits, hunting will be on land owned by Kentucky State Parks, and so parks personnel will determine what areas are open on their lands.

They will also determine the procedure and any other hunter rules for these hunts, such as check in, distances that must be maintained from buildings, campgrounds, trails and so forth.

“I think this will be a really good chance for hunters to have some success because in some cases, this is the first season these birds will have experienced being hunted, and they may be easier to hunt,” said Pritchert.

“Geese become educated quickly,” he said. “And when there is just one spot you can get to and they figure things out there, it cuts down on your options after a few days of how to get them to work your location again.”

The biologist suspects that some shooting may spread the birds around. If hunters can spend a little time scouting, they may find some spots like coves or embayments on the big lakes are being used more often than -- for example -- the golf course lake, which is much more accessible for hunting.

For complete information about these new opportunities, you’ll have to consult the Kentucky Waterfowl Hunting Guide for any last-minute rules that may be hammered out between the two agencies, or for areas added or deleted to the list for the 2007 season.

RIVERCORRIDORS
If you hunt on some of Kentucky’s numerous flowing waterways, your chances of success on Canada geese have increased steadily in recent years. Flocks have developed on tons of private lakes in west-central and central Kentucky. When the land-locked waters freeze over, that sets up a good situation to hunt the closest river or large creek in late season.