Date: 11/28/25 3:49 pm From: Martha Jordan via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Snow Geese - western arctic population
Yes, there are a lot of snow geese in this population. Keep in mind that Washington State's wintering snow geese are NOT part of the WAP. They are from Wrangle Island, north of Siberia in the Chukchi Sea. Only a few (100+ or so maybe a tad more) of the WAP winter in eastern WA, the rest are from Wrangel. The Audubon magazine article was a good one with the exception that they interviewed a Skagit Valley farmer about issues with snow geese in western WA. And both the Fraser Delta and western WA snow geese are all from Wrangel Island. They are not in an expansion phase, more like a stable or slight decline phase. Also of note, the mid-Continent Population of snow geese are managed under a completely different plan (Central Flyway) and those birds do not come here. We are in the Pacific Flyway. There is a lot to know about all this, and fluctuations are happening each year. What I do know is that some misinformation is out there in regards to populations, wintering areas, hunting regulations and pressures, and major shifts in agricultural practices that are shifting our winter snows from western WA to the east side.
