Can a wildlife management area support both wildlife and human recreational opportunities, particularly hunting?
Canada geese are more wily than most people think. For example, a new study by a team of researchers at Pennsylvania State University reports that Canada geese, Branta canadensis, seem to understand when and where hunters will arrive, and yet they still refuse to leave their favourite haunts, despite the risks. This study’s findings aligns with a previous study conducted in Chicago (more here).
“Canada geese — many of which are non-migratory in Pennsylvania — account for about half of the total harvest of waterfowl within the state of Pennsylvania,” said the study’s senior author, Frances Buderman, an assistant professor of quantitative wildlife ecology. “However, we know very little about how resident geese respond to hunting pressure on Middle Creek and Pymatuning Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) and similar areas across the country.”
Pymatuning WMA comprises 9,661-acres in the northwest corner of Pennsylvania and Middle Creek WMA comprises 6,207-acres in the southeast. Both WMAs are operated and maintained by Pennsylvania Game Commission specifically to increase game species and to create hunting opportunities. These WMAs are comprised of cropland, forest, lake and wetlands that serve to provide refuge for geese that may help alleviate the effects of hunting. The agency additionally maintains stationary waterfowl hunting blinds which are allocated to duck and goose hunters using a lottery system.
Because these WMAs are designed to provide two conflicting services — to maintain wildlife habitat and to offer recreation, including hunting opportunities that may scare the birds away — no one really knows how the resident geese perceive the situation. This is where Professor Buderman and collaborators enter the picture.
“We looked at whether hunting pressure on these sites is causing geese to leave the WMAs,” Professor Buderman said about the study.
To monitor the movements of the geese, Professor Buderman and collaborators trapped a total of 134 female geese and fitted them with GPS collars to track their movements over two hunting seasons. During that time, the researchers collected and analyzed 7.4 million observed locations provided by the 134 geese.
The data revealed that resident geese abandoned location where hunters were active for short periods of time to avoid being killed, but overall, they maintained their long-term fidelity to the WMAs themselves. This finding surprised the researchers and ran counter to findings from similar waterfowl studies, according to Professor Buderman.
Professor Buderman and collaborators explained in their study (ref) that the geese are probably relying on both a cognitive map of risks — a “landscape of fear” — as well as an awareness of when the danger is present — a “schedule of fear” — to move around their environment and to make decisions about the trade-offs between refuges, resources and habitats.
Further, the study’s findings suggest that if geese find sufficient refuge — pockets of habitat where they can remain hidden from hunters — they are not likely to abandon a WMA at all.
“Many aspects of wildlife biology are simultaneously centered on two types of objectives: supporting the population of the animal and supporting human activities, such as maximizing recreational opportunities, which can include hunting,” Professor Buderman explained. “It turns out the WMAs, which are being managed by the Game Commission for hunted species, including Canada geese, really are serving their twofold purpose — to provide habitat for the species throughout its life-cycle and to provide opportunities for hunters.”
“Hunter satisfaction is important to agencies like the Game Commission,” Professor Buderman pointed out. “Satisfied hunters support wildlife and habitat programs, which ultimately support the conservation of hunted and non-hunted species.”
“In terms of waterfowl hunters nationwide, they’re some of the biggest contributors through their required purchase of a federal Duck Stamp,” Professor Buderman said.
According to the US Fish and Wildlife service, the Federal Duck Stamp program is amongst the most successful conservation tools ever created to protect habitat for birds and other wildlife. Ninety-eight percent of the purchase price of a duck stamp goes directly to acquire and protect wetlands, to help purify water, aid in flood control, reduce soil erosion and sedimentation, and enhance outdoor recreation opportunities. Since 1934, over $1.1 billion dollars have been raised from sales of Federal Duck Stamps to conserve over 6 million acres of land within the National Wildlife Refuge System. In addition to hunters, birdwatchers, conservationists, stamp collectors and others also purchase the Duck Stamp stamp in support of habitat conservation.
Source:
Karen E. Beatty, Nathaniel R. Huck & Frances E. Buderman (2024). Anthropogenic predation risk alters waterfowl habitat selection, Landscape Ecology 39:201 | doi:10.1007/s10980-024-01995-w
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