FOUR RIVERS CA
For nearly a decade, the special Conservation Order has allowed spectacular snow goose hunting in the southwestern quadrant of the state. Most of the hunting is done on private farm fields, onto which thousands of snows can descend to destroy a grain crop, but the spillover does flow over onto public shooting areas like Four Rivers CA.

According to MDC wildlife biologist Francis Skalicay, the special Conservation Order represents a multistate effort at controlling the exploding population of snow geese. He explained that the northern tundra has been damaged by the overabundant geese to the point that the habitat may not support the nesting efforts of the thousands of birds that depend on it if numbers aren’t knocked back. Increased agricultural activity along the birds’ migration route has turned their journey into an intracontinental trip to the salad bar, allowing the birds to flourish, he added.

The order allows a no-limit bag and electronic calls after the regular season has ended, and it eliminates the shotgun plug requirement.

Four Rivers covers 13,929 acres of old fields, crops, wetlands and forest in Bates and Vernon counties 15 miles north of Nevada and four miles south of Rich Hill. For additional information, contact the Four Rivers CA office at (417) 395-2341.

PONY EXPRESS LAKE CA
“If things are freezing up, then Canadas will utilize the Pony Express Lake Conservation Area, including the lake itself,” said MDC wildlife biologist Dennis Browning. “Last year the geese kept the middle of the lake open and roosted there overnight. Hunters can do some pass-shooting both near the lake and along the edges of the property as the birds fly in and out to the farm fields.”

But Pony Express is a tough hunt to figure out, he added. The long, narrow area is primarily a stopover point for Canadas, rather than a major destination point during the cold weather. Snows and a few blues make appearances, but there’s no predicting when that will be. Shooters willing to pack a few decoys into the more-remote sections can set up on wheat fields. Pony Express often holds from 1,500 to 2,000 birds at a time.

Browning pointed out that Pony Express can be overloaded with geese before lunch, but not have a bird in sight a couple of hours later. No one knows why the geese flit around from spot to spot as they do, he noted, adding that it’s an understatement to say that their choices of sites for alighting are hard to predict. In an attempt to stay ahead of the finicky geese, locals tend to move their decoy spreads around from year to year.

Pony Express Lake CA lies south of Maysville and nine miles west of Cameron on U.S. Route 36 in DeKalb County. For more information, contact the Pony Express Lake CA staff at (816) 675-2205.

HARMONY MISSION LAKE CA
“There are very limited opportunities (here) for field-hunting because we don’t have a lot of geese,” said MDC wildlife biologist Josh Cussimanio of the Harmony Mission Lake CA. “On the other hand, we don’t have that many hunters either.”

Most certainly, Canada geese are the name of the game here during January. There is some moist-soil management on the property, with some grain crops, all of which will bring in the geese when they’re in the neighborhood.

“If we get some heavy snows up in the Kansas City area, the weather will push the Canadas on down. But the same conditions that it takes to create snow there usually freezes us up tight,” Cussimanio said.

The hunt isn’t dependable, but it can be a great short-duration shoot if you catch it just right. Migrant Canadas will move onto Harmony Mission to sample surrounding farm fields and to exploit the lakes no more than 10 miles away.

Harmony Mission Lake CA covers 1,080 acres in west-central Missouri and consists of grass and crop fields. A 96-acre lake and several small ponds provide roosting for the geese during periods of open water.

To access Harmony Mission Lake CA in Bates County, take state Route A west from Rich Hill for three-quarters of a mile; then, take state Route PP southwest for about four miles. The pavement on Route PP will end, but a small gravel road continues for about a mile west to the area. For more information, contact the MDC’s Kansas City Region at (417) 395-2341.