The Noble (and Reviled) Canada Goose: Tracing the Transformation of a Conservation Icon

• In Event: Complicated relationships: Wildlife management, protection, and control

Abstract

The Canada goose (Branta canadensis) is a ubiquitous urban resident in the United States, frequently inhabiting public parks, golf courses, college campuses, and residential areas. Once slated for near extinction in the early 1900s, legal protection, habitat conservation, and active restoration measures caused goose populations to increase significantly over the course of the twentieth century. Since the 1990s, the problem of overabundance and the subsequent rise in human-goose conflicts (excessive droppings, aggression, property damage, threats to aviation) have forced wildlife managers to grapple with methods of reduction and (sometimes lethal) control. This paper examines the place of the Canada goose in the history of wildlife management and conservation in the U.S., charting the species’ transformation from the object of Progressive-era experiments in artificial propagation and ambitious mid-century federal and state transplanting projects to the subject of intense public debate regarding the bird’s more recently acquired status as a “nuisance animal.” Through their efforts to save the species and expand opportunities for recreational hunters, I show how wildlife managers’ practices unintentionally helped foster the creation of non-migratory, “resident” populations that readily adapted to human-dominated landscapes, setting the stage for current dilemmas over urban goose management.

Author

• Taylor Bailey, MIT