EVALUATION OF THREE DAMAGE ABATEMENT TECHNIQUES FOR CANADA GEESE

Canada geese (Branta canadensis) frequently damage agricultural crops during spring and fall migration through Wisconsin (Hunt 1984). Most complaints about crop damage occur during the fall, and depredation control has been an important aspect of goose management near Horicon National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) (Hunt and Bell 1973). Traditionally, farmers in the Horicon area have relied on propane exploders (gas cannons), scare flags, shell crackers, hunters, and financial compensation from the state to cope with crop depredation caused by Canada geese (Hunt 1984). However, area farmers find these depredation abatement techniques insufficient to prevent the occurrence of unacceptable levels of crop damage (Heinrich and Craven, unpubl. data). Currently, Canada goose damage abatement in the Horicon NWR area is a cooperative effort between the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, APHIS-Animal Damage Control (APHIS-ADC), and the area farmers; the agencies provide the abatement materials and the farmers provide the labor. A substantial increase in the goose flock using Horicon NWR during the early 1980s resulted in increased concern over the damage problem and focused renewed attention on the need to evaluate abatement techniques. In an extensive postal survey, Horicon area farmers strongly expressed their need for new methods to protect their crops (Heinrich and Craven, unpubl. data). In 1985 and 1986, in response