CALLING ALL GEESE; HOME AWAY FROM HOME: GOOSE PITS IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

To Southern Illinois, the goose that laid the golden egg is much more than a fairy tale. It's an economic fact of life that annually puts thousands of hopeful hunters into goose pits and lines Southern Illinois' economic nest with millions of dollars.

It's goose-hunting time in Southern Illinois' four-county "quota zone" -- Alexander, Union, Jackson and Williamson counties -- and hunters there are making the most of the 1994 season.

Although the wily Canada goose can be elusive (many migrate to Southern Illinois annually and have learned that the "safe" times for flight are before 6:45 a.m. and after 3 p.m.), the current season has been a good one, according to hunting club operators.

Following a slow start during the milder days of December, hunters found the geese moving as the weather chilled, bringing clouds, rain and drizzle into the area.

Because hunters typically make hunting club reservations months in advance, whether or not they "limit out" depends not only on the expertise of the hunter who "calls" the geese but also on the weather. And that, as residents of Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri know, can change in a hurry.

Collin Cain of the Grassy Lake Hunting Club near the Union County Wildlife Refuge said he remains optimistic about the 1994-95 season despite this winter's extremely mild weather. "The geese are here. Whether or not a day is slow depends largely on the weather. If the sun doesn't come out, the hunting is usually good."

Frank Blakemore agreed.

"The colder and the rainier the better," said Blakemore, owner of Blakemore Hunting Club near Horseshoe Lake Wildlife Refuge.

Weather that normally sends people hurrying inside brings out the geese. "The worse it is for humans, the better is for geese and ducks," said Howard Smith, an operator at the Flyway Goose and Duck Club, located just south of Ware near the Union County Refuge.

The hunters are at his place by the dozens, said Darold Billings, whose hunting club is located alongside Route 3 near Horseshoe Lake. "We had some great days and we've had some slow days," Billings noted. "But we're been killing a few geese every day."

Thousands of hunters from throughout the nation throng into Southern Illinois during December and January for the annual goose hunt.

Horseshoe Lake, in Alexander County, has long been acclaimed as the "Goose Hunting Capital of the World." Some 60 hunting clubs in Alexander County and neighboring Union, Jackson and Williamson counties provide hunters with goose-hunting facilities that range from primitive (a bench) to plush (heated pits with telephones and guides).

A day in the pit can cost from $50 to $80 and up, plus guide costs. Hunters, however, spend more than that. According to various surveys, the average goose hunter spends $150 to $160 a day while in the Southern Illinois area.

The big honkers are worth their weight in gold, said Larry Bowman, director of the Williamson County Tourism Bureau, which keeps tabs on the economics of goose hunting in the four-county area.

Every goose you see flying in the quota zone is worth $10 to the economy, Bowman said.

The surveys show that goose hunters bring more money into an area than any other type of hunter. The Williamson County Tourism Bureau survey utilizes a `hunter-day' system. During a recent year, the survey found that more than 80,800 hunters sought out the Canada geese.

Bowman said 75 percent of the hunters are "visitor" hunters.

This tabulates into $9.4 million annually. Add in the expenses of the 25 percent of local hunters and the total is over the $10 million mark in the four counties.

As many as a million geese may be found in the four-county area at the season's peak.

The official high count may be around the 800,000 to 900,000 figure, but that doesn't include all the geese that crowd into farm ponds and other small-water impoundments. That could shove the count up to the million mark, a number which was used to come up with the $10 per goose economic average.

Another survey conducted in the mid-1980s discovered that hunters averaged just over $350 per goose harvested in the quota zone. Using the 26,000 harvest figure, this adds up to almost $10 million going into the economy of the four-county area.

Either way, the economic impact totals about $10 million.

Some of these funds trickle into the Southeast Missouri area. Many "visitor hunters" who schedule hunts in Union and Alexander counties book hotel rooms and frequent restaurants in Cape Girardeau.

Hunters in the quota zone had their first shots at geese Dec. 3 this year.

During a late-November count, 66,200 geese were spotted in the Southern Illinois area and Ballard County Wildlife Refuge in Western Kentucky. Since then, the count of Canada geese has soared along with the kill.

During the most recent census, conducted last week, more than 350,000 geese were counted in Southern Illinois and the Ballard County Wildlife Refuge of Western Kentucky.

Almost a quarter-million geese were counted in the quota zone. The lion's share of geese were found at the Crab Orchard Wildlife Refuge, with 116,000. About 65,000 were found at the Horseshoe Lake Refuge and 60,000 were counted at Union County Wildlife Refuge.

Hunters bagged more than 9,700 geese during the first 23 days of the season -- through Dec. 25 -- for an average of more than 420 geese a day.

The goose season will run through Jan. 22, a total of 51 days, or until a quota of 39,800 is reached. The quota is up from last year's limit of 30,600. Hunting hours in the quota zone are one-half hour before sunrise to 3 p.m. The daily bag limit in the two zones is two Canada geese.

A change has been made in reporting the kill this season. Last season, hunting clubs had to mail in their kill total twice a week. This year, they have to call in the total twice a week.

"I don't think we'll reach the quota this year," said Smith. "I think we'll go through the entire season."

Blakemore predicted another big finish. "Of course, we've got to have some bad weather first," he said.