WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD: ECONOMISTS SAY GOOSE HUNTING IS A VITAL INDUSTRY FOR SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

ALEXANDER COUNTY, Ill. -- Goose hunting is big business in Southern Illinois -- the industry funnels as much as $10 million to the area's annual economy.

Horseshoe Lake in Alexander County, has long been acclaimed as the "Goose Hunting Capital of the World." The Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge in Williamson County is a major wintering ground forlarge populations of Canada Geese, and both areas boast the state's No. 1 goose harvest area.

Alexander, Williamson, Union and Jackson counties make up the four-county "quota zone" of Southern Illinois's goose-hunting area.

Some 60 hunting clubs in the zone area offer goose-hunting facilities that range from primitive, with just a bench, to the plush, with heated pits, telephones and guides up to 70 days each year.

This year's goose season -- the four-day early season opened Thursday -- will close Sunday and reopen Nov. 24 for a 68-day run through January 31, 2001.

Weather affects quota

The season will remain open unless a harvest of 32,900 birds is reached in the quota zone prior to the closing date.

In previous years, the quota has been reached early.

"It all depends on the weather," said Cathy Thornburg, who keeps tabs on geese in the Southern Illinois area for the Department of Natural Resources.

"If the weather is too nice in the northern area, there's no reason for the geese to leave up there," she said.

The flight forecast for Canada geese is 1,295,835, which represents an increase of 22,000 over the 1999 estimate. The Illinois statewide harvest allocation for Canada geese is 127,000, with almost a third of that quota in the four-county zone of Southern Illinois.

Duck hunting is also big in Southern Illinois, with a fall flight expected at about 90,000 ducks this year. Illinois duck hunters averaged about nine ducks each during last year's season.

Worth their weight

But it's the big honkers that are worth their weight in gold, say goose economists.

Every goose you see flying in the quota zone is worth $10 to the economy, according to the Williamson County Tourism Bureau that keeps track of the economics of goose hunting in the four-county area.

A day in the pit can cost from $50 to $100 or more, plus guide costs. Hunters, however, spend more than that. According to various surveys, the average goose hunter spends $150 to $200 a day while in Southern Illinois.

A tourism survey shows that goose hunters bring more money into an area than any other type of hunter. The Williamson Tourism Bureau survey uses a hunter-day system. During a recent year, the survey found that more than 80,800 hunters sought out the Canada geese.

And, more than 75 percent of the hunters are visitor hunters. This tabulates into almost $9.4 million annually. Add in the expenses of the 25 percent of local hunters and the total exceeds $10 million in the four counties.

Prospects good, bad

Goose hunting prospects this year in Southern Illinois has been described as the traditional "good news, bad news" situation for hunters.

The good news, says Thornburg, is that bird populations are high this year.

The bad news is that there is some question as to when and if the birds will arrive in Southern Illinois.

On the good news side are fall flight forecasts -- more than 1.3 million geese and 90 million ducks in the Mississippi Flyway, which includes the Southern Illinois area.

But goose hunting could be hindered. The population count showed a low gosling-to-adult ratio, which usually means tougher hunting. Veteran Canada geese know their way around the outdoors scene and are more difficult to decoy.

And there is a problem of corn lodging in northern Illinois. Corn lodging is a situation where corn stalks collapse before the crop can be harvested, making it more inviting for geese to stay there.

The bag limit for geese in the south zone is two per day, which could be increased to three on Jan. 1.

Counts low for now

During a count last week, only 2,000 of the big birds were recorded in the Southern Illinois area. About 500 of those were in the Horseshoe Lake area. Another 600 were observed in the Crab Orchard Lake area.

"We really don't have that many geese here yet," said Jack Collin, of the Miller Brothers Hunting Club in the Horseshoe Lake area.

Hunters at the club bagged five Canada geese on Friday which was opening day.

Some clubs in the quota zone area didn't open for the brief four-day goose season, opting to wait for the Nov. 24 opening.