widely separated to reduce the danger of local 

 disasters such as earthquakes and tidal waves; 

 these are Agattu (22,000 ha) with nearby Nizki/ 

 Alaid Islands (1300 ha), Amchitka Island (30,000 

 ha) and Kanaga Island (37,000 ha), all of which 

 formerly had goose populations. Originally, foxes 

 were eliminated by poison, but poisoning is now 

 banned by law. Fifty-four foxes were taken on 

 Agattu and 130 on Nizki/Alaid in 1974 and 1975. 

 It was estimated that one or more foxes were left 

 on Agattu in 1978 (D. W. Woolington and D. R. 

 Yparraguirre unpubl. ms.) and none on Nizki/ 

 Alaid in 1976 (Springer et al. 1978). Fox control 

 on Kanaga Island in 1977 removed 142 animals, 

 leaving an estimated 700 plus Q. L. Martin pers. 

 comm.). 



Captive propagation began in 1963 with cap- 

 ture of 18 goslings on Buldir Island for transfer to 

 breeding pens at Patuxent Wildlife Research Cen- 

 ter, Laurel, Md., in 1966. Additional goslings 

 were taken for that project in 1972 (21) and 

 1975 (20). Altogether over 451 goslings have 

 been produced from 1966 through 1978 (R. C. 

 Erickson pers. comm.). 



To facilitate acclimatization and develop a 

 tradition for homing to Aleutian Islands, a facility 

 was developed on Amchitka Island in 1976 where 

 goslings will be held to maturity before being re- 

 leased, and a second propagation facility was 

 estabhshed on Amchitka. Twenty geese raised 

 from Buldir goslings at Northern Prairie Research 

 Center, together with 75 birds from Patuxent, 

 were sent to Amchitka in fall 1977 to initiate that 

 operation. In 1977 and 1978, 150 goslings were 

 raised at Amchitka. 



First releast of 75 one- two- and three-year- 

 old geese was on fox-free Amchitka in the spring 

 of 1971, but all birds disappeared soon afterwards, 

 some because of predation by bald eagles. The se- 

 cond release was on Agattu in the summer of 

 1974, when the island was admost fox-free and 

 fox control was continuing. Four pairs of geese 

 nested and 2 pairs raised 5 young. Other released 

 geese remained near the release site all summer. 

 Nine molting geese were brought to Agattu from 

 Buldir to serve as guides for captive-reared birds 

 in the fall migration. The geese departed Agattu 

 on 4 September, headed east. In the winter and 

 spring of 1974-75, three of the released birds, 

 identified by white bands, were reported on the 

 northwest coast of California. Released birds did 

 not return to Agattu in 1975 nor were they found 



on Buldir with the wild birds (Byrd and Springer 

 1976, Springer et al. 1978). 



In the spring and fall 1976, a release of 30 

 pen-reared birds and 3 wild guide birds was again 

 made on Amchitka. Most of the birds disappeared 

 from unknown causes, but at least 5 were killed 

 by eagles. Eight birds were recaptured and held at 

 Amchitka Q. L. Martin pers. comm.). A fourth re- 

 lease of 117 pen-reared birds and 22 wild guide 

 birds was made on Agattu in 1978; it is too early 

 to determine the success of this effort (P. F. 

 Springer pers. comm.). 



Monitoring of geese banded on Buldir and 

 Agattu has now established fairly well their migra- 

 tion routes, their principal wintering areas in Cali- 

 fornia, and their staging area for spring migration. 

 Further plans for monitoring include careful 

 counts at Castle Rock spring staging area in north- 

 western California and several likely spots to the 

 north for migrants. Some captive-reared and wild 

 geese are equipped with colored neck collars for 

 easier location. 



Based on times and places of band recoveries 

 and sightings in 1975, the California Depairtment 

 of Fish and Game closed the northwest coastaJ 

 counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino, 

 to hunting for the entire 1976 season, and also 

 closed part of the Sacramento Valley in Glenn and 

 Colusa counties from the opening of the season in 

 mid-October to mid-December, and part of the 

 San Joaquin Valley in San Joaquin, Stanislaus, 

 and Merced counties from mid-December to the 

 close of the season in mid-January. Subsequently, 

 on the basis of additional recoveries, the closed 

 area of the Sacramento Valley was extended to 

 include parts of Butte and Sutter counties and the 

 San Joaquin Valley closure now starts during the 

 last week in November. Because of lack of re- 

 coveries or sightings of banded wild birds in Men- 

 docino County, this county was reopened to 

 Canada goose hunting in 1977. It seems probable 

 that the increased goose population in California 

 since 1975 is due to the restrictions on hunting. 



AUTHORITIES 



Dennis W. Woolington 

 Paul F. Springer 

 Wildlife Research Station 

 Humboldt State University 

 Areata, California 95521 



