METHODS FOR OBTAINING CUMULATIVE KILL DATA 
Under the harvest quota system, it has been necessary to imple- 
ment procedures whereby the cumulative goose kill in the vicinity of 
major harvest areas can be determined at frequent intervals--in some 
cases, on @ daily basis. In Illinois this is readily accomplished by 
requiring licensed club operators to submit kill records daily to 
State employees collecting such, or to mail report forms to a central 
point. Additional information, of course, is obtained on State- 
managed public shooting areas. | 
In Wisconsin, an intensive ground survey was started in 1960 
and refined further in 1961 to determine the daily kill rate. This 
was accomplished by establishing a series of zones and sectors to 
systematically sample the intensity of hunting pressure and the 
actual kill within the total radius of influence of the flock. While 
this procedure requires considerable effort, it has been necessary to 
operate in this manner until a simplified and acceptable technique 
can be developed. Wisconsin Conservation Department personnel have 
been experimenting with a mail questionnaire covering the same general 
area, that has given similar results. The chief problem with the mail 
questionnaire, however, is the time lag, prohibiting maintenance of 
daily cumulative kill records. We are also encountering problems in 
club operator and hunter cooperation under the voluntary reporting 
program since they know the kill reported will influence the length 
of the season. It is obvious that a different system will eventually 
be required to determine cumulative kill, such as compulsory reporting, 
some type of season limit with tag or registration requirement, or 
perhaps a satisfactory ratio of length of season to desired kill can 
be developed. 
THE HARVEST QUOTA SYSTEM 
Excessive kills in southern Illinois during the mid-40's resulted 
in special attention to regulations to control the harvest of geese in 
this population (Davis 1954). The State of Illinois used many of the 
early findings of Hanson, Smith, and others, when they established 
maximum season kill on Canada geese in 1944 and 1945, followed by 
the closed season in the Mississippi Flyway in 1946. Following the 
closed season and subsequent recovery of the population during the 
period 1947-56, there did not appear to be a need for additional har- 
vest restrictions. Subsequent increased harvest in the vicinity of 
the major concentration areas in Illinois and Wisconsin during the 
fall of 1957 again directed attention to the need for more closely 
regulating the kill. The subsequent decline in population levels 
in 1958 and 1959 led to enactment of more restrictive harvest regula- 
tions in Wisconsin and Illinois. Figure 2 shows the population trends 
and a greatly increased portion of the population harvested in 
Wisconsin during recent years. The high kill during 1957, together 
10 
