Is it fair that some hunters lose this seasons hunting privilege after shooting a light breasted bird that is counted as a dusky?
We have made every effort to make the process as fair as possible. All the harvested birds are measured in the same way so that every hunter is treated the same. We have used color as a primary factor separating subspecies, so that the hunter in the field has the best chance possible to make the correct choice when seeing a flying goose. We have provided materials to help prepare the hunter to successfully differentiate between subspecies, and most of them do. However, we do not arbitrarily change the standard for any particular case; that would not be fair. We recommend that hunters avoid shooting any goose if the key area of the upper breast cannot be clearly seen. We also recommend that hunters not shoot geese that are in the range of color overlap mentioned above. To regularly do so will increase the likelihood of shooting a bird that will be counted a dusky. If a hunter does not agree with the check station classification of a dusky, in many cases the decision can be appealed.
