Cackling and Canada Geese were recently split into two species. The Cackling Goose tavernerisubspecies is thought to be the dominant breeder on Alaska’s Arctic Coastal Plain although someevidence suggests they may interbreed with Canada Goose parvipes subspecies (Mowbray et al.2002). Coastal plain Cackling/Canada geese nest in moist sedge shrub tundra with brood rearingin wet sedge meadows, often near the coast (Mowbray et al. 2002). On the coastal plain their dietis dominated by Carex spp. (J. Hupp, pers. comm.). Arctic Alaskan populations winter primarilyin w. Washington and Oregon as well as n. California (Mowbray et al. 2002). The AlaskanArctic Coastal Plain population is estimated at ~8,000 with a stable population (Larned et al.2012).
