It’s a familiar sight across the valley in winter – thick bands of swirling white birds. Locals know immediately they are looking at the overwintering snow geese that gather here, while visitors may be wonderstruck. If it seems like there are more geese than there used to be, you are correct. The once endangered population has bounced back so strongly that there are an estimated 100,000 in Skagit Valley now. Because they rip vegetation from the ground instead of nibble, they are destroying ecosystems in their summer breeding grounds and wreaking havoc for some farmers here. According to a recent article in Audubon magazine, “the Pacific Flyway’s wintering snow goose population has more than tripled to an estimated 2 million.” That creates a dilemma for those charged with managing the population. Help from scientists studying models to control the population may not be coming any time soon, as many are no longer working due to recent federal layoffs.