WILLAPA NWR
Just north of the Columbia's mouth, you'll find the 15,000-acre Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, which gives access to hunting in its Riekkola and Lewis units. Riekkola has 10 blinds, which are assigned by lottery on the day of the hunt. Hunters can use dogs. Twenty-five shells is the limit you can shoot. Here's a good tip: If you strike out on the blind lottery and opt to hunt for brant or sea ducks, you can go to the Ledbetter Point Unit for good shooting.

For more information, call (360) 484-3482.

RIDGEFIELD NWR
Located just west of Ridgefield, Wash., this refuge was established to provide vital winter habitat area for wintering waterfowl, with an emphasis on dusky geese.

The Columbia is home to no fewer than eight subspecies of Canada geese: Aleutian, cackling, dusky, greater, lesser, Vancouver, Taverner's and western. Being able to identify which subspecies is winging towards you in the dim early morning light is critical if you hunt northwest Oregon or southwest Washington.

The 1964 Alaska earthquake dramatically altered dusky goose nesting grounds, essentially turning their traditional breeding grounds into easy pickings for predators to snack on eggs and goslings. As a result, these birds receive special protection under Oregon and Washington waterfowl regulations.

The Oregon and Washington Departments of Fish and Wildlife have devised a permit system to allow for hunts, but protects duskies. In areas known to hold duskies, hunters must pass a written test demonstrating their ability to identify the various subspecies of Canada geese.

The departments in both states publish free goose identification pamphlets to help hunters prepare for the test. In Oregon, call (503) 947-6303. For Washington, visit the agency's Web site, which is located at www.wdfw.WA.gov/wlm/game/water/water.htm, and then click on "Pacific Northwest Goose Management Booklet." Both departments suggest that hunters are more likely to pass the test if they also purchase a supplementary video for $12. Call 1-800-861-1342.

At the end of the day, hunters bring bagged geese to inspection stations where technicians examine the birds to determine the subspecies. All is not lost if a hunter accidentally kills a dusky. But the state does pull the hunter's permit for the rest of the season. The hunter can keep the bird, and he can continue to hunt anywhere else in the state, as long as the area is not subject to the permit system.

The Ridgefield refuge allows goose hunting in accordance with WDFW regulations -- which in the previous season meant Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.