Solid waste problem Recreation for humans limited by what geese leave behind (Canada Goose alert)

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | Monday, January 16, 2006 | Jim Herron Zamora

[presidio9]

Oakland has a poop problem.

The city, like others nationwide, is home to thousands of Canada geese, which have found the region's temperate climate and lush parks make it a wonderful place to spend the year.

At some points during the year, as many as 2,000 Canada geese might be found at Lake Merritt, basking in the sun and gorging themselves on the bread and other treats offered by park goers.

That's a lot of geese, which means that's a lot of poop.

"Each bird produces about a pound of poop a day -- that's literally a ton each day," said Stephanie Benavidez, head naturalist at the Lake Merritt Wildlife Refuge.

It's a staggering problem that has Oakland and other cities trying to figure out how to chase away the geese without running afoul of the Federal Migratory Bird and Endangered Species acts protecting many of the birds that live alongside geese at Lake Merritt, which in 1870 became the nation's first bird refuge.

Lake Merritt -- which covers 150 acres and is surrounded by about 5 acres of parkland -- is popular with seniors practicing tai chi, office workers eating lunch and parents playing with kids.

And while many parkgoers enjoy feeding the geese, they aren't happy with what's left behind.

"The goose droppings on the lawn have pretty much made the lawns unusable to families who want to have picnics or use the park with their children," said Councilwoman Pat Kernighan, who represents the surrounding neighborhoods. "It's very hard for people to use the park for recreation."

[presidio9]

Important point: Non-migratory canada geese are neither natural nor wild animals. They are the ferral descendants of tame live decoys that hunters kept until goose hunting was outlawed at the end of the 19th century and they were released.

"I don't really mind the birds but I don't enjoy stepping in their crap," Cory Pearson said as he walked around the lake. "I'm happy they are here. It's part of the Lake Merritt experience. But there is too much feces around here."

Is it me, or does this sound like Mark Morford giving a play-by-play of her last date.

[mfulstone]

Oakland has a poop problem.

I knew that - but I didn't think geese were responsible...

[Vaquero]

Crap, we have them (and it) all over the industrial parks around here. I work in a pharmaceutical plant and it is a major logistic problem, with people stepping in their waste product and then dragging it into the building.

currently we have loudspeakers that give out loud raptor sounds and this worked for about a week, 5 years ago, but now not only do the geese feed right under them, smaller birds perch on the speakers and don't move when they are activated.

I have recommended that the management hire a NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, licensed dog handler and have him show up a couple of days a week to spook the birds, but that advice has fallen on deaf ears.

I also told them if they could keep me from getting arrested, I would gladly show up a sunup with a scoped .22 and pop as many as possible before they all flew away.

that ain't gonna happen either.

probably the best idea would be to find out where they hang out when they are helpless for a number of days each summer that they molt and net them and euthanize them...then feed the welfare stiffs the meat rather than food stamps for that week....

......none of this will ever happen in our current stupid stage of societal evolution.

[punster]

I would have to say that Oakland has been (Canada) goosed.

[presidio9]

The best invention ever created for controling canada geese on your property is the border collie.

[RosieCotton]

I also told them if they could keep me from getting arrested, I would gladly show up a sunup with a scoped .22 and pop as many as possible before they all flew away.

I'm thinkin' sniper rifle...to avoid detection.

They live here in northern Colorado all year 'round, too. They're EVERYWHERE, and so, naturally, are their droppings. Ugh!

[jeremiah]

That problem is in Washington lakes and parks also. Most lakes are so full of goose/duckschitt that there are parasites that limit swimming in the summer. The solution is, let the hunters hunt them and allow dogs in the parks to scare and chase the birds. They just feel too free, which is an unatural state. I love it when tree huggers speak of species going out of existence because of man, when they can prove no such thing. These same types of people, directly influence the "natural order", by listing species as endangered, and introducing some that are dangerous and rare, to areas they believe that they once roamed freely. Of course they forget that man is part of this "natural order", at the top of the food chain.

[domenad]

I can guess, but I would like the answer from the horse's mouth - how come Morford is referred to using feminine pronouns?

[jazusamo]

You reap what you sow. The Audubonians and the enviros couldn't wait to entice wildlife to share their space. Now 20 or so years after many people said they were full of "poop" for wanting to develop such a program, they were proved right.

[steve8714]

Shoot 'em and feed the homeless. Anyone have a good goose and crack recipe?

[schwing_wifey]

They need to pop them off, pluck em, and serve them for dinner.

With all the good stuff they keep eating, they must taste good, right?

[KarlInOhio]

The best invention ever created for controling canada geese on your property is the border collie.

Well maybe if the border collies were doing their job at the border then we wouldn't have this problem with Canada Geese. --- Oh, wait, this isn't an illegal immigration thread, sorry.

[Lokibob]

 

This guy has made $1,000,000 controlling geese.

 

 

Geese Police, Inc. has been providing quality goose control since 1996. It is our mission to provide the best service to our clients with environmentally safe Canada goose control using Working Border Collies and other special techniques.

[bigfootbob]

We tried that here in liberal la-la land Seattle. You'll get the peta types out there interfering with the folks addling the eggs and they claim the geese aren't suitable for the foodbanks/homeless shelters because the meat isn't USDA inspected by union workers. Then soon after the city says...I'm sorry, we'll try something else.

Miserable liberals.

[presidio9]

LOL

[SubMareener]

Our Community Association employees some folks who do the same thing. Mrs. Submareener and I met them and their dogs one morning last week. Very interesting the Border Collie just loved to jump in the water and herd those Canadian Geese until they flew away. He left the Mallard Ducks alone, and they seemed to appreciate having the pond all to themselves again. Those Canadian Geese are quite obnoxious, which may be attributed to their spending so much time in Canada. ;-)

[Pessimist]

"..we have loudspeakers that give out loud raptor sounds.."

Our office in MI had those a while back. I wonder if there are any recorded cases of a humans soing berserk after listening to those for any period of time? :)

[concrete is my business]

I went for my usual walk on the waterfront yesterday (really nice if one can ignore all the bird droppings and all the dogs rolling in the bird droppings) only this time with a friend who said at the end of the walk (where there is a mall supermarket) that the city should put out small, shallow baths with a little chlorine in them for washing off our shoes.

I thought that was not a bad idea.

[Vaquero]

I have threatened to shoot the little speakers off the building, to my boss, on more than one occasion.

[presidio9]

Very interesting the Border Collie just loved to jump in the water and herd those Canadian Geese until they flew away.

A properly trained border collie stays out of the water. In their own element two adult geese can kill a dog by drowning him.