New law targets resident geese

Many of us living in the Midwest on the Mississippi Flyway welcome October as the harbinger of waterfowl season. We start oiling our shotguns, getting our blinds in shape and eagerly anticipate those frost-covered mornings when far away honking promises Canada geese flying low over the corn stubble.

But many more of us are sick onto death of these huge honkers that feed on our grass, defecate on our sidewalks and in our parking lots and generally take over a property. Take heart fellow grounds pros; a new rule issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services this past August, and that subsequently has become law, takes aim at the exploding populations of “resident” Canada geese.

The law allows states to let:

Senior communities plagued with resident geese destroy nests and eggs without federal permits,

Private and public airports to take birds without federal permits for safety issues,

County and local governments in coordination with state officials, take birds that are a public health threat to reservoirs, athletic fields, parks and public beaches,

States eases existing hunting restrictins in the Atlantic Flyway region (includes entire area edast of Mississippi River), including allowing a summer season in August.

The plan is to reduce the existing population estimated at 1.3 million birds to 650,000.

Getting rid of these beautiful but pesky critters has been a big headache for grounds pros who take care of parks and athletic fields

“This day has been a long time in coming,” said U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ), vice chairman of the Fisheries Conservation and Wildlife Subcommittee. “The migratory Canada geese flying overhead in the fall are not the problem.”

Canada geese can grow up to 24 pounds, eat large amounts of vegetation (especially turfgrass) and deposit large amounts of feces along the water’s edge where they live. A single nesting pair can produce a dozen chicks. The droppings have a negative impact on reservoirs, streams, municipal parks, golf courses, athletic fields and waterways used for drinking.

The numbers of resident geese have multiplied in the past two decades due to the lack of natural predators and the availability of short-grass habitat.