More On our “Resident” Canada Geese

We highly value the Shores’ open spaces and our surrounding wetlands, but when our kids can’t play in our parks without being soiled with bird excrement, when we can’t stroll through our community without constantly stepping in feces, then we have a problem that requires action. The rapid increase in the numbers of non-migratory Canada geese and the excrement they leave all over the Shores has created a public health hazard in addition to a significant decline in our community’s ability to enjoy our parks and walkways.

Because of summer vacations The PILOT is going to press a little early this month, but here’s a little of what’s been going on recently:

I was expecting a higher level of response to my comments last month on this issue. The most impassioned was a “complaint” that we had been talking about this issue for the past two years, yet it appears that still nothing was being done to resolve the problem. And that’s somewhat true.

We did come up with what appeared at the time to be the best solution, and one that’s being used in other parts of the U.S. It involved the use of a “birth-control” bait that would suppress the reproduction of the resident geese. But, unlike other areas of the U.S., we have protected bird species here in the Shores that could have also been impacted, so that solution had to be shelved.

On July 15th I had a first meeting with representatives of U.S. Fish & Wildlife and CA Dept. of Fish & Game to review our situation in and around the Shores. To my knowledge this is the first time that both US & CA wildlife officials have been in the same room at the same time to have a discussion of what can and can’t be done to mitigate our Canada geese infestation without impacting migratory species and native wildlife.

What we’ve tried to do is start a process whereby we can get the FACTS and the best advice from state and federal wildlife departments on what we can/can’t do, then work with the City to put together a plan for “coordinated” action in the Shores.

The City alone can’t solve the problem

Redwood City has been and is actively involved with RSCA to find solutions to our problems with Canada geese in the Shores. Most of what needs to be done, though, will be on private properties in the Shores, and it will require cooperative efforts between the City, state, and federal agencies, our local businesses, the individual HOAs, and the non-HOA residents of Redwood Shores.

RSCA will be working with all involved to develop a coordinated plan to clean up our community. We don’t want to simply move the problem from one part of the Shores to another.

We will also be sharing our plans with neighboring communities. Part of our increasing problem here is due to mitigation efforts in Foster City, for example, driving even more of these non-migratory geese into the Shores.

One of the problems we have faced in getting people to come to terms with and address the severity of problem has been the level of “half-truths” and “old truths” that seem to come up every time any action is proposed. (By “old truths”, I mean things that might have been true 20 years ago that are no longer true in 2011.)

They were NOT here first

Canada geese are NOT native to this area, most here do not migrate, and Canada geese decided to settle here permanently only as this community developed. As I said last month, current urban landscaping provides a “preferred habitat” that invites a normally migratory species to “settle”, and Canada geese have become an “overly successful species” without natural predators here in the Shores. They “crowd out” other native and migratory species by taking their food and habitat.

Federal & state agencies across the country have recognized and adopted regulations to deal specifically with the problems of “resident” Canada geese. They are now considered a “nuisance” species in most areas.

Feeding is ILLEGAL (by Fed, State,& Local laws)

If you are feeding ANY wildlife, either on your own property or in the parks or other public areas, please STOP! Be aware that feeding wildlife is a violation of federal, state, and local laws.

Again, this is the #1 recommendation of both the U.S. and state wildlife agencies. Feeding encourages the geese to stay here, and it also causes them to grow accustomed to human interaction. This is not beneficial to the geese (or to any other wild species), and it can result in more aggressive and harmful behavior by the geese towards humans. Any food left outside – whether it’s for pets or wildlife – also attracts rats and other pests.

Help us keep our neighborhoods, parks, and walkways clean so that we can maintain the highest quality of life in the Shores.

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