Nuisance Geese Workshop
On March 25, 2017, the Oneida Lake Association sponsored a nuisance resident Canada geese workshop. Speakers at this event included representatives from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the US Fish & Wildlife Services, the USDA Wildlife Services and Cornell University.
The focus of the workshop was the biology, the problems, and possible solutions associated with resident Canada geese.
Each speaker shared his insights on the issues and problems associated with resident geese. They cause turf damage at golf courses and businesses. They are traffic hazards, both on the ground and in the air. Geese are very aggressive, making them unwelcome visitors at parks and in our yards.
A single goose can leave behind 1 to 2 pounds of droppings every day, making an enormous health and clean-up problem. Geese are also associated with the transmission of certain diseases. Farmers report extensive crop damage once geese move in. Bacteria in their feces have caused frequent closings of Oneida Lake beach areas. For these reasons, OLA brought together experts to help us better understand the problems and search for possible solutions.
Many of the speakers were kind enough to share with us their Power Point presentations. Please feel free to scroll through these slides to get a sense of the issues, as well as possible solutions. Also, please review the summary of the workshop which appeared in our April 13, 2017 edition of our E-News.
One theme that resounded throughout the workshop was that “It is much more effective to manage geese on a community scale, rather than by individuals,” as stated by Dr. Paul Curtis from Cornell University. The OLA has taken that first step by hosting this community workshop.
If you would like to share your ideas for success on this topic, please contact us through our website.
