Goosed!
By: Melissa Ostrow
For: Long Island Press
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Long Island's parks, manicured lawns, and ponds are a goose's paradise, but the gaggle has grown so big that many Long Islanders are starting to feel overrun. The abundance of geese has been a long-standing problem that lawmakers, environmentalists, and wildlife agencies have been trying to solve. Recently, it seems one homeowner's association tried to skirt the law, causing a flap of more than goose wings.
GeesePeace, a non-profit "dedicated to building better communities though innovative, effective, and humane solutions to wildlife conflicts," provides a long-term, humane plan to rid properties of geese (which will return to a good nesting spot year after year), by making the location unattractive. It is illegal to kill the geese without a permit and Geesepeace's goal is to avoid killing them at all.
When nesting season begins in the spring, seven to 10 day old eggs can be coated with oil or punctured to prevent the eggs from hatching. This requires a permit and should be done by someone trained in addling. Animal lovers feel that beyond this time period it is cruel. However, it seems ironic that permits can be applied for to kill adult geese. Addling insures that the area will be free of gosling, giving the parents no reason to return to the area. The Border Collies then act as a predator, though never harming the geese, they scare the geese away, says Dave Feld, President of GeesePeace.
A community can also grow tall grass, thwarting the geese from seeing predators or put repellent near the nesting area so that they will not return, as well as place "no feeding" signs, to avoid people feeding the geese. "It's like putting a burglar alarm system on your house, you make your house unattractive to the burglar," says David Feld, president of GeesePeace. Any of these measures requires a permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW), and less harmful options must be pursued first.
Recently, the homeowners association for The Lakes at Setauket, a non-gated community (with clubhouse) of more than 300 homes, driven to distraction by the honking and concerned about the health implications of goose droppings, applied for a permit to addle the eggs and gather up and kill the geese. "It has definitely become a health issue.," says Victor Visconti, president of the homeowner's association. "Children have been seen playing with [goose] feces."
But it seems community leaders jumped the gun a little bit, opting for a deadly solution before trying other options. And strangely, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife granted the permit. Visconti published a letter in the association's newsletter informing residents of the plans.
The news upset a goose-loving homeowner, Don Cunnius, who wrote an open letter to the community questioning the homeowner's association's choice to round up the geese. Residents flooded the association with calls, according to one concerned homeowner. The flap had leaders of the association ducking for cover, and the situation was not improved when a reporter began asking questions.
When the association applied for the permit in January, they had not tried addling the eggs, border collies, "do not feed" signs or letting the grass grow tall. It was also not until after applying for the permit that they contacted the Humane Society for advice. The group did not try the more benign approaches, claiming in the application that "we have six large lakes, [and] the expense would have likely bankrupt [sic] us with no guarantee of success."
But according to Bill Alemaghides, president of Long Island Geese Control (LIGC), his estimate for The Lakes was only $4,500 for three months service (including addling eggs and border collie visits three times a day, six times a week for three months)-$500 less than The Lakes planned to spend on roundup and removal. Visconti also told the Long Island Press that border collies "wouldn't work" and that "the school next door stopped [using them]." But according to Bob Von Long, the man in charge of the upkeep of Ward Melville High School next door, the school still uses LIGC's border collies and no one from The Lakes ever contacted him.
Some people assume that killing the geese will solve the problem, but it won't because another flock will move right in. The collies make sure no geese inhabit the area, says Feld.
When a reporter spoke with Visconti, he told the Press that signs had been posted indicating a no feeding policy, but when the Press went to The Lake they saw no signs, no tall grass, and some little goslings, indicating that there were not enough non-lethal precautions taken and that whoever addled the eggs didn't do a very good job.
Since the community's response, the board has postponed the killing. "They will not be removing the geese," was all that Howard Titlebaum, manager of the association, would tell the Long Island Press. "I have no information to give you."
