Small Town News

Miltons resident geese outlive welcome

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Birds are victims of wildlife management

About two wreeks ago, state environmental officials rounded up dozens of Canada geese that called Wagamons Pond home. They then euthanized the geese as part of an ongoing goose-management and disease-surveillance program.

A new breed of urbanized geese is creating problems for the state and for landowners, said Rob Hossler, program manager for game species at the state's Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Geese can pollute ponds with their feces, denude marsh and pond grasses and create nuisances for residents who live along waterways, he said.

He said Wagamons Pond's resident geese population had grown out of control to more than 100 geese. All but three or four of the flock were captured during the roundup.

Hossler said the 41-acre pond in Milton could sustain about 33 geese, based on one goose per acre, the accepted ratio supported by wildlife management officials in the Atlantic Flyway.

Hossler said wildlife officials expect a male and female pair on a pond to grow to 20 geese in three years. He also said there is no doubt geese will return to the pond.

The resident goose management plan is complaint-driven, for the most part, Hossler said. Complaints from residents and fishermen have been filed over the years relating to geese on Wagamons Pond, Hossler said, but the recent roundup was the first ever conducted on the Milton pond.

Wildlife officials have a short window of opportunity for annual roundups; geese can only be captured when they are molting and cannot fly.

There were 11 roundups of just over 300 geese this summer throughout the state. Some geese were tested for avian flu, but most were processed at a facility in Kent County, Md., with the meat being donated to area food shelters through the Delaware Sportsmen Against Hunger program. Hossler said nearly 300 pounds of meat were donated.

Most roundups take place on private lands, golf courses and ponds with property owners covering the cost "We only go to areas where there are problems," Hossler said.

Hossler said the division's goal is to capture 300 to 400 geese per year. The state is charged $5 per goose for processing when they are taken from state-owned property.

More and more resident geese are calling southern Delaware home. In 1998, 65 percent of the population was in New Castle County, but counts in 2009 show that the majority of the geese, more than 8,600 or nearly 60 percent, are south of Dover.

No warning of action

The removal of the geese caught some Milton residents off guard. Becky Schellenger, who lives near Milton, said she understands the importance of wildlife management, but she does not understand why the public was kept in the dark. "Why not go to a town meeting and explain what they are doing?" she asked.

"They should at least be telling people why they shouldn't be feeding the geese."

Hossler said he knows some Milton residents are upset that no notice of the roundup was given. He said it's division policy not to give notice because it could create safety problems for division staff and impede the roundup.

Milton Mayor Cliff Newlands said he found out about the action the day it was taking place when he happened to drive by the pond.

"No one at city hall knew about it," he said. "It would have been nice to know, but I guess they don't want people there trying to stop them."

Newlands said he had received one complaint about the roundup. But, he said, there are consistent complaints from residents about goose droppings in Memorial Park and along Mulberry Street, which are both adjacent to the pond.

"And people feed them and we try to discourage that They are pretty to see, but when the population gets big there are problems," he said.

Schellenger, who operates The Good Dog Inn, said when she called to get information about the roundup, she was told by division staff the property was owned by the state, and state staff could do whatever they wanted. "The Division of Fish and Wildlife does not own anything. They are accountable to someone - like the taxpayers," she said.

Schellenger asked if the geese were causing so many problems, why wasn't action taken sooner - before the flock got so large? "They were not doing their job if it reached such a point," she said.

Not supposed to be here

Canada geese are not supposed to be in the Cape Region this time of year. As migratory birds, Canada geese leave their homes on the Canadian tundra each fall and head south along the Atlantic Flyway - thousands settle in the fields and ponds in the Cape Region. Then on cue in late winter and early spring they return to their northern breeding grounds.

However, about 14,000 of their relatives have taken up residence in Delaware - through no fault of their own. They do not migrate and the majority never has. The number of resident geese has grown from about 2,100 in the early 1980s.

Hossler said the resident population has grown in several ways: crippled or injured geese who can't migrate; relocated geese from northern Delaware; hunters who purchased geese illegally to use as live decoys; and in some cases, residents who purchased geese as pets.

"This is another case of a human-induced problem," Hossler said. "And the geese tend to stay in areas where they can't be harvested by hunting." Hunting is not permitted in areas such as public parks and stormwater management ponds.

Hossler said wildlife officials now treat resident and migratory geese as different populations with their own annual counts. There is even a special hunting season for resident geese prior to the arrival of migratory geese.

Hossler said other states are also grappling with the same problem and relocation is not an option. He said resident geese populations are now commonplace in Georgia and Florida, states where geese do not migrate.

He also understands that one goose in the Milton round9up was being rehabilitated by a resident who lives along the pond. "If we had known that, we would have picked out that bird and let it go," he said.

"We don't need to get every goose."

Schellenger said a few geese remain in the area because they were on town property in Memorial Park during the time of the round up.





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