Winter 2004 Edition     

Getting Rid of the Geese   By Chris Neidenberg The Borough Council is hoping a proposal to expand efforts at controlling thee municipality's nagging geese population "will fly," following some serious number crunching in trying to sustain the expense. During a recent work session, members heard a presentation from Kirk La Pierre, of National Geese Management - their informally-designated "geese control officer," on humanely implementing a round-the-clock plan for Fair Lawn's large flock of Canadian geese. If approved and fully implemented, various measures, including a 24-hour geese patrol using trained part-timers, will be deployed starting next spring and summer in the Memorial Park area. Before the council can crunch the numbers, Mayor David L. Ganz directed La Pierre to outline an optimum plan for accomplishing the tasks and its estimated costs. La Pierre's proposal will trigger further discussion. Also attending was Superintendent of Recreation George Frey. He has worked closely with the waterfowl expert on the current Memorial program. In all seriousness, one might say that La Pierre's occupation is literally "for the birds." During the spring and summer, he and his wife spend hours in town trying to constantly befuddle their fine-feathered friends. Their continuing quest is aimed at making the borough a less hospitable environment for wandering around and finding food. They start their work day at the crack of dawn, many hours before large crowds of people assemble to use the pool and park. The mostly friendly, though at times annoying, birds are viewed by some as a public nuisance. They have been blamed elsewhere for everything from causing traffic accidents and plane crashes, to destroying lawns and lush parkland (through chemical byproducts left from fecal deposits - derisively called "goose grease.") La Pierre cited one New Jersey case where a woman successfully sued a hospital - winning $500,000 - after a large goose knocked her down in the parking lot The mostly docile birds are known to become aggressive on occasion, in protecting their eggs, or upon feeling threatened. "I've become quite familiar with your flock, some of them personally," said Fair Lawn's resident "birdman." He works with municipalities statewide, including, in this area, Norwood and Bogota. "Your geese are resident geese, not migratory geese," he explained. "I've done research on your flock - they are mostly concentrated in your parks, particularly the (Memorial) swim pond area, for some reason." Thus, the geese expert noted, Fair Lawn must find ways at reducing incentives which entice the birds into constantly returning. He added that the borough's far less costly and modest program has only been moderately successful. This program has entailed La Pierre's patrolling the park from a vehicle and on foot, while using a kayak to get geese out of water bodies. La Pierre constantly tries chasing the fowl from the park, in the hopes that they will go elsewhere during operating hours.  The current strategy also involves using dead-bird decoys and effigies, along with annoying sounds, all aimed at frightening the geese. Short of taking the unfathomable step of simply gassing the birds to death in killing off the local population, a tack certain to outrage animal rights and humane activists, he stressed that there is no surefire way to directly "control" the birds. "We don't control the geese," explained La Pierre. "We control the reasons the geese are there." He said the only way the borough can succeed in humanely getting large geese flocks permanently out of the area, over time, is by combining a diverse range of steps costing it much more money. In addition to a 24-hour patrol, they could include, but are not limited to: A. Mixing small amounts of a rough grass species, called fescue, in with the softer grass now grown in the pool area. The idea, he explained, is to make the birds' webbed feet feel quite uncomfortable, so they are anxious to leave the area as soon as possible B. Placing food items on the ground as decoys, since they would be laced with a commercially, non-toxic substance called Flight Control. La Pierre explained that the unpleasant taste causes a violently squeamish reaction in the birds - using yet another tack aimed at encouraging them to stay away from the area - but one which "does not harm them in any way, shape or form." B. Using a harmless ultraviolet light-beam flash during darkness that, again, seeks to scare the birds from the park. La Pierre explained that geese actually see the ultraviolet spectrum in fine detail, and the beam would look like a physical object (a bat or stick) which the birds would try dodging. C. Implementing approved birth control methods aimed at keeping female geese from reproducing goslings in or near he park area. D. Erecting "a temporary" small plastic fence between the Passaic River banks and the park area.  Actually, the fence would extend far past the park's boundaries and all the way to the Fair Lawn Avenue Bridge. La Pierre noted that the fence would keep the geese from walking into the borough and toward the park during a period when they 'molt' and which lasts about two to three weeks. During a molt, these birds shed their feathers and cannot fly. In making this stretch of land inaccessible , the goal is to get the geese to seek refuge elsewhere. If the council was to deploy the fence, Ganz said it would need to consider erecting a gate for the public, to discourage them from knocking the small barrier down. As for the proposed 24-hour patrol, during which such measures would be deployed, La Pierre said he would need little time in training prospective employees - such as high school students - seeking summer jobs. "Nothing works as a silver bullet when it comes to geese," cautioned La Pierre, labeling the different initiatives as "geese management.' "With a typical type of program, you're coming from all different fronts," he told the council. "You have to constantly keep them guessing." To train a small workforce that could staff employees part-time over three shifts, La Pierre roughly estimated that the council would need to double its current $8,000 budget. Ganz urged his colleagues to do what it takes in implementing a wider initiative - yet in a humane and sensitive way. "It strikes me that we need to have a concerted program that utilizes a couple of different things," he said., assuring, "I don't think the council is of the mind to gang up and gas geese."