Michael Price asks, re Canada Geese:
> who are the people who
introduced these damned things in the first place <

As far as we know in Anchorage, which has a CAGO
population problem similar to Seattle's, they introduced
themselves. There were always a few, but as the city
grew and more lawns sprang up, more golf courses,
playing fields, and lush swards along the airport
runways, the normally cautious, easily spooked and
every watchful Canada Goose made an interesting
discovery: good food and hardly any predation. I
suppose the ones born here didn't even have to
overcome any initial fears.

Now there are some poor harrassed bureaucrats
working on goose "management" plans, holding
public hearings and trying to find abatement measures
that everyone can agree on. An echo of the white-tailed
deer overpopulation problems in many parts of the
country.

One can let the grass grow tall in some places, allow
an egg harvest in the spring or go around finding
nests and spraying the eggs with cooking oil, have
hazing patrols around the runways, etc., but this
will probably only slow it down a bit.

We are starting to get more coyotes also, so help
may be on the way.

Chris Maack
CMaack at compuserve.com