I read Wayne's excellent discussion of "problem" Canada Geese and came away with
the opposite conclusion, that the U.S. is actually handling the situation in
a more appropriate way. These urban geese are of human creation, a genetic
mongrel, inhabiting areas that didn't historically have nesting Canada Geese,
and moving them to another locality does not solve the problem of exponential
population growth rate. It merely moves the problem to another area.

Moving geese has been done in Washington State and the result was the creation
of a nuisance goose problem in cities near the translocation site. Addling eggs
has been attempted and the results are generally mediocre, meaning a relatively
ineffectual slowing of the population growth rate. In some areas, egg addling
is made very difficult by the dispersed nature of goose nesting and the many
small, remote ponds that support nesting pairs.

Lethal removals are effective at reducing the number of geese in problem areas
during successive years. They appear to have no affect on numbers of geese
returning for the molt in areas where removals are not conducted. There are
lakes where geese can molt and not be a nuisance to anyone and there is no
reason, at this point, to reduce numbers in these areas.

This is a difficult issue. Goose hunters like burgeoning urban Canada Goose
populations because the large flocks invariably move periodically into
fringing farm lands where they can be hunted and the hunting can be very
good, once the population gets to the point where park users are screaming
every summer.

Kelly McAllister
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Olympia, Washington
Reply to: mcallkrm at dfw.wa.gov