City's goose plan has lethal aspect

SANDPOINT — A lethal aspect of the city’s Canada geese management plan at City Beach went unacknowledged by city officials earlier this month.

“It is a relocation plan,” Mayor Shelby Rognstad said during the City Council’s June 5 meeting, answering a question from a plan supporter who sought confirmation that the plan would not result in harm to the geese.

However, banded geese which find their way back to City Beach after they’ve been relocated to the Chain Lakes Wildlife Management Area in Kootenai County face extermination, according to the plan adopted by the city.

It’s unclear how many geese could get their ticket punched.

Parks & Recreation Director Kim Woodruff said there were approximately 150-plus resident Canada geese at the beach earlier this month. A similar project conducted in southern Idaho saw a 10-percent return rate of relocated geese.

“The plan is and the hope is they’ll stay down there at least through the summer months and if they do return it will be a lower percentage,” Woodruff told the council.

The issue of geese droppings littering the lawn, sandy beaches, pathways and docks at the popular recreation destination have vexed city officials for as long as 30 years. The city has used forms of hazing, lights, lasers, flags, mylar ribbon and coyote effigies.

Those efforts have produced short-term success, although the birds had either become desensitized to the countermeasures or only temporarily displaced them, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service depredation permit obtained by the city.

Woodruff told the council that the resident geese population at City Beach has been growing exponentially.

“I’ve definitely seen that over my 33-plus years,” he said.

The feces of Canada geese, which contain giardia, salmonella and e. coli, are labeled a public health hazard and are placing a drag on local tourism as evidenced by reviews posted to travel websites about City Beach.

The city’s plan appeared to attract no opposition when it was adopted, although it is facing increasing criticism as the June 23-24 roundup date nears.

Supporters of the goose management plan urged the city to adopt it in order to reclaim the grounds at City Beach, while opponents contend it is inhumane and will prove ineffective.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.