June 16, 2009

In the summer, Ocean County is overrun by tourists. In the off-season, it’s overrun by Canada geese.

About 80,000 Canada geese make New Jersey their home, the densest population of Canada geese in any state in the country.

The geese create a fair share of waste, with each goose producing about a half-pound of droppings per day.

“When you have geese droppings all over a playing field, it’s not just unsightly, but it’s unsafe,” said Ocean County freeholder John Bartlett.

The Ocean County Department of Parks and Recreation tried everything to rid themselves of geese, from expensive dogs to fences to electronic noise makers to scare the geese away.

“We even tried fake alligators,” Barlett said. “I’m sure people we’re wondering why we were trying alligators in New Jersey.”

When none of that worked, it was time to make a call to the U.S. government.

Federal wildlife officials have begun plucking Canada geese from New Jersey parks, golf courses and areas near airports in a weeks-long roundup that could end in the killing of thousands of birds.

U.S. Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Carol Bannerman confirmed the “capture and removal program” is under way, and said it will last about six weeks. The geese will be molting — or shedding their feathers — during the time and will be unable to fly.

Geese from Atlantic and Ocean counties, as well as seven other counties throughout the state, are part of the massive geese removal program. Bannerman said the USDA does not get involved unless they have been asked to “come and do the work.”

The Ocean County government reached out to the USDA in 2008, and the removal program seems to be working. Bartlett said 106 geese were removed from Stanley H. “Tip” Seaman County Park in Tuckerton, and 59 geese were removed from A. Paul King County Park by Manahawkin Lake in Stafford Township.

At the height of the geese problem, the parks were frequently shut down to visitors. The geese cleanups also delayed construction projects that would have expanded the parks.

“You don’t want to come to a park and find it full of geese droppings,” Bartlett said.

Bannerman said several of the removal sites in New Jersey are within eight miles of an airport.

The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife has monitored the Canada geese population at the Atlantic City International Airport for the USDA since 1989.

The Canada goose remains a species of “high level concern,” according to airport director Tom Rafter.

In the 20 years the USDA has been working with the airport, they have implemented a number of programs designed to control the Canada geese population. This included making sure drains across the airport work properly, since standing water can be a draw for the geese.

“They become a significant wildlife attractant if they’re not properly maintained,” Rafter said.

Outside of the airport, parks in Atlantic County do not have the same problems as Ocean County with Canada geese, according to Harry Tillett, head of the Department of Public Works for Atlantic County.

A similar program is under way in New York City, which plans to trap and gas as many as 2,000 Canada geese over the next few weeks in an attempt to avoid a bird strike that caused US Airways Flight 1549 to ditch in the Hudson River in January.

The airliner had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport when a flock of geese collided with the plane, which then lost both engines. Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger became a national hero when he guided the plane down and landed safely in the river.

The incident brought attention to the hazard birds can pose to aircraft. About 40 public parks within five miles of Kennedy and LaGuardia airports will be swept free of geese.

A removal program last year rid the state of fewer than 2,000 birds, Bannerman said.

Other population control methods include keeping eggs from hatching by shaking the eggs or coating them with oil. About 2,000 eggs were treated with oil this spring, she said.

The state Division of Fish and Wildlife issued permits for the operation but is not otherwise involved, Environmental Protection spokeswoman Darlene Yuhas said.