… and other thoughts on the CB Lake dredge project, playground and general improvements.
Let’s get right to the headline shall we? I’m saying it. The geese gotta go!
We’re in the process of making about $3 million worth of improvements to CB Lake. It’s unacceptable to dredge the lake, improve the water quality, install a beautiful new playground, build a new bathroom and renovate the picnic shelter only to keep letting the geese crap all over it. It’s gross,
Fun fact… one goose makes 2.5 pounds of poop per day. The last time I counted there were at least 50 geese out there. Yep, that’s 125 pounds of poop per day. Eww. Here’s another fun fact … every Saturday morning before the farmers market, vendors feel the need to bring shovels. That about sums it up!
There’s a solution. It’s called “get a Border Collie.” That’s what Airlie Gardens did.
I went and visited with their superintendent and he told me all about it. You get a trained Border Collie and take it to the park daily to shoo away the geese. They’ll find another home, they won’t get hurt and the method is approved by PETA and the Humane Society. It’s not quite as simple as it sounds, but totally worth doing. There are other methods, but none are nearly as effective.
Read about geese management here.
At Airlie the superintendent serves as the dog handler and the dog (Reilly) is his family pet. (In fact, I didn’t get to meet the dog, because his wife stopped by and took him to the beach.)
Read about the Airlie Gardens Border Collie here.
I’d like to see the town purchase a dog and have an employee (or Jay Healy) adopt it. But like I said, it’s not simple. Just sending a spastic dog out to run around and bark would only send the geese into the lake until it left. The dog must be trained to route the birds away from the water and get them to fly off. Then you have to follow up daily, for some time. After a while it can be a weekly, or as needed event.
In the meantime we can hire a company to do it. Yes, they exist. Many golf courses employ them.
Here’s a video of a Border Collie at work.
More info on CB Lake:
- The eastern portion is being dredged as you read this, but it’s not really “dredging.” The silt is pumped into giant tubes and stays on site. The pond surface area will get smaller, the upland will get bigger and the pond will get deeper.
- I was under the impression that the little island (with the flags) would be incorporated into the upland, but I was wrong. It will stay an island.
- The southeastern corner has been taken over with phragmites, which is aggressive, invasive reed grass. The company doing the “dredging” specializes in pond management which includes dealing with invasive plants. They will work on that as well.
- The lake work has nothing to do with the new playground. That’s a different contractor. The two projects can be done concurrently (Joe Benson … “concurrently” means “at the same time.”)
- The lake “dredging” is scheduled to finish by the end of November, and there are penalties built into the contract if it isn’t completed on time.
- The playground installation will start this fall, when the time is right.
- The bathrooms and picnic shelter will either be replaced or renovated, depending on how the budget is shaking out.
Time For My Opinions:
As stated, I think it would be a travesty to do all this work only to let the geese keep doing their thing. They gotta go. I also think we need to get serious about beautifying the park. The landscaping needs improving. The entrance by the school is awful. The bathrooms are past their prime. We can do better and now is the time.
I’ve been pretty quiet about the looks of the park, because I knew these projects were coming online, so we may as well wait. Now things are happening and it’s time to invest. First we have to see how the project budgets shake out. If there’s not enough leftover to make some nice improvements, I’ll push for it in the 2024/25 budget.
I’ve been suggesting Border Collies for years! Do It!
(else return the alligators to the lake)
Clearly I agree!
I would also like to mention. These fun facts about geese.
Canada geese and other species of waterfowl can carry and spread disease, viruses, bacteria, and parasites. The most common include salmonella, e. coli, and cryptosporidium. Avian influenza is also common disease for waterfowl species like geese.
Geese feces usually contain the parasites cryptosporidium, giardia, coliform, and campylobacter. Crytosporidium poses the most serious health hazard, since it causes cryptosporidiosis.
Their manure contains nutrients that stimulate algal blooms which, when they die off, deplete oxygen, causing fish kills and other negative effects.
Sounds like a decision needs to be made on whether the intention of the park is for people or geese.
As I recall, joining Veterens Island to the mainland and building a band stand on the old island with people sitting where the current concrete slab is located was part of the Lake Park Master Plan. If they are not filling in between the island and the main land, has the Master Plan changed?
While we are sprucing up the area, could we look at the entrance at 3rd street? I know large vehicles need access there, but there has got be ways to improve the look of that entrance.
I agree. The geese are nasty. I don’t even walk my dog there anymore because of all the poop. My dog doesn’t seem to get how to walk over or around the poop. Let’s also mention that those geese are mean. It kills me that the town is spending all this money for an area that people shouldn’t even be walking in.
I vote for the border collie. I would house but my husband would kick me out of I brought home another dog!
Thanks for reading. I tried not to go into too much detail, but yes to everything you wrote.
When I was on Parks & Rec, we recommended several options to remedy the goose situation, including hiring a service that employs dogs to chase the geese . Did you know that grape kool aid also deters geese? We all were very enthusiastic about trying that solution. Not sure why the town never acted on the recommendations of the commission, but it was the topic of conversation at every meeting.
The grape kool aid only works if you keep it regularly applied, and you have to re-apply it after every rain. I think staff did try it, but they’re just not equipped to send someone out every time it rains. I’m 100% committed to hiring the dog service, and maybe getting our own dog, but we’ll see. Why didn’t the town act on it back then? I don’t know, but it doesn’t really matter. I’m looking ahead.