The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing the creation of a new regulation to allow State wildlife management agencies to actively manage populations of resident Canada geese that cause personal and public property damage and, in some cases, pose a threat to public health and safety.
Under the proposed alternative identified in the draft Environmental Impact Statement released today, the Service would grant the States the authority to undertake approved population control strategies, such as nest and egg destruction, trapping and culling programs, and expanded hunting opportunities.
"The Service believes that the problems caused by resident Canada geese can be best addressed at the State level," said Service Director Steve Williams. "To that end, we are committed to providing State wildlife management agencies with as much flexibility as possible to address the issue."
The draft EIS evaluates a range of alternatives in relation to their ability to reduce and stabilize resident Canada goose populations, reduce conflicts with humans and minimize impacts to property and human health and safety. Aside from the proposed alternative, the EIS analyzes other alternatives, including continuing current management practices unchanged; implementing non-lethal methods such as harassment and habitat management designed to make areas less attractive to geese; expanded hunting opportunities; and creating various depredation orders allowing expanded lethal take of resident geese. A 90-day public comment period on the draft EIS will remain open until May 30, 2002.
Most Canada goose populations are migratory, wintering in the United States and migrating north to summer breeding grounds in the Canadian arctic. But a large availability of habitat, especially in urban and suburban areas where there are park-like open spaces with short grass adjacent to small bodies of water, has resulted in growing numbers of locally-breeding geese that live year round in the lower 48 states.
In temperate climates across the United States, these places provide geese with relatively stable breeding habitat and low numbers of predators. In addition, hunting is usually not allowed in urban and suburban areas, restricting the ability of state and local authorities to control populations using traditional methods. Those resident populations that do migrate often fly only short distances compared to their migratory relatives that breed in Canada. For these reasons, resident Canada goose populations enjoy consistently high reproduction and survival rates.
The Service estimates that there are 3.5 million resident Canada geese in the United States. Resident Canada goose populations in both the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways now exceed 1 million birds each and have increased an average of 14 and 6 percent per year, respectively, over the last 10 years. Indices of resident Canada geese in the Central Flyway are now approaching 1 million birds and populations in the western portions of the country have shown similar growth rates over the past 10 years.
Resident Canada geese are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and can only be legally taken during a hunting season, unless a special federal permit is obtained from the Service. The Service is in the process of drafting proposed regulations that would authorize the States to implement the proposed alternative and undertake a number of population control and management actions without having to go through the permit process.
Large flocks of resident Canada geese can denude grassy areas, including parks, pastures, golf courses, lawns, and other landscaped areas where there are ponds, lakes, and other bodies of water nearby. At airports, resident Canada geese have become a significant safety threat, resulting in dangerous takeoff and landing conditions and costly repairs to aircraft. Excessive goose droppings are also a health concern, and have contributed to the temporary closure of public beaches by local health departments in several States. In addition, agricultural and natural resource damage, including depredation of grain crops, overgrazed pastures, and degraded water quality have increased as resident Canada goose populations have grown.
The release of the draft environmental impact statement was announced in the March 1, 2002, Federal Register. The document is the result of a process that began in August 1999. Public input on the alternatives to be considered by the draft environmental impact statement was solicited through Federal Register notices on August 19 and December 30, 1999 and at a series of public meetings held in February and March 2000 across the country.
Written comments concerning the draft EIS should be addressed to the Chief, Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, ms 634 ARLSQ, 1849 C St., NW, Washington, D.C., 20240. Copies of the draft EIS are available at the same address or by calling the Service at 703-358-1714. The Service will schedule public meetings later this year, and the dates and locations will be announced in the Federal Register in March.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Services manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses nearly 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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