Foster City, a San Francisco Bay Area community, plans to spend nearly $400,000 on an array of high-tech and canine deterrents to drive away its persistent population of Canada geese.. The 33,000-resident city faces a daily barrage of hundreds of pounds of goose droppings, not to mention the startled children in local parks. Past efforts—including oiling eggs and fencing parks—haven't dislodged the roughly 400 birds that now call the area home, the Washington Post reports. The city has been searching for non-lethal goose control methods since there was a backlash to a 2021 plan to kill more than 100 geese.
Officials are preparing a multifaceted campaign for September, deploying border collies to simulate predators, remote-controlled aquatic devices, and even drones designed to resemble falcons. "Dogs, drones and lasers and most importantly, habitat modification and also education of the public," parks director Derek Schweigart told ABC7 last month. "Stop feeding the geese. That's a direct impact that draws the geese here." He tells the Post that the population of the birds has grown to an "overwhelming" size. "If we can find a way to manage this in a way that geese and people can coexist without conflict, that would be a huge success," Schweigart says.
The city hopes the investment will ultimately reduce annual maintenance and cleaning costs driven up by the geese. Wildlife Innovations, the firm managing the effort, is targeting seven parks with the most complaints and bird activity. According to Jake Manley, who leads the project, the key is variety: "Every time they start acclimating, throw something new that they haven't seen."
story continues below
The city's challenge stems in part from its own appeal—a lagoon system, lush parks, and easy food draw the birds to settle year-round instead of migrating. Melanie Weaver with California's Department of Fish and Wildlife notes that humans have turned the city into prime goose habitat. "We, collectively as humans, have provided them a great place to hang out and raise young," she says. "There's not many things that can take them out except for perhaps a coyote or a golden eagle. You've got people giving them handouts. It's a recipe for disaster."
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
