Geese Mitigation: Meeting For City Park Friends And Neighbors Tuesday
DENVER (CBS4) -- Officials with Denver Parks and Recreation will be discussing wildlife management issues in City Park -- particularly the management of the goose population -- at the City Park Friends and Neighbors meeting Tuesday night. Over the summer, officials tried culling the geese, meaning some were rounded up and euthanized. The meat was donated to families in need.
Culling sparked protests from critics who said it was inhumane and unnecessary.
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The primary methods used to control the geese population include egg oiling, hazing and habitat management, but when those aren't enough, the parks department can also use culling.
Working with the USDA, they can capture as many as 2,200 Canada geese in Colorado and process the meat. Over the summer, more than 1,600 geese were killed and processed to be given away as food.
"They are taking them to a processing facility where they are processed and they are donating them to needy families," Parks and Recreation Deputy Executive Director Scott Gilmore said.
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The City and County Of Denver Geese Management Plan states some of the more common issues involving geese, including: "unacceptable and potentially dangerous accumulation of feces on turf and pavement, goose aggression during nesting season, over grazing of landscape vegetation, and safety hazards for vehicles."
"Geese poop in or parks is one of the biggest complaints we have. It makes our algae bloom a lot worse. It actually aggravates e-coli and avian botulism in the water," Gilmore told CBS4 in June.
Tuesday's meeting will be held from 6-8 p.m. at Messiah Community Church, at 1750 Colorado Blvd. Gilmorewill deliver remarks and there will be an "extensive" question and answer period. Free parking is available behind the church, off 18th Avenue.
LINK: City and County of Denver Geese Management Plan
