<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">On Mon, May 11, 2020 at 2:57 PM Robert Naiman <<a href="mailto:naiman.uiuc@gmail.com">naiman.uiuc@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div>Another idea: my understanding is that some dogs have been trained to chase away geese. So, instead of killing the excess geese, some of the geese could just be encouraged to move along. </div></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>That's one of the things the park district has tried. From the report: </div><div><br></div><h2 class="gmail-p1" style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:14px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;margin:0px 0px 15px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:center"><em><strong><span style="font-size:16px">A coyote decoy, which must be moved frequently, is one of the management strategies the park district employed early on. More recently, a licensed and trained dog hazing service has helped limit goose impacts in portions of the park.</span></strong></em></h2><div><br></div><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Mon, May 11, 2020 at 3:46 PM Stuart Levy via Peace-discuss <<a href="mailto:peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net" target="_blank">peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div>
(Moving to peace-discuss instead of the peace announcements list)<br>
<br>
What comes next - yes, this is my thought as well. The geese are
occupying an ecological niche. How long will it take to refill
it? Are they just avoiding the labor of goose chasing for a season
or two, if they kill off 3/4rs of them now?<br>
<br>
<div>On 5/11/20 12:36 PM, Debra Schrishuhn
via Peace wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
We fill our urban spaces with artificial ponds, nicely landscaped
with lots of regularly mown grass and no predators other than
vehicles and wonder why the geese congregate, along with ducks,
killdeers, herons, turtles, and the few species of amphibians not
extirpated by pesticides and habitat destruction. People forget
that this part of Illinois was marshy prairie, and though humans
drained and paved it for their own uses, the animals that were
here before us either move elsewhere or make do—wrens and robins
building nests in gutters and corners of structures, swifts
nesting in chimneys, opossums and raccoons and those “damned gray
squirrels “ foraging in unsecured garbage receptacles...well, list
goes on. Want to get rid of the geese? Get rid of the water.
<div><br>
</div>
<div>The problem I see with the park district’s planned goose
slaughter is that it does not address what comes next. Other
geese will simply move in to fill the vacuum. Does the slaughter
become an annual event? If geese are slaughtered throughout
Urbana will geese from Champaign move east? Geese are pretty
smart birds, but they don’t understand jurisdictional
boundaries. <br>
<div id="gmail-m_5127238025114501139gmail-m_-4309061852329372725AppleMailSignature">Sent from my iPhone</div>
<div><br>
On May 11, 2020, at 12:06 PM, John W. <<a href="mailto:jbw292002@gmail.com" target="_blank">jbw292002@gmail.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">On Mon, May 11, 2020 at 12:04 PM Lois
Steinberg <<a href="mailto:loisiyoga@gmail.com" target="_blank">loisiyoga@gmail.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">but there are alternatives to murdering
them...
<div>Lois</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Perhaps there are. But if you read the actual
report from the Urbana Park District, you'll see how
many different strategies have already been employed,
in vain.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div> </div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Mon, May 11,
2020 at 11:35 AM John W. via Peace <<a href="mailto:peace@lists.chambana.net" target="_blank">peace@lists.chambana.net</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">On Mon, May 11, 2020 at 8:00 AM
Debra Schrishuhn via Peace <<a href="mailto:peace@lists.chambana.net" target="_blank">peace@lists.chambana.net</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>Some are non-native--sort of. They
were here; wild populations were
destroyed; captive geese were introduced<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>From the book "Wild Neighbors":</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>"Once decimated by hunting and
habitat loss, Canada geese rebounded
after captive birds were released
throughout the country.
<p>"People may be surprised to hear that
birds learn to migrate from their
parents and flock—they don't hatch
with this complex knowledge. So
released geese never learned to fly
north and instead took up local
residence year-round.</p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<p>"We've provided food and safety right
here in our cities and suburbs. The
geese have no reason to go elsewhere,
so they settle in and raise
families....</p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>And to sound a discordant note in this
whole conversation, this is why I don't like
the geese around here. The geese may be
native to central Illinois at certain times
of the year, but they're not native to urban
areas and they're not native year-round. i
don't know what the answer is for Crystal
Lake Park, but I think it's ridiculous to
see flocks of geese sauntering across busy
streets in the vicinity of North Prospect in
Champaign. As we humans have done with so
many species (like the damned grey
squirrel), we've introduced them to habitats
where they don't belong, and more or less
domesticated them until their population
gets out of control and becomes
destructive. <br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div> </div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<p>
"It's one thing to shoo a few geese
off a back lawn and another to
convince a large flock that has used a
park for years that they ought to go
elsewhere. That requires a plan. A <a href="https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/plan-ahead-make-peace-canada-geese" target="_blank">coordinated
program</a> will save in the long
run and be more successful.... <br>
</p>
<p>
"Scientific studies do not show that
goose droppings pose any special
health threats. Obviously, people want
to avoid contact with any animal
droppings. Ordinary good hygiene, such
as washing hands and leaving shoes at
the door, are adequate prevention if
you accidentally contact animal
droppings."</p>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Mon,
May 11, 2020 at 7:52 AM Debra Schrishuhn
<<a href="mailto:deb.pdamerica@gmail.com" target="_blank">deb.pdamerica@gmail.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>Yes, please! And thank you
(honk).</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Yesterday in a local place with a
pond (not Crystal Lake) I watched
goose families move from one pond to
another just before a rainstorm.
When the goslings were not going
fast enough, the parents shooed them
forward by vocalizing and running at
them with wings flapping. When
crossing roads the adults will not
abandon their young to save
themselves, but rather urge the
young ones ever faster. Geese also
form family coops, with multiple
broods of youngsters grazing
surrounded by multiple pairs of
watchful parents.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Non-lethal means of control could
be by the innovative geeseherd idea
or the more usual human nest robbers
as the park has done in the past. In
fact, given the number of broods at
Crystal Lake Park this year I'd say
that the nest robbing/egg
destruction project was
abandoned--dare one suggest that it
was done to make the goose problem
look more acute? It cannot be
because the geese are particularly
good at hiding their nests--the
park's so-called renovations have
taken out much of the underbrush and
scrub where they nested (and also
decreased significant habitat for
local songbirds).<br>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On
Mon, May 11, 2020 at 7:36 AM Karen
Aram <<a href="mailto:karenaram@hotmail.com" target="_blank">karenaram@hotmail.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div>Thank you Niloofar and Deb,
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I just completed the survey,
having just now seen it, and I’m
furious over the inhumanity of
slaughtering these love
creatures. I’m just as outraged
at the genocide or culling as
they usually refer to it, of
wildlife, animals as I am of
humans. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>The upgrades or improvements
they are planning would be
better left alone if it requires
this slaughter.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I will with your permission,
circulate your letter below,
along with Niloofar’s on FB,
along with the link to the
survey and phone number.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
<div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>On May 11, 2020, at
05:01, Debra Schrishuhn
via Peace <<a href="mailto:peace@lists.chambana.net" target="_blank">peace@lists.chambana.net</a>>
wrote:</div>
<br>
<div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div>Outstanding, Susan
and Niloofar. I took
the survey last week
and have been
spreading the word.
The geese are native,
just like our corn-fed
whitetail deer that
sometimes form a
traffic hazard in the
rural parts of the
county. If Crystal
Lake kills all but 20
geese, by next year
there will be another
80-100 geese in the
park because they are
widespread in this
area. <br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Absent natural
predators (which the
park officials would
no doubt find even
more of a "nuisance")
the geese can and
should be managed
without wholesale
slaughter,
disingenuously called
"Collection and
Charity Donation" by
park officials who
want to soft-pedal
their plans. And the
plan to donate the
meat to food banks may
be well-meaning, but
it is seriously
flawed, as anyone who
has ever tried/
learned to cook wild
goose meat can attest.<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Besides people
taking the survey, who
can we call today?
Here is the main
number--call and
protest on behalf of
the geese. <a href="tel:%201-217-367-1544" target="_blank"><span>217.367.1544</span></a>
<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Now here are the
commissioners</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<strong>Michael Walker
/ President</strong>-since
1983, reelected in
2019</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<strong>Nancy Delcomyn
/ Vice President</strong><br>
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Commissioner
since 1993<br>
Next up for election
2023</span> <br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>Roger
Digges /
Commissioner</strong></span>
elected in 2019</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<strong>Meredith
Blumthal /
Commissioner</strong><br>
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Commissioner
since 2010<br>
Next up for election
2021</span> <br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<strong>LaShaunda
Cunningham /
Commissioner</strong><br>
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Commissioner
since 2015<br>
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Next
up for election
2021</span></span>
<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>These folks need to
feel some community
heat.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>One for the
honkers!</div>
<div>Deb<br>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On
Mon, May 11, 2020 at
1:57 AM Niloofar
Shambayati via Peace
<<a href="mailto:peace@lists.chambana.net" target="_blank">peace@lists.chambana.net</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Susan,</div>
<div style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Thank
you so much for
spreading the word
about the horrific
proposal to
slaughter the
Crystal Lake's
geese to
supposedly attract
more visitors.
Don't they see how
ironic it is that
the Park houses
Anita
Purves Nature
Center, whose main
goal is to help
children realize
that humans are
part of the
nature, not its
masters?! Can't we
accept some
"inconveniences"
in return for the
joy of watching
goslings
experience life
under the
protection of
their parents,
who're partners
for life? </div>
<div style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Please
urge the
commissioners to
reject this
proposal as cruel
and of highly
dubious effect. </div>
<div style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Niloofar
Shambayati</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On
Sun, May 10, 2020
at 5:48 PM Susan
Parenti via Peace
<<a href="mailto:peace@lists.chambana.net" target="_blank">peace@lists.chambana.net</a>> wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>The Urbana
Park District
Board of
Commissioners
is going to
vote on
Tuesday night
May 12 whether
or not they
support the
Park
District's
proposal to
kill off
60–100 geese
in Crystal
Lake Park, as
a way to
manage them
and make a
balance
between number
of geese and
size/capacities
of Park.
(They intend
to leave 20
geese alive).
<br>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>You can
see their
proposal here
: </div>
<div><a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K6R2HWQ" target="_blank">https://</a><a href="https://www.urbanaparks.org/projects/geese-population-and-management/" target="_blank">www.urbanaparks.org/projects/geese-population-and-management</a></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Inside
the proposal
is a 3 minute
survey about
how you feel
about the
geese in the
Park—the
survey puts
the geese in a
negative
light. But
please do the
survey now, or
at least
before 6pm
Tuesday night.
You don't have
to agree with
my sentiments.
<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Here is
the survey: </div>
<div><a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K6R2HWQ" target="_blank">https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K6R2HWQ</a></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>How do I
feel about
this? Daily I
go to the Park
to see/hear
the
geese—they’re
the main
attraction.
The Park
District
secured a
grant to
improve
Crystal Park,
and they feel
that the
presence of
the geese gets
in the way of
those
improvements.
. They say
that lots of
people won’t
go to the Park
because of the
geese—I don’t
know anyone
who feels that
way. But,
mostly, for me
the killing
off of the
geese is a
human-centered
way of
thinking (if
it’s good for
humans, then
it’s fine) and
that way of
thinking I
want to stop
as it’s a big
component of
why we have
catastrophic
climate
change. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
“GEESEHERDS”
I propose
that given
that the
swimming pool
will be closed
all summer,
why doesn’t
the Park
District use 2
ex-pool
employees and
make them
GEESEHERDS—a
variation on
shep(sheep)herds.
These
geessherds can
take care of
the geese,
tend to their
problems, turn
their poop
into iron-rich
compost. This
way the park
District is
free of taking
care of the
geese, and two
people have a
job. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Please
spread the
word. We don’t
have much
time. <br>
</div>
<font color="#888888"><br clear="all">
</font><br clear="all">
<br>
-- <br>
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div><b>Susan
Parenti</b><br>
<i>Educational
Coordinator </i><br>
<br>
</div>
<b>The School
for Designing
a Society </b><a href="http://www.designingasociety.net/" target="_blank">www.designingasociety.net</a><br>
<br>
</div>
<i>Like us on
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