[Peace-discuss] [Peace] to keep a balance, Urb Park proposes to kill 60-100 Crystal lake geese-- read & take survey
Stuart Levy
stuartnlevy at gmail.com
Mon May 11 19:46:20 UTC 2020
(Moving to peace-discuss instead of the peace announcements list)
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?
On 5/11/20 12:36 PM, Debra Schrishuhn via Peace wrote:
> 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.
>
> 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.
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On May 11, 2020, at 12:06 PM, John W. <jbw292002 at gmail.com
> <mailto:jbw292002 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>> On Mon, May 11, 2020 at 12:04 PM Lois Steinberg <loisiyoga at gmail.com
>> <mailto:loisiyoga at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>> but there are alternatives to murdering them...
>> Lois
>>
>>
>> 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.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, May 11, 2020 at 11:35 AM John W. via Peace
>> <peace at lists.chambana.net <mailto:peace at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:
>>
>> On Mon, May 11, 2020 at 8:00 AM Debra Schrishuhn via Peace
>> <peace at lists.chambana.net <mailto:peace at lists.chambana.net>>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Some are non-native--sort of. They were here; wild
>> populations were destroyed; captive geese were introduced
>>
>> From the book "Wild Neighbors":
>>
>> "Once decimated by hunting and habitat loss, Canada geese
>> rebounded after captive birds were released throughout
>> the country.
>>
>> "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.
>>
>> "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....
>>
>>
>> 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.
>>
>>
>>
>> "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 coordinated program
>> <https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/plan-ahead-make-peace-canada-geese> will
>> save in the long run and be more successful....
>>
>> "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."
>>
>>
>> On Mon, May 11, 2020 at 7:52 AM Debra Schrishuhn
>> <deb.pdamerica at gmail.com
>> <mailto:deb.pdamerica at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>> Yes, please! And thank you (honk).
>>
>> 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.
>>
>> 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).
>>
>> On Mon, May 11, 2020 at 7:36 AM Karen Aram
>> <karenaram at hotmail.com
>> <mailto:karenaram at hotmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>> Thank you Niloofar and Deb,
>>
>> 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.
>>
>> The upgrades or improvements they are planning
>> would be better left alone if it requires this
>> slaughter.
>>
>> 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.
>>
>>
>>> On May 11, 2020, at 05:01, Debra Schrishuhn via
>>> Peace <peace at lists.chambana.net
>>> <mailto:peace at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>> Besides people taking the survey, who can we
>>> call today? Here is the main number--call and
>>> protest on behalf of the geese. 217.367.1544
>>> <tel:%201-217-367-1544>
>>>
>>> Now here are the commissioners
>>>
>>> *Michael Walker / President*-since 1983,
>>> reelected in 2019
>>>
>>> *Nancy Delcomyn / Vice President*
>>> Commissioner since 1993
>>> Next up for election 2023
>>>
>>> *Roger Digges / Commissioner* elected in 2019
>>>
>>> *Meredith Blumthal / Commissioner*
>>> Commissioner since 2010
>>> Next up for election 2021
>>>
>>> *LaShaunda Cunningham / Commissioner*
>>> Commissioner since 2015
>>> Next up for election 2021
>>>
>>> These folks need to feel some community heat.
>>>
>>> One for the honkers!
>>> Deb
>>>
>>> On Mon, May 11, 2020 at 1:57 AM Niloofar
>>> Shambayati via Peace <peace at lists.chambana.net
>>> <mailto:peace at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Susan,
>>>
>>> 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?
>>>
>>> Please urge the commissioners to reject this
>>> proposal as cruel and of highly dubious
>>> effect.
>>>
>>> Niloofar Shambayati
>>>
>>> On Sun, May 10, 2020 at 5:48 PM Susan
>>> Parenti via Peace <peace at lists.chambana.net
>>> <mailto:peace at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:
>>>
>>> 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).
>>>
>>> You can see their proposal here :
>>> https://
>>> <https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K6R2HWQ>www.urbanaparks.org/projects/geese-population-and-management
>>> <https://www.urbanaparks.org/projects/geese-population-and-management/>
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>> Here is the survey:
>>> https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K6R2HWQ
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>> “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.
>>>
>>> Please spread the word. We don’t have
>>> much time.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> *Susan Parenti*
>>> /Educational Coordinator /
>>>
>>> *The School for Designing a Society
>>> *www.designingasociety.net
>>> <http://www.designingasociety.net/>
>>>
>>> /Like us on Facebook
>>> <http://www.facebook.com/designasociety>!/
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