[Peace] Fwd: LOCAL ISSUE: Rally to protect-the-geese today at noon! And---2 weak spots in the Park's argument, that we discovered yesterday(there are many, but these two jumped out at us)

Tue Jun 9 19:23:57 UTC 2020

I'll tell ya..... This isn't a big issue for me personally, but I certainly
admire the way that Susan Parenti et al. are kickin' ass and takin'
names!!  Wow!  This guy who runs the Urbana Park District sounds like he's
overpaid by about $115,000 a year.  Susan, maybe you can take HIS job.
*smile*

John Wason

On Tue, Jun 9, 2020 at 12:13 PM Karen Aram via Peace <
peace at lists.chambana.net> wrote:

Message from Susan Parenti:
>
>
> HI friends--At corner of Park Street and Broadway---Let’s meet today
> noon-1pm to protest the local issue of the Park District’s plan to manage
> the number of our geese by means of killing them (management by murder, is
> what I call it).
>
> Many of us/you  have been trying a lot of things to get this management
> plan changed.
>
> I want to point out three things we discovered yesterday during an intense
> meeting four of us had with Tim Barlett executive director of the Park, and
> Derek Liebert Superintendent of Parks (the person who is in charge of the
> killing action).
>
> 1. After an hour of head-to-head disagreement, Tim Bartlett said
> cheerfully, “Well, I’m looking forward to when we all can work together to
> figure out a *regional* plan for how to manage all the geese in the
> Champaign County area—not just the Crystal Lake Park geese. We’re going to
> need to coordinate with a lot of different organizations to get the geese
> situation solved.”
>
> This remark of Tim’s about needing to come up with a *regional plan*—and
> the cheerful cheerleading tone in which he said it—shows that the Park
> realizes killing the geese in Crystal Lake is only a temporary solution.
> Once the Park kills 100+ geese, that will leave an empty field for all the
> other geese in the region to come and live.  For other remaining geese, it
> will be like an empty apartment building—furnished—with all the doors and
> windows open. Viktoria had pointed out, very clearly, that the situation of
> the geese is a systemic problem, and will require a different set of
> questions/answers than simple extermination.  When she pointed that out,
> Tim and Derek were silent, stony-faced. But this sudden remark of Tim’s
> shows that they know very well that their plan has a big hole in it—once
> they kill the 100+ geese, they’re going to need a next step (which they
> don’t have) to deal with the consequences of the killing.
>
> 2. THE PARK DISTRICT HAS NO DATA TO BACK UP THEIR CLAIMS OF ‘OVER
> POPULATION’, "THE NUMBER OF GEESE ARE INCREASING!!”  In talking with UPD
> yesterday, our 4-person committee decided we would concentrate on asking
> the UPD for data—numbers, graphs, etc—to back up their claims of
> over-population and of increase in geese population. Tim and Derek said
> they don’t have those numbers, that only in the last week has Derek been
> counting how many geese there are. When Ilir asked, “Then how can you say
> the numbers of geese are increasing if you can’t show the numbers? An
> increase means TWO numbers, right?” I, Susan, said, “You keep claiming
> over-population—by what standard do you measure OVER population? According
> to WHAT?” Tim  countered this by asking US, “Well, what’s the standard?”
>  We said, “We’re asking YOU—YOU’ RE the ones making allegations of increase
> of numbers of geese, and over overpopulation. You tell US” (Wow, Tim
> Barlett, head of UPD-- This is a man who is paid $125,000 a year—and he is
> asking US?) Tim went further and asked, “Well, do other Parks count their
> number of geese”. And again, we answered” YOU should know that—you haven’t
> done your homework!)
>
> Yesterday, at the end of this meeting, we presented UPD with several FOIA
>  requests(Freedom of Information Act).
>
>
> 3. If you go into the Park district’s website, you’ll find a chart there
> of the management of the geese since 2015—and there you WILL find numbers.
> But these numbers show that up to 2019, the numbers of geese have been
> DECREASING—so their management of the geese has been effective, without
> resorting to killing the geese. What the——?
>
> From UPD
> website--https://www.urbanaparks.org/projects/geese-population-and-management/
>
> *PLEASE CALL Derek Liebert and Tim Barlett and ask them to account for
> what they’re proposing. *
> *Derek 217-344-9583, daliebert at urbanaparks.org <daliebert at urbanaparks.org>*
> *Tim 217-367-1536, tabartlett at uabanaparks.org <tabartlett at uabanaparks.org>*
>
> A timeline of goose management in Crystal Lake Park
>
> *2012*    Goose beacons installed in the lake, proved effective in year 1.
>
> *2013*    Beacon habituation, no longer effective.
>
> *2014*    Urbana Park District Advisory Committee recommends increased
> management
>             Park district hosts area agency lunch and learn with Illinois
> Department of Natural Resources Urban Waterfowl
>             Manager to help gather what other options are available for
> goose management.
>
> *2015*    Park district seeks public input on egg and nest management,
> public supportive.
>             Training on egg and nest management, 1st year (59 nests/ 118
> nesting geese)
>             Turf application of chemical deterrents.
>             Coyote decoy hazing.
>             Physical exclusion (limited fencing) installations in high
> impact areas.
>             Ropes along boat dock and bungee cords on boats added to block
> access to boats.
>
> *2016*    2nd year of nest management (44 nests/ 88 nesting geese).
> Ongoing turf deterrents and decoy hazing, exclusion through limited fencing.
>
> *2017*    Environmental education programming on the Canada Goose and
> negative impacts of feeding them
>    3rd year of nest management (50 nests/ 100 nesting geese). Ongoing
> turf deterrents and decoy hazing, exclusion through limited fencing.
>
> *2018*    Training and implementation of dog and laser hazing, both which
> mimic predators of geese.
>    Dock and deck application of chemical deterrents.
>    4th year of nest management (43 nests/ 86 nesting geese). Ongoing turf
> deterrents, exclusion through limited fencing
>
> *2019*    Lake rehabilitation engineering for habitat modification.
>             5th year of nest management (39 nests/ 78 nesting geese).
> Ongoing deck/dock/turf deterrents, dog/laser hazing, exclusion through
> limited fencing.
>
> *2020*    UPD hosts area agency lunch and learn with Illinois Department
> of Natural Resources Urban Waterfowl Manager and U.S. Department of
> Agriculture Wildlife Services.
> UPD begins lake rehabilitation project and habitat modification: $2.5+
> million investment on lake and park amenities.
> 6th year of nest management. Ongoing deck/dock/turf deterrents, dog/laser
> hazing, exclusion through limited fencing.
>
>
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