[Peace] to keep a balance, Urb Park proposes to kill 60-100 Crystal lake geese-- read & take survey

Mon May 11 17:44:03 UTC 2020

> On May 11, 2020, at 12:06 PM, John W. via Peace <peace at lists.chambana.net> 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.

Hello friends---Concerning ‘the different strategies”--I spoke with Tim Barlett, head of UPD, yesterday. Concerning the other steps they’ve employed: these steps are a sequence of stages proposed by the USDA, an increase in hardship for the geese. In order to get to the final stage—killing off almost the entire herd, which is where UPD is, now, Tim told me you have to go through the other steps, show that you tried, and that they didn’t work. Tim said they’ve been aiming at the ‘killing off’ stage for the past few years—they did try the other interventions, but really felt that the town was divided between those people who just hate the geese, and those who don’t—so it’s more the sheer presence of the geese, not necessarily the number of them.

This explains why UPD put the survey and information out about the 'charity harvest’(the euphemism for the killing of geese, selling them as meat)   for just 10 days—April 27 to May 7. They had ALREADY arranged for the killing off stage with the USDA months ago, and were just waiting for whether the virus would stop this step. When they got the OK, they placed the survey—which indicates how much citizen input matters to them. They feel we are all emotional softies, who don’t realize the real logical problems they face. Sorry for this nasty remark, but in my three years of trying to work with UPD, that is my assessment—they’re burned out from public input, and endure it, but won’t be guided by it—unless people make a nasty fuss. (Gives to think). 

I asked Tim if the majority of Urbana citizens showed they were against the ‘charity harvest’ at the meeting tomorrow, would that sway the Commissioners. He paused, and said, “Not necessarily”. My experience of the Commissioners is that they vote the way Tim Barlett and UPD President Michael Walked indicate. 

Does anyone have a connection with SMILE POLITELY or News Gazette? Given how little new news is out there, I think we have a shot at coverage…If only to figure out how to stand with signs (DON’T KILL THE GEESE) on Broadway at 6 feet apart, with masks and gloves. Ah, PROTEST—the old beloved normal. 

Susan

> 
> 
>  
> 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 <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/>
>> 
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