“Large flocks of resident Canada geese around the National Mall leave excessive goose droppings, as much as 2-3 pounds per goose per day” – Comment on an NPS Plan to relocate them using border collies

Photo by PoPville flickr user Phil

From the National Parks Service:

“The National Park Service is accepting comments from the public on a proposed plan to relocate geese from parts of the National Mall using environmentally safe and humane methods. The project would use border collies at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Washington Monument grounds and John F. Kennedy Hockey Fields to haze the Mall’s large and growing Canada goose population into moving to other parts of the park. Comments are being accepted online through April 22, 2015.

Large flocks of resident Canada geese around the National Mall leave excessive goose droppings, as much as 2-3 pounds per goose per day. More than a nuisance to pedestrians, the droppings damage the pumps and filters of the Reflecting Pool;degrade the park’s natural and cultural resources;and their feces have potential to create a public health hazard. With the assistance of the border collies, which are bred to herd sheep and have a natural instinct to round up flocks of geese, the geese will be encouraged to abandon the lawns and water in these areas and relocate elsewhere. No birds will be physically harmed during the hazing process.

How to Comment

The preferred manner for providing comments is via an online form through the National Park Service Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website, used by the agency to manage official correspondence and analyze public comment in the planning process. From the project website, navigate the menu on the left hand side of the page to Document List, then Performance Work Statement, then Comment Now.

Comments may also be submitted in writing to:

Karen Cucurullo, Acting Superintendent
National Mall and Memorial Parks
Attn: Goose Control
900 Ohio Drive SW
Washington, DC 20024

Comments must be entered into the website or postmarked by April 22, 2015 to receive consideration. Please be aware that the entire comment submitted –including personal identifying information such as address, phone number, e-mail address –may be made publicly available. Requests to withhold such personal identifying information from public release will be considered, but there is no guarantee that they will be withheld.”