By Jack Krampitz

The Bristol Park Board voted in favor of pursuing a program to alleviate the geese problem on Veterans’ Memorial Park and Boulevard that involves exterminating the geese. The vote, four to two, came after a long discussion.

Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano spoke at length about complaints the city has gotten about the number of geese, the sanitary problem their waste causes and even the safety concerns of the traffic while geese stand in the middle of the road oblivious of cars coming at them.

A spokesman from DEEP had reported to the mayor that there are many cities and towns in Connecticut where this is the case. Generally, geese are supposed to be migratory birds. But you have geese that live here all year long right now. They are overpopulated and there are plenty of other places they can go, but they like eating grass and are very pleased to remain in one spot year-round.

“The geese have been and will continue to be a problem. This is a big nuisance,” the mayor said, summarizing the issue in two sentences.

Rick Carello of the Bristol Veterans Council echoed the mayor’s comments.

“Everyone on the (Veterans’) Council understands how sensitive of an issue this can be, and we’re here to help in any way we can,” Carello said.

From that point the discussion focused on the method that would be used to rid the boulevard of the geese.

The feeling of many in the group was that earlier efforts did not work because they were not aggressive enough.

The solution being considered is something that was sanctioned by the State of Connecticut legislature all the way back in 2003, “Goose Round-Ups.”

The euthanizing is done with nitrous oxide. It does not poison the birds but cuts off their oxygen and they die relatively peacefully. That is how the meat remains fit for eating.

The method is described on the state DEEP website:

“In an effort to provide more tools for the alleviation of resident goose problems in urban areas, the Connecticut State Legislature passed Public Act 03-192 in 2003. This Act allows municipalities, private homeowner associations, and certain non-profit groups to conduct goose round-ups. These operations, conducted during the flightless molting period, can immediately relieve an area of nuisance geese.

“Geese are herded into portable nets and euthanized, and the meat is donated to soup kitchens and the needy. Many towns in other states participate in round-ups which has shown to be an effective method in reducing their nuisance goose problems. Contact the DEEP Wildlife Division’s Migratory Game Bird Program for more information about this program (860-418-5960).“

Park Superintendent Josh Medeiros had some information on one of the vendors of this “Round-Up” service. He was told the cost would be about $3,350 dollars. It is a very loose estimate because it will depend on what the vendors find when they survey the situation.

 The $3,550 will cover about five visits that they would be looking to do this year. There is a narrow window of opportunity when the work can be done in late June to early July while the geese are molting. There’s no guarantee in the number of geese that they can collect at each of those visits, but essentially each time they come out they will try to round up as many geese as they can.

The city will likely see decreased numbers if the Board goes in this direction. It is an aggressive management approach early on. And this will be an annual cost that will have to get budgeted for as well.

The budget necessary would not appear to be that exorbitant, maybe $15,000 to $20,000 for a three-year program.

“Let’s say you need $20,000 for the next two or three years to do this. Is that a crazy number?  I don’t think it’s a crazy number,” the mayor offered.

If the program controls the problem, the sentiment among the group was that the cost is reasonable.

The decision was to go forward by first producing a management plan. This then would have to be endorsed by the Park Board and the state of Connecticut as well. If the cost turns out to be reasonable, the board can then advance to the next step and solicit bids from vendors.

---

All TBE readers, supporters and donors                

The Bristol Edition will be limiting the number of stories non-members and free readers may access each week. This decision is based on our financial projections and, most certainly, to remind people that TBE is serious about providing accurate, timely and thorough reporting for Bristol. To do this we have devised a financial support structure that makes unlimited access extremely affordable, beginning with a $6 monthly donation.                

• Non-members will be able to access four (4) articles per week.                
• Free readers and people who have subscribed by email will be able to access four (4) articles per week.                
• Donors and financial supporters will have unlimited access as long as they log in.                

Note: Donors may have to contact TBE if they find they are being limited, since we will need to set up a membership account for you. Email editor@bristoledition.org for instructions. Sorry for any inconvenience. People with financial difficulties may write editor@bristoledition.org to be considered for free access.