Cathy Rofshus, Making Waves

The Watershed District phone rings one recent morning. The caller is a resident on Fountain Lake in Albert Lea. Her question is, &8220;How can I keep the geese off my yard? Their poop is making a real mess.&8221;

This is typical question to the Watershed District and other agencies.

Here is how the conversation usually proceeds:

Agency staff: &8220;Geese like short turf grass. So the natural way to deter them is to grow ornamental grass, shrubs, trees and other tall vegetation along your lakeshore.&8221;

Resident: &8220;But I want to see the lake. That&8217;s why we bought this house &8212; for the view. I don&8217;t want trees or anything else blocking the view.&8221;

Agency staff: &8220;Think of framing in your view with trees. For example, some oak or willow trees on the sides, or maybe some dwarf fruit trees. Fill in the picture with wildflowers, berry bushes and other native plants. Look for vegetation that is taller than turf grass but shorter than mature trees. Not only will you deter geese from your yard, but you will attract butterflies and songbirds and other critters that enhance your view.&8221;

Resident: &8220;Isn&8217;t there a simpler way to keep the geese off my yard?&8221;

Agency staff: &8220;Once the buffer zone of native plants is established, it requires much less maintenance than mowing the yard to the water&8217;s edge. Can I send you a brochure or a guidebook?&8221;

I agree that a lush turf lawn looks lovely and provides a great place for kids to play. However, well-manicured lawns are ideal food sources for Canada geese, which are attracted to the continual supply of new green growth. The key is to include both turf areas away from the lakeshore AND buffer zones of native plants along the water.

That buffer zone will usually block Canada geese, because they&8217;re afraid that predators are lurking in tall grass and other plants.

Nothing renders a lawn useless like hundreds of goose droppings. Their waste also washes unwanted nutrients into the lake.

That leads to our next question, regarding geese getting people&8217;s &8220;ganders up.&8221;

&8220;Can&8217;t we get rid of all these geese on the lake? Their feces must be polluting way more than my septic system.&8221;

The quick answer: There is no effective way to deter geese from lakes, except through loss of habitat. And while geese are prolific poopers &8212; usually 2 to 4 pounds of feces a day &8212; their waste is much less harmful than human waste.

Here is the long answer. Geese feces are becoming a major concern in many watersheds, including Madison, Wis., where Edgewood College staff and students have studied the problem. Their research has found that urban populations of giant Canada geese (Branta canadensis maxima) have increased dramatically in recent decades throughout North America, creating frequent goose-human conflict.

Once thought to be extinct, giant Canada geese have recovered dramatically in the United States as a result of protection and recovery efforts, increasing from an estimated 55,000 in 1965 to 4 million in 2002.

During this time of rapid population growth, giant Canada geese have adapted extremely well to urban and suburban environments, often breeding in cities and staying in or near them year-around, even in northern states like Minnesota and Wisconsin.

There are ways to manage the geese populations. Throughout the U.S., communities have uses techniques approved

by the Humane Society and other national wildlife protection organizations.

These programs include:

&8212; Educational efforts and ordinance changes that discourage the feeding of geese.

&8212; Landscape modification, particularly the creation of shoreline vegetation buffers.

While goose droppings are messy, they are rarely harmful to humans and water quality. These handsome birds ingest phosphorous and nitrogen when feeding on grasses that have been fertilized. They then deposit droppings on lawns, shoreland and elsewhere. The geese are ingesting nutrients that already exist around lakes. The geese are basically recycling the fertilizer they&8217;re eating from the grass. However, dog and human waste can actually add to the overall pollution of lakes because their food source is over and above what is in the environment, according to one Lake Tahoe researcher.

Here is what the Minnesota DNR recommends:

&8220;Landscaping your shoreline to make it less attractive for Canada geese and their broods is considered the most effective long-term and environmentally sound method of reducing goose problems to individual yards and lawns. Canada geese avoid using areas where plants obstruct their view of the surrounding area. Temporary measures such as fences or repellents may be necessary to keep geese from your yard until landscaping is established.&8221;

Three techniques to try:

&8212; A hedge near the water with a gate to allow access can be decorative as well as effective at reducing goose access to your lawn. The hedge should be 30-36 inches tall and must be thick enough to exclude geese. Check with your local nursery or greenhouse for shrubs that will work in your yard.

&8212; Leave a dense strip of naturally occurring trees and shrubs (20-30 feet wide) along the shoreline. A narrow (3-4 feet wide) S-shaped footpath can provide access to the lake. A continuous band of emergent aquatic plants such as cattails or bulrush in the water in front of your shoreline may reduce goose use of your yard.

&8212; An un-mowed shoreline buffer of native grasses and wild flowers that grow 20-30 inches tall in a strip 20-30 feet wide along the shoreline can discourage goose visits. Native grasses generally remain standing even after winter snows have compacted most other grasses. Use a mowed S-shaped footpath (3-4 feet wide) to provide access from your yard to the shoreline.

If you would like information on lakescaping, please call the District office at 377-5785. The staff would be happy to send you a brochure, guidebook, or even a copy of a DVD on shoreland management.

Trivia Question

True or False: We have created year-round habitat for Canada geese through creating large fertilized turf areas.

The answer is True: Some scientists think that if we reduce the acreage of fertilized lawns, a food source for geese, we could limit goose populations.

Cathy Rofshus is the outreach director for the Shell Rock River Watershed District. She can be reached at 377-5785.