[continued from previous message]   
      
   I live in a rural area with a bear problem very similar to the geese   
   issue in Foster City. While on vacation, tourists feed the bears then   
   you can never get rid of them. Bears attack people in my area every   
   year. The geese are enjoying the same thing with the locals feeding them   
   in the parks. Stop the feeding and use these mitigations measures   
   mentioned in the article and the geese will leave.   
      
   I spent a decade in Salisbury MD, on the Eastern Shore. We were a major   
   hub for migrating geese. Spring and fall. I saw first-hand the   
   annoyances they caused. But now that I live far away from their   
   migrations, I miss the geese.   
      
   Consider temporarily halting your leash laws for large dogs in the ares   
   where the geese congregate, if it's safe for the dogs (ie no fast roads   
   close by). Lots of dog owners will love to give their large breeds a   
   chance to not only run free but also to chase the geese, which for many   
   breeds will come quite naturally.   
      
   One of our local metro parks was successful using a dog. The park is   
   about 10 landscaped acres sitting in 100 acres of woods. The dog was   
   trained to drive away geese from the landscaped areas and lived there   
   24/7. One of our smaller city parks (about 3 acres) was unsuccessful   
   using a dog service which visited about twice a week for a few weeks in   
   Spring. The geese would return after the dog left. So this park   
   eventually resorted to euthanizing the geese.   
   Professional dogs employed by companies have been used to great success   
   on corporate campuses. The geese are too wily to get caught. Thus no   
   carcasses littering the place. As an added bonus their coworkers get to   
   take them home at night. Dogs are an excellent addition to facilities   
   and groundskeeping departments.   
      
   I have taken them on at our development's pond because the massive   
   droppings have ruined our enjoyment of our neighborhood. I just let my   
   herding dog loose whenever a flock lands -- especially now as they are   
   migrating north. Once that happens, I can literally hear them warn an   
   approaching group to go elsewhere... the single dog does not totally   
   solve the problem but it is way down from a few winters ago when the   
   entire pond was covered with geese for an entire winter. I have no doubt   
   that our warmer winters contribute to the problems because they now stay   
   in residence all winter instead of heading north. Herding dogs by nature   
   do not harm what they herd, so it is a good and free solution if you   
   happen to have any in the neighborhood.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)