History of the Canada Geese and Lake of the Pines - Ron Bomhoff

Swim Advisory 7/20/23 

On July 20, 2023 LOP Management sent out an email and placed signs at beaches issuing a swimming advisory for all LOP beaches due to higher than normal levels of E.coli. With the current large population of Canada Geese being the likely culprit of these high levels, our LOP social media pages have become busy with discussion. Mainly, these discussions have centered around what efforts have been made to prevent this sort of thing from happening and the closing of our beaches on one of the hottest weeks of the year.

Back in the 70’s it was rare and noteworthy for there to be a goose sighting at LOP and these were strictly migrating geese. It wasn’t until the early Summer of 2005  that I noticed an increased population of geese and goslings. I started making inquiries into what was being done to control them because of the large amounts of feces on the lawns, docks, beaches, etc.

As the goose population began to explode, it became apparent a problem was forming and something needed to be done to control the population to maintain the health of the lake. In 2007 I attended my first meeting of the newly formed Waterfowl Management Committee. I had done my homework on the problem and as a result of my preparation, was made Chair of said committee. After being asked to make an action plan to present to the Board, the US Humane Society's guide was selected as the standard for a non-lethal approach to controlling and reducing the Resident Canada Goose (RCG) population.

 

Over the next 13 years we educated ourselves and attempted every non-lethal method we could find to drive the geese away from our lake, beaches, Huck Finn, and front gate ponds. Some of the organized efforts included regular patrols of parks and beaches to harass the geese, fleets of boats chasing the geese from the lake while volunteers continued chasing on land, and approved members dogs chasing the geese from common areas.

We worked with owners on various ways to discourage geese from grazing in yards. We purchased Scare-Eye balloons, laser pointers, whistles, bangers, remote control boats, and other equipment .  Unfortunately, the balloons were only effective at close range and the lasers were only useful in low light and dark hours. We put up rope barriers in Hazel Park which worked well but were difficult to maintain. All of these efforts seemed temporarily successful at best and seemed to just move the geese around to the numerous water bodies in the area, only to return.

By far the most effective preventative measure was treating goose eggs. Early each year we began making once a week slow pontoon boat rides around the shoreline. First we would identify the nesting pairs and locate their nests. Once nest locations were documented we  would return each week to treat the eggs so they would not hatch. This took place over an approximate 20 week period. In the early years we treated 60 to 90 eggs and in the later years it was 120 to 140. Even with the ability to prevent the birth of new goslings at LOP the population continued to grow in the vicinity. 

 

Unfortunately, despite the countless hours put in by many LOP residents trying every known non-lethal approach, our efforts only slowed the continued population growth of the geese.

In 2017 Lake Wildwood had an E coli outbreak.  Eighteen people were infected and one child will probably be on dialysis for the rest of their life. Lake Wildwood continues to fight legal battles. Their defense was that they had no idea that the E Coli could be introduced by the geese.  As a result of the Lake Wildwood experience, LOP has been put on notice that this can certainly happen here. Because of that knowledge LOP can not say they were unaware of a potential outbreak.

I then knew that we had to follow Lake Wildwood's lead and unfortunately begin to use lethal methods to reduce the RCG population. I am not personally a hunter and have never shot an animal, but after learning that shooting of geese has proven successful at Lake Wildwood it became clear that lethal measures would be required. This would be in addition to all of our non-lethal efforts and seems to be the only option to reduce our goose population and keep it from returning to unhealthy numbers. 

In 2020 I applied with the US Fish and Wildlife for the first Depredation Permit which was promptly issued on Feb 18, 2020. That spring, under the direction of the board, I assembled a team of licensed hunters and we took 74 geese of the allowed 80 per year. This resulted in a noticeable reduction in geese for the rest of the summer. Geese began returning in the fall and under California hunting laws, we took 55 more. California Fish and Game actually encouraged us to hunt them because they understand the unrestricted population growth of the RCG is a serious threat to humans. 

Throughout the process the committee worked with Federal Fish and Game, California Fish and Game, Nevada County Fish and Game,  Nevada County Sheriff's, and 911 in order to faithfully follow all California and Federal laws.

While I have not been a member of the Wildlife Management Service Team since 2021 I am still in touch with team members. They shot 9 geese during the 2022 hunting season and I was told by a service team member that they found 4 nests and treated 15 eggs during the 2023 mating season and were not aware of any property access limitations. As I understand it, the effort to reduce the geese population has come to a near standstill. Most of the new geese and goslings that we are seeing on our lake would not exist if the Wildlife Management Service Team were functioning like we did in 2020 and before. This is not in any way a knock on those who are volunteering on the Wildlife Management Service Team, and I believe they would agree that it is not as effective as it used to be.

In December of 2020 LOP received a letter from the attorney of a special interest group claiming various violations of the law. At this point it seems the Board has paused their lethal and non-lethal efforts.

Due to a backlog in permitting around Covid, US Fish and Wildlife stated that  they had not yet approved or declined the following year's permit, however they did state LOP can still operate under the expired 2020 permit until a decision could be made.  I have not been made aware by management, the board, service team, or anyone else that we can not operate under the permit from 2020. Is this still valid ? 

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It seems the Board feels the permit is still valid since on September 14, 2022 they approved a standing order to cull 80 geese per year under the terms of the expired 2020 Depredation permit. (See R-22-076 below)

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We are faced with a serious health risk for all members, residents and guests.  A “call to action” is necessary to get something done. As a community we must join together to make the Board understand that we do not want to see “Beach Closed” signs. The addition of lethal controls have proven to be the only practical way to reduce the RCG population.  It is up to all members to step up and be heard.  

Please write the board (BOD@lop.org) and let them know you support and encourage them to insist the GM use a combination of both lethal and non-lethal measures to control the geese population.

In a recent meeting our GM has also suggested members reach out to Fish and Game- I agree as this might help with the approval of permits moving forward. It would be great if he could provide members his contact information on who we should reach out to at Fish and Game.

I spent 15 years along with a team of dedicated volunteers doing our best to control the goose population to avoid the situation we currently find ourselves in. It is frustrating to spend 15 years using lethal and non- lethal methods to get the situation under control, only to watch those efforts be halted and a goose population the highest we have ever seen it. We have proven that we can do better!

  

  * Updated 7//22/2023 to include additional documentation

** Update: At the Meeting with the GM on 7/25/2023 I was happy to hear Mr. Bothelio  assure our community that there are in fact non- lethal and lethal methods currently being used to control the RCG population at LOP. (specific quotes/examples will be added here soon )