Galesburg City Council has a work session on Monday where among other things they will discuss measures to control the goose population at Lake Storey, Lincoln Park, and Bunker Links.
The goose population has grown according to a memo from Parks and Recreation Director Elizabeth Varner to the City Manager.
Varner says the main complaint is the amount of feces as well as concern for water quality.
Scott Beckerman, State Director for the USDA Wildlife Services, offered a variety of options for goose control at a Council work session on Jan. 30.
One of the techniques Varner thinks would be reasonable and effective is a charity harvest: where geese are professionally captured during molting and then processed for meat donation to food banks.
A charity harvest would cost the city about $6,000 and the city would have to hold a public meeting beforehand.
Varner says even after a charity harvest the city would need to continue to employ as many population control techniques as possible.
Mayor says geese have become a ‘city issue’
Mayor Peter Schwartzman tells WGIL the city is looking into controlling the geese because of the volume of public feedback they’ve been receiving.
He says there are always problems “here and there” but when enough people start saying it “loud enough it becomes a city issue”.
Schwartzman says it would be unfortunate if residents weren’t using Lincoln Park or Lake Storey because of geese.
Schwartzman says he’s an animal lover and tends to think nature knows best but acknowledges geese don’t have the same natural predators they used to.
