Comments on: The sky carp problem in Ames Park: the City’s tactics appear to be working

By: Robbie Wigley

Robbie Wigley — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:46:53 +0000

Huhhhh… Lance. You might want to talk to Tracy about that offer

By: Lance Heisler

Lance Heisler — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:29:37 +0000

I LOVE Geese. I would hate for them to think they are not welcome here. Feel free to send them all over to my yard!

By: Griff Wigley

Griff Wigley — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:16:39 +0000

Paul, thanks for chiming in here.

From what you can tell, will the river plantings along the Cannon downtown be effective? They won’t burn those in the spring, will they?

By: Paul Seguin

Paul Seguin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:51:35 +0000

I was part of the team that did the restoration work on Lyman Lakes. I also did a similar project at Silver Lake in Rochester. Geese do not like to roost or browse in tall vegetation. The trails at Silver Lake are clear of droppings except in those ares where the grass is short and people feed the geese. We have removed the fences in Rochester and the geese are not coming into the vegetation. In the Spring we are going to burn are prairie planting. I believe that will be the acid test. Will the prairie be allowed to grow to height again or will the geese keep in browsed low?

There are still plenty of geese on the lake itself. Just as there are on Lyman Lakes. I am interested to see if the projects will work over several growing seasons.

By: Mary Schier

Mary Schier — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:06:06 +0000

The geese are still here — about a week ago, I noticed what looked like 100 or more geese gathering on the soccer fields off of Jefferson Parkway, and then a day or so later, the horde had moved across the parkway to some unfortunate individual’s backyard.

By: Robbie Wigley

Robbie Wigley — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:47:51 +0000

I wonder what will happen once the new trail or walk way is built on the east side of the river… will they use the same tactics? Where do you suppose the geese will move to if that happens?

By: Rob Hardy

Rob Hardy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:29:07 +0000

I wonder if Carleton’s new plantings will have a similar effect. The last time I walked over there, Upper Lyman Lake at Carleton was still thick with geese.

By: Penny Hillemann

Penny Hillemann — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:28:52 +0000

And it’s not as if there aren’t a lot of geese around, because there are many dozens. I look forward to the removal of the fencing for aesthetic reasons and hope that the tall new growth will do the trick.