April
12, 2002
Geese
Police Jane Ashbrook Southworth '63 and Her Goose Dog Bess to
Address Campus Goose Problem
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Photo:
Janet Tobin
Jane
Ashbrook Southworth '63, with Bess, her faithful friend
and business partner
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Fifty years ago, the Canada goose, a bird with distinctive white
cheek-patches and a black head and neck, was facing extinction
due to relentless hunting and habitat loss. Efforts begun in the
1950s by environmentalists resulted in the restoration of the
Canada goose populations—now there seems to be too much of
a good thing. The Canada goose is currently the most abundant
North American goose, occurring in every state and province sometime
during the year. The species breeds from Labrador to Alaska, south
to California, and eastward to Georgia. In winter, Canada geese
may be found from southeastern Alaska to Hawaii and Mexico, and
from Massachusetts to Florida. It is estimated that there are
more than 3 million Canada geese, and that the species' southern
breeding range continues to expand. About one hundred of these
geese have been posing safety and health problems and simply making
pests of themselves, namely through excessive goose droppings
and aggression, on MHC's campus.
The College is not alone. In recent years Canada geese have become
an environmental hazard in parks, golf courses, airports, and
just about any place that has a manicured lawn. While there is
an urgent need to deal with "the goose problem," few
people want to harm the geese; they just want them to move on.
Although putting up barriers and making loud sounds may help briefly,
the geese soon habituate to these measures and return to their
favorite habitat. The most effective and environmentally friendly
way to manage the geese seems to be specially trained Border collies.
"At the suggestion of the CEL, we tried putting up fishing
line fences twice, and they failed," said Michael Buckley
of Facilities Management, who has been charged with leading the
effort to manage the geese. "That's when we hired Jane and
Bess."
Jane is Jane Ashbrook Southworth '63, owner and operator of Goose
Patrol of Brattleboro, Vermont, not to mention solid-waste coordinator
for South Hadley's Department of Public Works (but that's another
story, one that appeared in the March 22 issue of CSJ). Bess is
her specially trained, six-year-old Border collie whose greatest
joy is to chase, bark at, and unsettle Canada geese. The College
recently hired the duo for a period of three to six weeks of "intense
harassment" to get the geese to relocate from some of their
favorite campus spots—Upper and Lower Lakes. After only a
few hours on the job on Southworth's and Bess's first day, April
5, there was not a goose to be found on Upper and Lower Lakes.
The two spent their first five to seven days "making the
geese miserable" all day. They will continue their "humane
goose control" measures two or three times each day for a
period of weeks. In addition to having Bess, sporting a bright
orange vest, chase the geese, Southworth takes her kayak out on
the lakes, often with Bess in it, and scares the geese on the
water. Bess does not like to swim.
Southworth, who earned an A.B. in English history from Mount
Holyoke, an M.A.T. from Columbia University, and an M.A. in medieval
history from Boston College, started her business about a year
and a half ago after receiving, with Bess, special training in
Ohio. So far, they have had success in goose-management efforts
at nearby Look Park and at an office complex in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Southworth notes, however, that although she and Bess may spook
geese to the point that they will leave an area almost immediately
once they see Bess, the geese will return eventually unless the
goose dog is reintroduced frequently. Says Southworth, "I'll
get rid of the geese over the next several weeks, in time for
students to enjoy walking barefoot and their families to enjoy
commencement, sans geese. We'll see what happens after that."
Don't Feed the Geese
Feeding waterfowl encourages them to congregate in an area and
makes geese more aggressive toward people. Feeding them can lead
to crowding and increased susceptibility to diseases such as avian
cholera, avian botulism, and duck plague. All of these diseases
have the potential to kill large numbers of geese and other waterfowl.
counter
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