City goose hunts are terrible idea
Another brilliant think tank in Sandpoint. The city council has decided to hold a mass killing of migratory geese at City Beach because that is the best solution they could come up with regarding the goose feces on the beach.
Several times over the past few years, Kim Woodruff thought it was a good idea to capture geese and relocate them. Within two weeks and $3,000 of taxpayers' money, the geese returned. This barbaric action was not only devastating to the birds but a useless waste of time and money.
These decision-makers actually thought that by "relocating" birds who by the way have wings and can fly, will let each other know not to return to that area. This group is trying to regulate parts of the earth that birds are allowed to fly into. What an idiotic thought.
City officials (Daily Bee, Dec. 11, 2022) stated they've tried everything possible to keep the birds away from the beach. That's not true. Those making decisions have not done their homework or bothered to google "goose deterrents" because if they did they would have seen several solutions.
In 2020, Kim Woodruff made another unsuccessful attempt to have Idaho Fish & Game descend upon the geese in the park, net them, pack them into trucks and drive them to another area. The geese returned within two weeks.
My husband and I offered to pay for solar-powered geese deterrent light beacons which Kim Woodruff said would not even be considered and offered no reason why.
The lights are not harmful to humans however the geese find them offensive and fly to another location. The solar lights are placed in the sand and water, and are safe and non-toxic.
With the $6,000 spent to violently and unsuccessfully remove geese, this system could have been put into place. Instead, this group chose to have a hunting spree in the city park.
Included in this subject is the possibility of E. Coli in the water at City Beach. Another research project that has not been addressed. It might be wise to look into the farms north of town that line the waterways that empty right into Lake Pend Oreille. This might be a good place to start instead of blaming the wildlife; however, it's easier for them to target the geese who can't defend themselves and have no monetary interest.
Sandpoint is a somewhat progressive small town supporting the arts like The Panida and Food For Our Children. In other respects, it has failed miserably. Shooting geese in their own natural habitat is a prime example. What a disgrace.
JANICE JARZABEK
Sandpoint