Rockland Responds: Village of Wesley Hills Mayor Marshall Katz Responds to Question Regarding Geese in the Park

Dear Mayor Marshall Katz,

I just saw an article the other day about geese overpopulation. I find this especially relevant at Wesley Hills parks, like Willow Tree Park. The park can be a great place for family outings, but when there are so many geese around, the enjoyment is really taken down a few notches. It's no fun to have to watch every step you take in the grass or on the path around the pond to avoid a messy situation, and the constant honking ruckus takes away from the relaxing atmosphere a park should have. Is there anything that can be done to limit the number of geese in the family-friendly parks?

Thanks!

Sara

Dear Sara,

Thank you for reaching out on this issue.

For several years the Village of Wesley Hills has been working with the Town or Ramapo Parks and Recreation Department on this issue both in Willow Tree Park (a Town park) and Greg Sikorsky Park (a Village park).

The Town has contracted with the USDA’s Wildlife Services Office to address the issue. As part of this contract, the USDA visits both parks when the geese are laying eggs, locates the nests, and treats the eggs, so they do not produce offspring. Additionally, when the geese are molting and cannot fly, the USDA comes to the parks to collect and remove geese. Over the course of the few years this program has been running, there has been a marked reduction in the number of geese in the Village (both in the parks and the surrounding neighborhoods).

One thing to note is that there are three geese populations that we find in our area. There are geese that are non-migratory and are here all year round, there are geese for whom are area is their summer home, and they migrate south during the colder months, and there are geese for whom areas north of us are their summer home, and we are the southern location to which they migrate in the winter. The USDA program mostly affects the non-migratory population. There is little that can be done here concerning the migratory populations.

Best regards,

Marshall F. Katz

Mayor, Village of Wesley Hills

Co-Chair, Rockland County Conference of Mayors

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