Goose numbers low, but GRIP must go on

Bella Vista Village's Joint Advisory Committee on Lakes combined its November and December meetings into one that was held Dec. 3 at Riordan Hall.

The committee looked ahead to next year's Goose Reproduction Intervention Program that will begin in March.

Darrell Bowman, the Property Owners Association's lake ecologist, said while the program has been very effective, he believes the problem with resident Canada geese will escalate if the volunteer program is halted.

GRIP is one part of a three-part program that started in 2009. Volunteers search out goose nests and cover the eggs with oil. The mother goose continues to care for the eggs, but the eggs don't mature and eventually, the parents abandon the nest.

Bob McGrath, GRIP chairman, told the committee he was ready to step down, although he would continue to volunteer.

The numbers of nests found have steadily declined since the program began. Because of the low numbers, a second effort to control the population has been stopped. Bowman holds a federal permit to remove a specific number of geese, a protected species.

In the past, he has "rounded up" adult geese during their moulting season. Those geese are sent to a processing plant where they are killed and the meat is processed and later donated to area food banks. In 2014, Bowman canceled his roundup because the numbers of resident geese were already low.

The third part of the program is a ban on feeding geese.

The committee also heard from Vern Olafson, lakes and parks superintendent, about the stream restoration project on the banks of Tanyard Creek. Property Owners Association employees have already built a road near the driving range to allow the transport of large natural materials, including tree trunks and boulders.

The materials, collected around POA property, will be used to stabilize the banks of Tanyard Creek. Because of the heavy equipment in use in the area, the entire Tanyard Creek Park will be closed beginning next week, Olafson said. He expects it will remain closed for several weeks.