Tom Beschta, news@shawanoleader.com
Canada geese that made their home at the Cedar Lake Park pond in Bonduel this year can rest easy for the time being.
After unsuccessful attempts to remove the geese following complaints about park cleanliness, Village President Mel Wendland said the Village Board is not going to pursue the issue.
“We are going to leave the geese,” Wendland said.
Five geese have been living near the popular swimming area throughout the summer, which raised concerns because of droppings around the pond.
Attempts to remove the geese following U.S. Department of Agriculture recommendations included harassing the geese and using decoys to scare them away, but none of the tactics worked, said Steve Berndt, director of municipal operations.
Berndt said the last option for getting rid of the geese would be to capture and euthanize them. According to Berndt, if the geese are not killed, they could return to the pond and continue to breed, which would cause a larger problem in the future.
“At this point, it is up to the Village Board to decide,” Berndt said.
Wendland said the village has received emails from members of the Humane Society claiming the board voted to kill all of the geese, which he said is not true. He said the topic never came to the board, and it is not on the agenda for the next meeting.
Wendland said the issue would ultimately be resolved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture if the geese become a major concern.
“The Village Board is going to do nothing,” Wendland said.
Wendland said he visited the park over the Aug. 2 weekend and saw a number of people swimming in the pond, but he did not see any of the geese.
“I don’t know if they are out feeding during the day and then come back at night, but I haven’t seen them around,” Wendland said.