A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 23, 2007
3. Watersheds
Divers clean up pier at Port San Luis
City faces fowl problem: Some geese, ducks will be relocated from pond
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Divers clean up pier at Port San Luis
By David Sneed
Harford Pier at Port San Luis on Thursday was cleared of discarded fishing line and hooks to make the facility safer for wildlife and people.
Scuba divers used knives to cut away the derelict fishing gear from the pier's pilings. Harford is one of 16 wharfs in the state being cleaned up.
Two fishing line recycling stations were also installed on the pier. Anglers can deposit their used monofilament lines in the stations instead of throwing them in the ocean.
Discarded fishing gear is dangerous to wildlife, particularly seabirds, because hooks can get caught in their mouths and they can become entangled.
The cleanup is part of the California Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project.
"Fishing line-related injuries are a problem for many of our coastal wildlife species," said Kirsten Gilardi, executive director of the SeaDoc Society, a program of the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center, which sponsors the project.
"Our goal is to remove as much of it as we can from around fishing piers and then make it easy for anglers to dispose of their used hooks and line properly in the future," she added.
From this month through June 16, public piers from
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispotribune/16959168.htm
City faces fowl problem: Some geese, ducks will be relocated from pond
By Cory Golden/Enterprise staff writer
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Don't get Andy Bale wrong: He loves wildlife and Northstar Pond. But some of the geese there are scary.
When he took his 20-month-old daughter Maylea to the park recently, two ganders lowered their heads, threatening to charge.
That time, the geese didn't. But at least one other neighbor wasn't so lucky - he was out walking when a goose nipped him through his jeans, leaving a welt.
Because of concerns about health and safety, the city is stepping in with a plan to remove about 10 geese and seven ducks from the pond. They'll be trucked to Ione, to a similar man-made pond where a landowner has agreed to welcome the fowl.
Starting today, the city plans to install a containment pen and bait it with bread to get the birds used to it. On Friday, the city's wildlife resource specialist, John McNerney, hopes workers will be able to round up all or most of the birds, then place them in a travel crate for their journey south.
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Neighbors have complained about the birds for two years and matters have only gotten worse, McNerney said. Others, however, are devoted fans - watching the geese and ducks enough to recognize individuals - and would hate to see the birds go.
The birds in question are big barnyard geese, Chinese geese and inbred, white or mostly white mallard ducks who were likely dumped there by people.
Unlike wild birds, the domestic birds don't fly much, content to live off handouts from people, grass and tubers.
"Because they're used to people, they can be quite aggressive - especially at times of the year when they're defending territory," McNerney said. The birds have gone after joggers and dogs, he said, but it could be worse.
"What I'm worried about is that kids are right at about eye level to a duck's business end and could get hurt," he said.
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Then there's the feces - lots of it - on the walking paths, in the water, on the lawns and around a play structure for children.
There's so much that Bale said he bought his daughter rain boots to play in.
"There's poop everywhere," he said. "Sometimes the whole lawn is unusable. On the path you have to pick your way through."
If a child gets feces on his hands or clothes, there's the potential for exposure to disease, McNerney said. City workers stepped up their pressure washing and sweeping, but it's been a losing battle. Keeping the play area sand clean would be particularly tough.
The feces can cause water quality problems, especially in a year like this one where there's been little rain to help keep the pond clean. The nutrients in the feces causes an increase in bacteria using oxygen in the increasingly smelly, milky water, which can threaten fish. It also increases the amount of algae.
Under the city's pollution discharge elimination permit, it must do all it can to keep the water clean, McNerney said. There are fountains in the pond, but complaints from neighbors about the noise led to them being shut off earlier, reducing their effectiveness.
The birds also have caused erosion along the pond's edge as they climb in and out of the water.
Elsewhere in a similar situation, domestic birds - which also can carry diseases affecting wild birds - likely would be killed, McNerney said. But in a town where a tunnel was built in an effort to protect toads from traffic, he said he understood that even the forced migration of the birds might be a touchy subject.
"The staff felt that it would be the interest of the community to relocate them to a suitable habitat to live out the rest of their days, that 'live and let live' would be something the community would be more likely to support," he said.
Since the city posted signs and sent a letter to nearby residents about the plan, about 80 percent of callers have been supportive, McNerney said. But not all the of the pond's neighbors are pleased.
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Pam Runquist, a neighbor whose day job is with the Davis-based nonprofit the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, visits the pond once or twice a day with her black Labrador mixes, Keri and Ralph. Over the past three years or so, she's watched the family of geese grow. She's never had a problem with them, unless you count being squawked at.
"If they're removed, won't this just happen again?" Runquist asked. "You'll still have
McNerney said there's a chance more wild birds will use the pond, but "the repercussions won't be as great." Wild birds are reluctant to be near people - "and they're less likely to loaf, just hanging around and pooping." There's also a chance that shore birds, like egrets, will use the pond more often, he said.
Runquist said people share in the blame and responsibility for the birds and for their mess. Despite a sign asking people not to feed the birds, she said, people often do just that.
"I see kids all the time throwing bread and then screaming and running away when the geese approach them," she said. "The birds have learned they can approach people. It's like a catch-22. I just wish we could coexist with them. We created this situation. We created a man-made pond; the birds made it their home; and now, unfortunately, we're going to relocate them."
Bale complained about the geese and he has seen ducks scare his daughter by snatching food. But even he has some reservations.
"We love the ducks," said Bale, who understands the water issues well, having completed a Ph.D. in environmental engineering at UC Davis. "We're sorry to see the ducks go. But I understand they're part of the problem."
Laurie Siperstein-Cook, a veterinarian and
"I would opt for some sort of solution that would discourage or bar them from places they aren't wanted," she said. "There's probably a simpler, more equitable solution that would satisfy the birds and people on both sides."
McNerney said city staff felt residents wanted a more open look for the park, not one where paths or the play area were fenced.
"One person who called was angry and said the geese had just as much right to live there as we do," he said. "I agree with that. But that doesn't solve the problem. As civil servants, we have to use science, then pick the best solution."#
http://www.davisenterprise.com/articles/2007/03/22/news/285new0.txt
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