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Recreation Board OKs trained‑dog program to move geese from Jeffrey Park campsite
Summary
The board approved a staff recommendation to use trained dogs to discourage geese from the Jeffrey Park campsite; staff expects up to three daily visits during camp season (about 23 weeks) at an estimated recurring cost of about $5,000 a year.
The Recreation Board authorized staff to begin a trained‑dog geese‑deterrent program at the Jeffrey Park campsite after staff described recent demonstrations and operational details.
Parks staff said geese droppings and increasingly bold birds at the campsite had made the area unsustainable for summer camps, and that prior measures had failed to stop return of nesting geese. In a demonstration, trainers sent a dog toward geese then stopped it a short distance away; after repeated approaches the geese moved off, staff reported.
A parks staff member said the program would likely run up to three short visits per day, seven days a week, for the camp season (about 23 weeks) and could include nighttime deterrent tactics such as controlled green‑laser activity. Staff presented two vendor quotes and estimated the recurring annual expense at roughly $5,000, to be covered within parks and camp budgets.
Board members asked about child safety and scheduling; staff said trainers would schedule visits to avoid large groups of children where possible and that dogs are highly trained to avoid contact with other wildlife. Members also raised concerns that displacing geese from the campsite could move them to other public green spaces; staff said the goal is to remove them from the campsite specifically and that small, localized displacement is a risk but manageable.
A motion to proceed with the trained‑dog deterrent program was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote; the transcript does not record a roll‑call tally.
