Foster City goose plan delayed

According to a city staff report, the Canada Goose Population Management Plan will provide the framework for managing the geese population and what techniques to use. The plan includes short- and long-term management plans that take into account past practices and methods by Foster City. It also contains habitat assessments and provides recommendations for habitat modifications to make Foster City parks less inviting for the geese, as well as community education plans.

While the city is looking at nonlethal options to deal with the geese, lethal ones also remain on the table, causing tension with animal activists and those who don’t want geese killed. Foster City has the necessary U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services permits to cull around 100 Canada geese, lasting until July 31. The city has delayed any decisions on lethal options until the spring because it is more difficult to cull geese during the winter. In the meantime, the city is looking closer at nonlethal options.

More public speakers asked for a more humane way of dealing with the geese in a nonlethal method, arguing they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They asked for more time and consideration from the council. Erik Allen, who had led protests against the depredation plan, argued it was a lot of time and money spent on killing animals. He urged the city to focus on other city priorities.

“Hopefully, you will reconsider this part of the plan that includes depredation,” Allen said. “Please take depredation off the table.”

The city has cited public health hazards, water quality and excrement in recreation areas as reasons to cull some of the population, with various nonlethal options unsuccessful in preventing issues. The council has previously said it was open to all possibilities to try and reduce the risk to public health and safety. The city said California Fish and Wildlife has said no to relocating the geese within the state over avian flu concerns, limiting its nonlethal strategies. In June of 2022, the goose population in Foster City was 379, compared with 181 in 2020. The growth is due to a lack of geese predators in the area, ample resources and a larger geese population nearby on Bair Island that migrates between the areas.

The management plan is being created by Wildlife Innovations Inc., a biological consulting firm based in California that specializes in wildlife management, according to the mitigation plan. According to the staff report, the contract between Wildlife Innovations and the city is $48,660. An additional $7,300 is available if required.