A beautiful sight in nature-or a nuisance
By JOAN CROTHERS Sentinel Editor

When the Canada geese were first introduced to the Lake Chatuge area by the Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), many homeowners along the lakeshore were delighted to see the very attentive mother and father sailing smoothly along on the lake's surface, especially when they were joined by little ones. "Let's feed them some bread so we can look at them a little closer. Those cute little goslings will soon be grown and fly north for the summer."

Well, they grew up alright, but they didn't fly away, summer or winter. Anyone living on the lake knows they are quite a messy nuisance. If you have several families of them visiting your yard, it is hard to step anywhere without stepping in their droppings. They also have a bad habit of pulling off heads of flowers you've just broken your back planting.

The Canada goose is protected under state and federal law. It is illegal to hunt, kill, sell, purchase, or possess Canada geese except according to Georgia's migratory bird regulations. However, there is a hunting season in this area sometime in the fall. As soon as the new regulations are out they will be printed in this paper.

The Georgia DNR, WRD, puts out a pamphlet on "Nuisance Goose Control." It says,"The Wildlife Resources Division has established a hunting season for Canada gees in Georgia. Whenever possible, hunting during this season should be encouraged. Hunting will not only remove some of the problem geese, but it will also make geese more wary and susceptible to non-lethal control.

Other suggestions listed are: Physical Barriers: Build low wooden or wire fences or plant dense hedges to limit access from water to feeding area. The fences can also be twine, nylon cord, or fishing line attached 18" high to stakes and marked with colored flagging; Geese like to land in the water before feeding so construct a wire or nylon grid 10 to 18" above the surface of the water where they would land; ..Do not feed them; .Have a natural, no grass yard. Geese prefer high weeds for nesting cover and short grasses for food sources, especially rye grass; .Scare devices: scarecrows, flagging, explosives, noise makers, balloons, dogs, and foreign objects. These devices work better if moved once or twice a week.

The pamphlet also states that Canada geese in Georgia are non-migratory [we sure know that!]. They know a good thing when they see it.