A Fowl Problem in Inver Grove Heights

Decades ago, they stood at the edge of extinction.

Now, populations of Canada geese have grown so large that many municipalities in the Twin Cities consider them to be a pest—and city officials in Inver Grove Heights are no exception.

This fall, as in years past, the city will allow permitted hunters to harvest Canada geese within city limits—a measure approved by the Inver Grove Heights City Council last week. The limited hunting season, scheduled from Sept. 3 through Sept. 22, is an effective way to control local populations of geese, according to Inver Grove Heights Interim Police Chief Larry Stanger. Hunters with permits will also be allowed to hunt within city limits on certain weekends during the regular goose season later in the fall.

In 2008, hunters culled 143 Canada geese in Inver Grove Heights during the early season, Stanger said. In 2009, hunters took 64 geese, while only 55 geese were taken in 2010.

"I think a lot of metro communities would say that geese can be a problem, between the sheer volume of geese and the damage they can do to grass and plants," said Inver Grove Heights Parks and Recreation Director Eric Carlson.

Public facilities, like and the , are ideal for Canada geese, which like to gather in areas of mowed grass along a waterfront. And when they do gather, they tend to create a public nuisance, Carlson said.

"They certainly have an effect—and not a positive effect—on water quality, and they also leave behind little surprises," Carlson said. Public parks aren't the only area where geese congregate, Carlson and Stanger said. The city also receives its fair share of complaints from private property owners.

Those complaints are typically forwarded to the police department, which deals with them on a case-by-case basis, city officials said. Responding to the complaints can be costly and the actions city officials can take to deal with geese are limited, Carlson and Stanger said.

“It’s really not a police matter if you have a goose population that likes to visit your yard," Stanger said.

Humans are in part at fault for the explosive growth in the goose population in the metro area, according to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources North Metro Area Wildlife Manager Bryan Lueth.

"They’ve adapted to living in close proximity to people,” Lueth said.  "Our own preference for mowed grass down to open water is exactly what geese are looking for.” A lack of significant predators in the metro area has also played a part in the burgeoning goose populations, he added.

Despite the common problem that geese pose to communities across the Twin Cities, few have adopted early goose hunting seasons, simply because there isn't enough undeveloped space within those cities to support hunting, Lueth said.

Even in Inver Grove Heights, police must complete a safety inspection of a proposed site before anyone can hunt there, Stanger said.

But cities have other options when it comes to goose control, Lueth said. Recently-relaxed federal regulations allow cities or property owners to apply for a state permit to destroy goose eggs and nests. Cities can also trap and euthanize geese in the summer.

But both those options can be controversial, Lueth added.

Inver Grove chose to plant taller grasses around some ponds and water bodies to discourage geese from loitering in public areas, Carlson said.

The unpredictability of the migratory birds also complicates clean up or prevention efforts, Carlson said.

"It's not like it's a clean-up from a baseball game or scheduled event, you don’t know where they're going to be or how long they’re going to be there,” Carlson said.

For more information about the city's goose hunting permits, click here.