EUGENE, Ore. -- Two border collies named Will and Remi will herd and move Canada geese from Alton Baker Park as part of the city's effort to improve water quality and create a more natural home for ducks and geese.

The geese herding is part of a larger plan to naturalize the pond and move resident waterfowl to more suitable locations within the city's park system.

City officials said the bird population there has gotten out of control. The sheer number of birds, estimated in the hundreds, is creating massive amounts of bird droppings, raising bacteria levels and posing a health threat -- to geese and people.

“Harassing and Hazing”

This week the city launched “Harassing and Hazing” techniques to lower the bird population, including the dogs.

Will and Remi and their handler will herd and move the Canada geese, encouraging them to move to more natural areas, according to the city. Eugene's park system includes over 3,000 acres of natural areas offering high quality habitat where Canada geese are welcome.

All waterfowl management activities practiced by the City of Eugene will follow protocols approved by the Humane Society of the United States, the city said.

The concrete pond in Alton Baker is well-known for ducks and geese -- as well as the foul things waterfowl are naturally apt to do.

Over the next several months, City of Eugene Parks and Open Space staff, contractors and volunteers plan to:

• Relocate the domestic white geese to a more suitable habitat
• Encourage the Canada geese to seek a more natural and less urban environment
• Remove the concrete on the south side of the pond and replacing it with native plantings

Construction on the south side will create a vegetative slope. This makes the pond unappealing to geese because they can’t see beyond it, and predators could be lurking there.

'Part of the charm of the park'

Public opinion on the plan was mixed Tuesday. | What do you think? Post a comment

"I would like them not to be here, but I don't want them to be killed,” Rosie Finkelstein said. “This is not their natural habitat.” 
 
Others think the geese are a staple attraction for the park.

“They are quite an attraction,” Nancy Allison said. “That is part of the park, it is part of the charm of the park."

Also part of the park: bird feathers and droppings.

“It is disgusting,” Anthony Merrill said. “I certainly don’t want to pick up any diseases while I am here.”

Urban geese have shorter life spans

According to the city, more waterfowl take up year-round residence in Eugene's urban parks each year and become dependent on food handouts.

But feeding the birds can cause long-term health problems for the birds and pose potential health risks to humans.

Moving the birds will also improve their health, feeding geese human food like bread, which is high in carbohydrates, can cause defects in growth.
 
A city worker told KVAL News geese can live about 20 years, but geese that frequent urban areas and live off human food will be lucky to live three or four years.

Limiting the potential for disease amongst birds and humans and curbing environmental damage are among the goals of the city's waterfowl management plan.