Geese part of birth control project

The geese at Black Butte Ranch are beautiful, but they leave a mess. An experimental program may control their population -- and clean up the grass. photo by Tom Chace

They're beautiful, soaring overhead in pairs or in a "V" formation, with their distinctive call. Or, floating on one of our many lakes and ponds.

But to golfers and hikers trekking around those ponds, their droppings can be messy.

Central Oregon's Canada Geese are no longer migratory as in years past. They inhabit the region in growing numbers creating major problems for parks, golf courses and other places where grass and water meet -- and where people walk and play.

Black Butte Ranch has been chosen as one of 10 sites in Oregon where the National Wildlife Research Center is conducting tests to determine if the population of what used to be migratory geese can be reduced.

"These fine birds used to pass through here spring and winter to and from their more permanent nesting grounds," said Loy Helmly, executive director at the Ranch, "but many have become permanent residents and that has created a problem."

Part of this problem apparently started when some naturalists thought the Canada Goose was becoming endangered. Geese then were raised domestically. They were released and instead of migrating, they stayed local -- creating a year-round mess.

"These geese not only make a mess," said Dr. Kim Bynum, study director for the experimental birth-control project, "but as they wander and poop they also eat the new grasses causing immense and costly damage."

At present, only the department of Animal and Plant Health, Wildlife Services Research Center knows whether the birds at Black Butte Ranch are getting a real contraceptive or a placebo.

The project is conducted at no cost to Black Butte Ranch. The project was approved by their board of directors.

The test runs for a total of 42 days and ended April 20.

"We can then announce which of the test sites are for real," Bynum said. "We think we also will be able to tell the success of this project by finding which nests contain fertile eggs and which do not."

Other test sites in this area include Drake Park in Bend, the golf course at Christmas Valley and Deschutes National Park in the Dalles.

The drug used in this study is Nicarbazin, originally approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Coccidiosis in poultry. This condition is one of extreme diarrhea and weight loss in chickens and other birds.

"A side effect of this drug is that it makes a certain percentage of the poultry infertile. The drug, then, is also a contraceptive," Bynum said. "We're trying it here to see if it works on geese."

She expects the test to work, causing a reduction in hatched eggs of about 50 percent.

"In reality, I think it will be down 75 percent. We'll know soon," she said.

The black bait boxes containing the food pellets loaded with Nicarbazin are put out each day at dawn and collected at dusk so as not to tempt nocturnal animals -- "although we have no evidence that Nicarbazin has any harmful effect on mammals," Bynum said.

"We have tested it on rats, rabbits, even dogs with no bad effects whatsoever," said Bynum. "It also does not contaminate the soil, has a one-year half-life and is not an antibiotic with no effect on bacteria. It is non-toxic and safe for the environment."

The effectiveness of the drug as a contraceptive drops below the beneficial level after two days.

One technician is assigned to each test site, along with a relief worker, to put out and pickup the bait twice daily and to check the egg population and fertilization. They are able to tell by the previous day's consumption how much fresh food to add to each black bait box.

Several residents of Black Butte Ranch were concerned about the health of the lone Trumpeter Swan that seems to have taken up residence there.

"We are aware of those comments," Bynum said, "but the thing in our favor is that Canada Geese breed and nest early in the spring, which is why we will end our testing."

Marilyn Anderson, a Black Butte Ranch resident, suggested that the swan might be one of those from the Deschutes River near Bend where several were imported a number of years ago.

A pair was recently spotted at Aspen Lakes Golf Course.