They graze fields of clover and glean fields after crops are harvested. Also, we develop our lakesides and marshes with lawns and remove shrubs and trees that obscure our views of the water. Our parks have lawns to the water's edge, and golf courses are managed in the same way. We fertilize the lawns, making the grass even more nutritious and attractive to geese. Without the layers of the forest, rain and wind carry soil sediments, nutrients and pollutants into the water.
Increased nutrients result in the growth of submerged vegetation.
Goose droppings on lawns add to the nutrient load being carried into the water. Docks, yards and beaches offer secure loafing sites for preening and sunning, and people complain of the goose droppings in areas of human use. Compounding our creation of optimum goose habitat is their prolific reproduction. Geese live long lives, often ten to more than twenty years. They become sexually mature when they are two or three years old and they nest every year once they begin breeding.