As summer approaches and the days lengthen, Pacific Northwesterners emerge from their homes to appreciate the scenery and wildlife that make our region such an enticing place to live.
People flock to lakes and public parks for recreation.
But as rural habitat shrinks in Washington state, due to soaring human populations and increasing development, this is also the season when people and wildlife tend to come into conflict. Parkgoers and homeowners became frustrated by geese in urban areas and the messy fecal matter the waterfowl left behind. People demanded solutions that resulted in more than 3,000 of these once-revered birds being rounded up and slaughtered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services program. In fact, by removing birds from appealing urban habitats, it opens up these areas to other Canada geese. Already, geese are congregating in the same locations where they were slaughtered last year.