How We See It: Protecting Park Means Don't Feed The Birds

"... I'm simply saying that life, uh ... finds a way."

-- Dr. Ian Malcolm, from the film "Jurassic Park."

What’s the Point: Springdale asks park patrons to refrain from feeding Murphy Park geese. But it’s for their own good.

Dr. Malcolm, a brainy and eccentric scientist by brainy and eccentric actor Jeff Goldblum, was, of course, talking about cloned dinosaurs isolated on a tropical island in the classic sci-fi tale. But, he could have been talking about Canada geese populating the lakes, ponds and streams of Northwest Arkansas.

These geese don't migrate like other birds, and rarely travel very far from the places where they were hatched. While that may mean stability for the flock, it often means trouble for their human neighbors. Large flocks of the birds have created more than a few headaches for lake swimmers, golfers, groundskeepers and park attendants in Northwest Arkansas over the years, even as they may brighten the day of the folks who entertain themselves by feeding and interacting with them.

Geese, like all of nature's creatures, specialize in a few, very specific activities. They eat, they poop and they make little geese. And those aforementioned headaches have to do with No. 2 -- on that list, that is. Waste from the geese fouls streams and lakes, causes smelly messes in public spaces and, well, makes spinning a pitching wedge from the creek's edge to the middle of the green an unpleasant experience for your average golfer.

Nature's way of keeping wildlife populations in line is that it only allows an appropriate number of a particular species to survive in an ecosystem. In other words, if a pond can only handle a population of 30 Canada geese, then Goose No. 31 will have to find a new place to live, or else ...

Humans can upset nature's little apple cart by changing the parameters of an ecosystem -- like bringing additional food to the ecosystem and feeding it to wild geese at a local park. Eventually, that activity will bring more geese to the location than it can handle, making bigger, smellier messes and fouling water sources.

It also makes the birds aggressive if they are expecting food and don't get it, which can frighten small children. And, overpopulation makes the flock less healthy and more susceptible to disease.

These aren't inconsequential concerns. Swimming areas on Beaver Lake have been closed in passed years because of the concentration of goose waste in the water. Golf courses have been rendered nearly unplayable by the combination of poop and noise from the enlarged flocks. And, just recently, city officials in Springdale began discouraging visitors at Murphy Park pond from feeding the waterfowl nesting there because of associated problems.

While withholding food from a hungry bird might sound inhumane, it's certainly a better alternative than rounding the geese up and killing them to simply reduce the population. Besides, that's only a temporary solution if humans continue to supplement the natural food sources. If there's food around, the birds will stay. If there's not, they'll look elsewhere.

Eliminating the supplemental food supply will allow nature to take its course, reducing the flock to an appropriate level. The excess geese will have to leave, one way or another. And, like Dr. Malcolm said, life will find a way.

Commentary on 07/25/2014

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