Philadelphia International Airport's proximity to the Delaware River makes it attractive to geese. Airport spokesperson Mark Pesche says that can cause trouble for planes during takeoff and landing.

"When you have a fully loaded 747 rolling down a runway, and the aircraft ingests a bird, it could cause an aircraft disaster," says Pesche. He adds any sort of wildlife on the runway can be extremely dangerous.

Scott Johnston is with the Fish and Wildlife Service's migratory bird division. He says problems arise because of goose overpopulation. When protection measures were put into effect for Canada Geese nearly 90 years ago, most of the birds were migratory. Problems arise at areas like airports because too many Canada Geese have made states like Pennsylvania their long-term home.

"They can denude grassy areas including parks, pastures, golf courses, lawns," says Johnston. "In addition, believe it or not, excessive droppings are also a health concern, and they've contributed to the closing of public beaches in several states."

He says the agency's new rules would remove an obstacle to effective goose management.

"It required a federal permit to be able to control any of these geese," says Johnston. And that can be a relatively time consuming process. So what we're trying to do is provide the states a little bit more individual control."

Johnston says one method of population control involves extending hunting seasons. But there are other ways to reduce, or at least relocate geese.

Two years ago, the Philadelphia Water Department managed to move a flock whose droppings had been polluting a nearby drinking water intake. Sourcewater protection manager Christopher Crocket says the trick is to make the geese feel less comfortable.
"We spent a considerable amount of time to create a meadow area, where there are wildflowers and tall season grasses, not only to make it less appealing to the geese but actually to stabilize the river bank, from damage caused by the geese." Crocket says even a small bird can have a serious impact, but in large numbers the effects can be huge.

"A goose can put down between two to four pounds of fecal droppings a day," he says. "And if you have 100 to 150 geese, that can add up to 40 tons of fecal material a year. And in certain areas for water suppliers, this actually represents a large source of contamination."

Crocket says the more polluted sourcewater becomes, the harder it is to filter. He says it's important to keep in mind the efforts of the water department were a success because they discouraged birds from congregating near the water intake on the Schuylkill River. In addition to changing the landscape, he says it was necessary to inform people not to feed the birds in environmentally sensitive areas.