In an effort to be fiscally responsible while ridding Falls Township Community Park of Canada geese, the Falls Township Supervisors approved a multi-faceted, year-long geese mitigation plan at a slight increase over 2022.
Stepped up geese management efforts began in 2015 and have significantly reduced the number of geese at the park, Falls Township Parks and Recreation Director Brian Andrews has said. The current 20 to 30 resident geese is a considerable reduction from the 100 to 120 that had frequented the park previously, he said.
For 2023, the Supervisors unanimously approved awarding a year-long contract to Yardley-based Geese Chasers of Southeastern PA at a rate of $1,400 per month for a total of $16,800 for the year. That’s a substantial cost reduction from 2020, when Falls worked with another wildlife control company for a 10-month geese management effort, which cost $22,000.
“This is very effective in our park,” Supervisor Chairman Jeff Dence said. “It keeps (geese) off the fields where the kids play.”
Geese mitigation rates for subsequent years are proposed to increase $20 per month. For 2024, Geese Chasers proposed a monthly rate of $1,420 and for 2025, $1,440 per month.
The all-encompassing program will emphasize nest clearing and maintenance. During the 12-week nesting season, Geese Chasers will make multiple daily visits to the park, according to the proposal. As part of the maintenance phase, Geese Chasers will make daily visits as needed to “maintain a virtually geese-free environment year-round,” the wildlife company wrote in the proposal.
“Our maintenance program assures that the geese in the area know that your property is not a safe place for them,” Geese Chasers wrote in the proposal. “Any migrating geese looking for a place to feed, roost or nest will move on when exposed to our methods.”
The company will concentrate its efforts on Falls Township Community’s Park’s lake, lake perimeter, marshes, creek, canal area, fields, and common ground.
