Re: Parksville may reprise goose cull in 2018 (The NEWS, Sept. 14).
People were responsible for transplanting non-migratory geese to Vancouver Island, but unfortunately people need to be involved in the much-needed solution “to continue to reduce our local Canada Goose population.”
The City of Parksville has shown great leadership in this regard. They and the RDN funded research that helped develop the 2015 Canada Goose Management Strategy found at www.guardiansmie.org, which has provided the science towards the urgency to reduce resident and moult populations of Canada Geese from Victoria to Campbell River.
A City of Parksville resolution was endorsed by the Association for Vancouver Island Coastal Communities to collaborate, pool resources, and share in developing solutions in terms of tackling this issue. Parksville is taking that to the UBCM this week to bring more awareness to senior governments, as this is also a B.C., Canada, North America and global issue.
I spent a career trying to acquire, protect, and manage estuaries on Vancouver Island and, yes, log handling, diking for agriculture, and urban development has played a significant role since the turn of the last century. However, resident Canada geese that are now in our communities year-round are doing more damage to our local estuaries than industrial and urban development. To bring back our Salish Sea salmon species and even the Southern orca whale populations that depend on chinook salmon, we need to significantly reduce the nesting and moulting Canada goose populations.
The City of Parksville, and the estuary restoration efforts led by the Guardians of Mid-Island Estuaries, and First Nations’ use of the goose meat model is the best solution for the next few years.
Tim Clermont
Nanoose Bay