Contact: Dr. Gregg B. Feigelson (914) 425-7116

Town Officials Poised to Reenact Deadly Clarkstown Fiasco

Lake Carmel, NY -- It's deja vu for those who remember the Canada goose controversy in Clarkstown, NY where 456 geese were slaughtered in 1996-7. By voting to have 150 geese killed, the Kent town board is about to repeat the deadly mistakes of Clarkstown - with one exception: they're trying to avoid scrutiny by keeping the killings hush-hush.

Clarkstown proved that killing geese doesn't solve "goose problems" - as soon as all of the geese had been removed and killed from several town parks, other geese just moved in to fill the vacancy. No practical results were achieved in the town until non-lethal methods were given an honest try. But don't take our word for it: see the accompanying letter from Clarkstown town board members.

Non-lethal methods work! Show us a place where they don't work and we'll show you a place where the methods were used incorrectly or poorly chosen.

Unlike killing, non-lethal control keeps geese away. After being humiliated by the failure of goose killings in Clarkstown, the DEC went so far as to fund a study (1997) to try to prove that the geese displaced with non-lethal methods caused problems for others. Even after extending their study, they just couldn't do it!!

Why does Cornell Cooperative Extension support the use of killing? Answer: To help their colleagues at the DEC. The Rockland County Environmental Management Council condemned the Extension's position as being biased and based on a distorted account of the Clarkstown goose situation.

A majority of residents oppose goose killing. People don't want killing, they want geese out of certain areas - something that killing will not achieve. Could it be a coincidence that Councilwoman Pat Madigan works for Cornell Cooperative Extension?

Feeding dead geese to those who can't fight back is just a publicity stunt. The issue is about solving goose conflicts, not false charity. Tests revealed that Clarkstown's dead geese had dangerous levels of lead 2 years in a row. They were only able to force them on the poor because the DEC applied political pressure on the NYS Health Department, forcing them to lower their standards.

THEY say a lot of bad things about geese, but these are little more than baseless excuses used to protect and justify the killing agenda of a tiny, frustrated minority because geese can be messy.

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Contact: Dr. Gregg B. Feigelson (914) 425-7116

Town officials wrongly blame birds and bird feeding senior citizen for causing a health risk.

Waterford, CT -- M. Murphy has been feeding the birds that visit her waterfront yard for more than 20 years. "It has brought such joy to my life, and now they want to take it away from me. They've even issued me a 'Cease and Desist' order, as if I were some sort of criminal," said Murphy, a senior citizen, upon contacting the Coalition. According to Murphy, the Health Department alleged that her feeding is causing a "public health problem." She contends that the situation is political - an influential neighbor, who doesn't like the birds, put political pressure on, among others, Selectman Thomas Sheridan, and Dr. George Burton, Director of the Health Department.

The health department's claim that the Canada geese, ducks and swans visiting Ms. Murphy's yard are a health threat is remarkable because the transmission of disease from water birds to humans is virtually unknown. These suspicious circumstances prompted the Coalition to begin an investigation.

Analysis of the water testing data received from the Waterford Department of Health revealed that the Department took action against Ms. Murphy without substantive evidence that local waterfowl were either carriers of human pathogens or even responsible for causing the elevated bacteria levels that were measured. When challenged on this point, the Health Department replied that it was carrying out more sophisticated tests to determine the cause of the contamination. Despite inquiries about the results of these tests last fall, there was a suspiciously long delay before their findings were made public. Obviously, they made an embarrassing discovery - it was HUMAN, not goose or duck droppings that had contaminated the water. This fact is recorded in a February 2, 1999 letter from First Selectman Sheridan to residents summarizing a meeting held on January 28, 1999:

"11. Bacteria in the polluted areas as identified on the map, have been determined by the Sanitarian to be human and not animal."

Since the issue is clearly just one of aesthetics, not health, town officials should rescind the frivolous "order" and work out a compromise with Ms. Murphy, so that all of Waterford's residents - human and avian - can peacefully coexist. The Coalition gladly offers its assistance toward this end.

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Contact: Dr. Gregg B. Feigelson (914) 425-7116

The Mary Glenski Playhouse is pleased to present . . .

Councilwoman Mary Glenski
Mary Glenski plays her villainous self in this sordid tale of deceit. Ms. Glenski's character despises geese and people who feed them. She has been on a one-woman crusade to find excuses to vilify geese and those who feed them at Covell Lake. Seeing that her position is unpopular, she desperately turns to fear to get people to see things her way. In a flashback scene in Act I, she approaches a member of the Air National Guard at a picnic just before the City Council is to vote on a feeding ban. She asks him to make a public statement that birds are a hazard at the airfield. He agrees. This frightens the Council and they vote to ban feeding. In a subplot, those who oppose Glenski request from the Air National Guard, under the Freedom of Information Act, any documents showing that geese were considered a problem before Glenski approached them. In a major blow to the credibility of the Guard, it has nothing to show for its assertions!

South Dakota Air National Guard
Characters from the Air National Guard were obviously added for comic relief. Their bumbling arguments about feeding geese at Covell Lake had some audiences rolling on the floor in laughter. In a letter to the City Council, Col. Lien said that geese were leaving Covell Lake, flying over the airfields, to feed on farmland. How much could feeding be affecting the geese at Covell Lake if they are flying elsewhere to eat? Obviously, they are still hungry!

Mike Marnach
In Act 2, Mike Marnach from the Municipal Airport Authority joins the fun by adding to the hysteria. In the meantime, the press fails to notice, even though pointed out several times, that the MAA actually owns the land upon which the farming is taking place. In this ironic twist, we see why the airport managers would prefer to shift attention away from the feeding that they are facilitating onto a couple of defenseless citizens. We also learn that there is a golf course - a veritable goose salad bar - at the end of one of the runways! Talk about inciting a hazard to aviation!! Marnach plays his role convincingly, but his concern for politics seems stronger than his interest in air traffic safety.

Tim Pugh, USDA/APHIS
Mr. Pugh comes to town in Act 3 and proclaims that the geese are a threat to air safety. He then recommends that studies be done because there isn�t enough data to draw solid conclusions. He, of course, represents an agency that is essentially a wildlife extermination business. For him to say there isn't a problem would be to ruin his chances of getting some money off the deal in the future. In another ironic twist, the day after a postal receipt indicates that he received the Coalition's critique of his "analysis" letter to Lt. Col. Anderson, a "near-miss" is reported in the Argus Leader. Sounds like Pugh called the airport to have them dig up some low-level incident and publicize it. A real emergency isn't reported two weeks after the fact.

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