Urban Geese Transplanted to Wildlife Areas

Nearly 350 Canada geese that were hatched on golf courses, park ponds and other urban areas around Reno and Lake Tahoe are now residing on lakes and marshes in a more wild setting thanks to an annual roundup of the waterfowl.

Kyle Neill, biologist for the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) said 138 adult and 211 juvenile geese have been released at wildlife management areas.

The goose roundups have been going on each spring to reduce the chances of the birds colliding with aircraft and respond to problems that geese can cause for property owners.

This year approximately 130 geese were captured at Glenbrook and Edgewood Golf Course in Lake Tahoe while the remaining geese came from Reno and Carson City.

“We’re trying to maintain a low stable population. The program appears to be working because each year the number of geese that were capturing goes down,” Neill said.

A small number of the geese are expected to be harvested by hunters during this year’s waterfowl hunting season. Most of the geese will join other wild Canada geese and fly south during the fall migration.

This year’s trapping program ran from June 1-13 and was conducted by NDOW and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services.

The largest recipient of geese was Overton Wildlife Management Area in Clark County, which received 153 juvenile birds. Franklin Lake received 40 adult geese, Scripps Wildlife Management Area got 27 juveniles and three adults, Wayne Kirch Wildlife Management Area received 55 adults and Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area got 40 adults and 31 juveniles.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife is the state agency responsible for the restoration and management of fish and wildlife resources, and the promotion of boating safety on Nevada’s waters. Wildlife offices are located in Las Vegas, Henderson, Ely, Winnemucca, Fallon, Elko, and Reno. For more information, contact the agency web site at www.ndow.org. 

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