As the weather warms, more runners, walkers and bicyclists will flock to the Scioto Greenways park along the Scioto River Downtown. So will the geese. And the mess the geese leave behind is a minefield for park patrons. "The complaints we've gotten are more on the goose poop. We've been sweeping twice a day. In some areas it's pretty prolific," said Brandi Braun, spokeswoman with Columbus Department of Recreation and Parks.

As the weather warms, more runners, walkers and bicyclists will flock to the Scioto Greenways park along the Scioto River Downtown.

So will the geese. And the mess the geese leave behind is a minefield for park patrons.

�The complaints we�ve gotten are more on the goose poop. We�ve been sweeping twice a day. In some areas it�s pretty prolific,� said Brandi Braun, spokeswoman with Columbus Department of Recreation and Parks.

Now Recreation and Parks is hiring SCRAM!, a service affiliated with the Ohio Wildlife Center, to deal with the problem. The one-year contract is for $14,975.

Beginning April 15, crews from the service will be down at the park twice a day, removing dead or injured geese, and perhaps bringing dogs to chase geese away, Braun said. They will also addle, or shake, eggs to limit the population.

This kind of work usually starts before January, said Dusty Lombardi, the Ohio Wildlife Center�s interim executive director. Crews will get a lay of land and determine where nests are. She doesn�t think crews will be using dogs this year.

Park users can help too, Braun said. People shouldn�t feed the geese, she said. And visitors should clean up trash.

Amy Schmittauer, who leads the Downtown Residents Association of Columbus, said the goose problem has not come up at meetings.

But those who use the park often come across the droppings. The trail along the western bank and lawn near COSI were covered with droppings Tuesday.

Nabin Silwal, 35, an IT contractor from Lewis Center working for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, said he usually walks a trail farther from the river because the paths closer to the banks are covered with droppings.

�It�s peppered,� Jill Kocher, 47, of Lexington, said of the trails. She was walking along the eastern bank with Kristin Clingan, 45, of Upper Arlington. Both work at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

According to Recreation and Parks, a goose can leave up to 1.5 pounds of droppings daily.

SCRAM! – Suburban Commercial and Residential Animal Management – has done similar work for Dublin and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

The $36 million Scioto Greenways park opened in November. The 33-acre park has 1.5 miles of trails.

The park was designed to thwart the geese. Crews planted grasses and shrubs to create a barrier between the geese and lawn grass. Also, they planted trees to block the line of flight from the river to grassy areas.

Two years ago, wildlife experts used laser beams and explosives to chase geese away from the Olentangy River between W. 5th and Lane avenues. The geese were eating grass seeds planted along the banks of the then newly widened river.

The cost to the city: $100,000.

The state�s Canada geese population is about 130,000 to 160,000.

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik