Stephanie Noda

Staff Writer

DEMAREST — The Borough Council is looking into ways to control Canadian geese that have started to overrun local parks and sports fields in town.

“At the Duck Pond down the hill from the borough hall, I’m prepared to change the name to Goose Pond,” Councilman Gregg Paster said. “I can’t find the ducks.”

The council has not yet decided what method of goose control they would like to use, although Paster said he would not be in favor of lethal methods. Council members approved to go out for a request for proposals for goose control services during Monday's meeting.

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In addition to Duck Pond, Wakelee Field has seen a rise in goose populations, creating unsanitary conditions for soccer and lacrosse players who use the field, Paster said.

Councilman Jim Carroll said he would also like to see the situation handled in the "most humane way" possible. Although the downtown has a “pristine park with a pond and gazebo,” he said the area is back to how it looked 20 years ago, when geese were abundant.

“It’s not healthy,” Carroll said. "I don’t want children to go there to play and step in waste. Something has to be done.”

The borough once had a measure of goose control around 2010 when officials contracted with Geese Police, a Howell-based company that brings in trained Border Collies to scare away geese. Carroll, who was mayor at that time, said the borough paid about $300 a week for the service, equaling about $15,000 a year.

Geese Police would come at different times daily to chase geese from public property, changing up the times so geese would not become accustom to a particular schedule and learn to come back, Carroll said.

“If you don’t mix it up, they’ll outsmart you,” Carroll said. “The longer you allow them to have control, the more eggs they’ll lay there.”

Mayor Raymond Cywinski said he eliminated the contract with Geese Police around 2011 and the borough contracted with the Academy of Holy Angels for use of a Border Collie to chase away geese for $300 each quarter until 2016. He felt “egg addling” could be one way to control the population going forward.