Health hazard can’t be overlooked

I’m writing this letter in response to all of the negative comments and bad press in the local papers regarding the geese gassing incident a few weeks ago in Lake Stevens. Having lived around the lake all my life, I have seen a growing problem with the number of geese here. They seem to increase in numbers every year. Come down to some of the lake front homes and you will see docks covered with droppings and yards eaten half-bare. This has been a problem for years and I’m glad that someone finally did something about it.

Did you know that a goose drops about 5 pounds of poop a day? This is very much a health hazard as well. Why do you think that the county put the aerator system into the lake? The bird droppings are a major part of that. The droppings were causing the lake to slowly die, by taking the much-needed oxygen away. This was one of the reasons why they put the system in the lake in the first place. Since the system was installed the water clarity has increased ten-fold.

As for the lady who has been feeding the ducks and geese, I would ask that she stop doing this now. She is, in my opinion, the cause of the problem. She is actually hurting the birds by feeling them. They come from all over the lake to her house looking for an easy meal, so to speak. Plus the things she feeds them are not their usual diet.

We all see the signs downtown that warn people not to feed the ducks. It’s a county law and people can be cited and arrested for it. However we can’t tell people what to do on their own property. We just hope that they follow the rules. These geese are not an endangered species. Christine and Richard Whittaker should be thanked for taking on this problem. There are a lot fewer geese around the lake lately. Might the geese be getting the message? I hope so.

Lake Stevens

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