COUNTING:  YOU AND THE GEESE

June 23 was a day of counting.  Some did not know they had been counted; their names were not printed in the Leader.  Others, a much smaller group, did have their names in the Leader.  They were those who have joined the Rock Lake Improvement Association in the 2004 calendar year, and the list was RLIA’s way of thanking them.  (If you sent your membership dues to RLIA between January 1 and June 17 and your name was omitted, please let us know.)

Back to those counted (but un-washed) masses.  The third annual goose count took place and confirmed our worst suspicions.  The population of resident Canada geese is increasing, from 347 in 2002, to 363 in 2003, to 449 in 2004.  These are not the migratory ones that visit twice annually and then proceed to a suitable habitat.  The ones counted in the Rock Lake area (which includes the millpond, the marsh, the fish hatchery, the golf course, plus the shore and water of Rock and Mud Lakes) are the slightly bigger, lazier ones who do not migrate.  What’s the matter with welcoming them with open arms, or should we say “open lawns”?  There are estimates that 100 geese excrete 50 pounds of fertilizer per day.  Of course, not all of that makes its way into Rock Lake, and there are methods of keeping some it out of the lake. 

One measure that both keeps the geese out of your area and keeps what they might leave for you from washing into the lake is planting prairie grass instead the usual lawn-type grass.  This is especially important near the shoreline, since more of the goosey-doo that is washed toward the lake from short grass is absorbed in the prairie grass soil before it reaches the lake.  The reason for this is that the prairie grass roots can go down as far as nine inches into the soil, whereas most lawn grasses’ roots go down only an inch or two.  And, of course, the more tall grass and plants that you plant, the fewer geese you will have visiting.  Apparently it’s either because they don’t feel safe among tall plants or they are ticklish on their tummies.

You may have noted the discrepancy between the number of RLIA members and the number of geese.  If you are not a member and do not join soon, the geese will have won!

Making Waves, June 29, 2004

Johanna Chworowsky, President RLIA