Report Goose Nests

To maintain a safe environment and ensure our lake is safe for all members, please inform the association via email or calling 440-563-3170 of any nesting birds. In this manner, we can deter the proliferation of Canada Geese from Lake Roaming Rock. The population of geese if maintained through the Ohio Natural Resource Goose Damage Permitting System, works to keep the overpopulation from occurring.

The Ohio Natural Resources (ONR) writes, “Most people will welcome and start feeding the first pair of geese on their pond, but these geese will soon wear out their welcome. In just a few years, a pair of geese can easily become 50 to 100 birds. The feces will foul the areas around the pond and surrounding yards and damage the lawn, pond and other vegetation. Geese that are fed will lose their fear of humans and attack adults, children, and pets during the nesting season (March through June). DO NOT FEED GEESE. Feeding bread, corn, potato chips, popcorn and other human food items harms the geese and sets the scene for goose attacks on people.”

Ohio State University also writes “Degraded Water Quality – Large accumulations of feces near water can degrade water quality as rain wash the material into the water. Goose feces are high in phosphorus and nitrogen, nutrients that in excess can cause nuisance blooms of algae and aquatic plants in ponds and lakes. An excess of algae and submerged plants can lead to oxygen depletion at night due to plant respiration and can cause a fish kill.

In addition, goose feces can contain a variety of pathogens such as Giardia and Coliform bacteria, which can cause illness in humans. Large numbers of geese can elevate concentrations of these pathogens in pond and lake water, and accidental ingestion of such water can cause illness”.

With your help and ONR, we have used the Goose Damage Permitting System method for the past years and have found it works. Reductions in population, nest counts, and returning migrations are examples we realized. I encourage all our residents to continue with this effort and their notifications are important to our overall effort to keep our lake safe and healthy!

Gerry Dixon
Lake Management Committee