In March 2002, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS)
published its
Draft Environmental Impact Statement: Resident
Canada Goose Management (DEIS), a massive document that
largely recommends killing geese as a means of resolving
human-goose conflicts in communities across the country.
The federal agency accepted public comments on its DEIS
until May 30, 2002. The HSUS, in partnership with The Fund for
Animals, had plenty to say to the USFWS about this flawed
document.
The DEIS "provides only a superficial examination of
human-goose conflicts, management strategies, and their
integration into comprehensive approaches that offer the only
realistic solutions to the problems people experience with
'resident' Canada geese," wrote Dr. John W. Grandy, The HSUS's
senior vice president for wildlife and habitat protection, and
Michael Markarian, executive vice president of The Fund for
Animals.
"The inadequate DEIS may reflect the purpose of the FWS
proposed action to delegate authority to the various states for
setting all management program objectives and goals for the
Service, thereby abdicating a major federal responsibility that
has been the backbone of protection and conservation of
migratory birds in this country for almost a century," the
authors added.
The HSUS and The Fund for Animals then systematically pick
apart the DEIS point by point. Among the organizations'
findings: The DEIS does not provide a summary of research
conducted, contracted or ordered by the FWS on Canada geese;
fails to indicate exactly how many geese this killing campaign
would target; largely ignores community- and volunteer-based
alternatives to managing these conflicts; poorly explains the
public health threats posed by Canada geese; and fails to
provide guidelines to states that agree to accept
"empowerment."
To read the entire text of our comments to the USFWS on its
DEIS plan,
download the PDF.
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