by Pamela Miller, Amy Langenhorst and Betsey Davis - Edgewood College
Abstract:
The Canadian geese population throughout most parts
of North America has increased over the years and has become a nuisance in some
suburban and urban areas. There are particular problems, especially in the area
of Vilas Park where there are soccer fields and playgrounds (known as
zone 2). As a way to minimize the number of geese and goslings that are in
zone 2, the Friends of Lake Wingra and the City of Madison planted a native
vegetation buffer along the shoreline of Lake Wingra in the zone 2 area. This
planting took place in the early summer of 2005 and continued in 2006. In an
effort to measure the effect of the native vegetation buffer on the number of
geese and goslings in zone 2, we analyzed data collected by students at Edgewood
College. The data include geese and gosling counts taken over the past several
years throughout Vilas Park. The data indicates that the native vegetation
buffer has been effective in reducing the number of geese and goslings in the
zone 2 area during months when the vegetation is present. It seems reasonable
that the Friends of Lake Wingra and the City of Madison should expand their
effort to plant the native vegetation into other zones where geese are deemed to
be a nuisance.