Annual Canadian Goose roundup completed in Lake Tahoe and Reno

Not only humans enjoy hanging out in Lake Tahoe, the Canadian Goose does as well, and according to many, perhaps too well. The annual goose roundup is now complete with 118 of the geese from Lake Tahoe now living at the Wild Horse Reservoir in Elko County.

Across North America the nonmigratory Canada goose populations are on the rise, and in 2000 numbered 4-5 million. They love to hang out on golf courses, parking lots and urban parks, leaving behind their tell-tale signs. These areas previously only saw the migratory geese on rare occasions, but since they are so adaptable to human-altered areas, it has become the most common waterfowl species in North America. Since 1999, the United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services agency has responded to municipalities or private land owners, such as golf courses, which find the geese obtrusive or object to their waste.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) spent the first two weeks in Reno, Sparks and Lake Tahoe, gathering up a total of 396 geese that were relocated, according to Kyle Neill, a game biologist with NDOW.

Neill says residents and businesses file complains with Wildlife Services (Nevada Department of Agriculture), who then organize the complaints and evaluate where geese will be retrieved, then create a schedule for NDOW.

This year the only Lake Tahoe area to have geese moved was at Edgewood Tahoe on June 13. The golf course in Glenbrook sometimes calls with a complaint but didn't do so this year. Some years they don't respond to Tahoe at all, said Neill. This year it was Carson City who didn't need any of the urban birds removed.

During the first two weeks of June each year, NDOW goes to the location(s) determined by Wildlife Services to move geese. They choose this time period as the birds can’t fly for 2-3 weeks while they are molting.

NDOW has been doing the goose roundup for 32 years according to Neill. They traditionally hit the Reno/Sparks area, Lake Tahoe, and sometimes Carson City.

To remove the geese the crews are on jet skis off shore, then much as they do with cattle, corral the birds into a shoot that leads them into cages. On years the goose removal occurs in Lake Tahoe, the average number of geese relocated is 75-150, so this year's 118 was par for the course. They try to remove adult birds who are non-reproductive who feel safer in big areas of water. Once removed they'll be tagged and re-released to their new home.

Even though Wild Horse Reservoir has a good goose habitat, eight percent are expected to return this year but up to 30 percent will find their way back on average years. Neill said only the adults come back but the juveniles won't. The oldest goose removed from Edgewood this year was about twelve-years-old.

In the Reno/Sparks area, they have an average of eight percent returning but only three percent is expected in 2017.

Other geese will soon start flying to Lake Tahoe. California doesn't do a round up, but they do place bands on their talons.

Originally the bird relocation program began for protection of aircraft but has spread out as populations increases.