Why Resident Geese Population Control?

Updated 5/5/24

Our two consulting professors have confirmed that our sizable goose population has a major negative impact on Loon Lake’s water quality.  The large nutrient load the geese deposit into the lake is quite detrimental, in addition to the nuisance created on land by flocks of geese. 

Consequently the Alliance has sponsored an effort to “oil” a few eggs every year (for the past few years) to prevent them from hatching to see if we can begin to reduce the goose population on and around the lake.  Geese defecate between 28 and 92 times a day and this results in 1-3 lbs of nitrogen per goose per year and 0.4-1.4 lbs. of phosphorus per goose per year excreted.  As some of you may know, excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) can lead to undesirable plants and animals growing in the lake unchecked.  New York State estimates that there are 364,000 resident (not migratory) geese as of 2019 in the State and would like to see this number reduced to 85,000 or below, hence the “egg oiling” is sanctioned by the State.  See the article under “Lake Information”, “Geese”, “Resident-Geese Population Management” on the website at http://LoonLakeSteubenNY.com for a bit more information.  Note that the resident population has risen from 200.000 a few years ago to the 2019 number of 364,000, so it appears that the State is losing the battle!