Renton, WA—A goose in every pot strikes Michael Hansford as quite a good idea. In his capacity as maintenance foreman at Coulon Beach Park here, Mr. Hansford has to tidy up after several hundred Canada geese that feed on the park's lakeside grasses and sleep on the water.
"Do I like `em? No!" says Mr. Hansford. "They look OK flying overhead, but try cleaning up after them once they hit the ground."
Canada's most contentious export (after hockey players) is out of hand. In the past several years, the black-billed, white-cheeked birds have been abandoning their migratory ways at a rising rate, settling down to year-round suburban life on lawns, fairways and shorelines from Seattle to Maine. The mess they make sets bird lovers against people rather more concerned about what is happening to choice metropolitan landscapes. . .
Increasingly, geese are besmirching parks, beaches, golf courses and other places people enjoy going. The daily output per goose, to two decimal places is 1.17 ounces, according to limnologist E.A. Manny, who has done a study. . .
"They're disgusting," says Billy Regan, co-captain and quarterback of the Belmont High School football team in Massachusetts. "Sometimes we have to do push-ups in their." . . .
Comet : a photographic installation
