THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz
“I was out walking in the North Natomas Regional Park at night recently and noticed there are now three floating lights in the water. What are they for?”
Director of Public Policy Michelle Kille in Vice Mayor Angelique Ashby’s office sent us an answer:
“You may recall that last year we had a pretty overwhelming coot problem (the little black birds with white beaks) around the basin at the North Natomas Regional Park. They were tearing up the grass pretty badly. We worked with our Utilities Department, who maintains the basin, and found a non-toxic mitigation measure which consisted of spraying grape extract (a natural irritant to coots). It was successful and eliminated the coot issue, but this year we’ve now been plagued by geese causing the same type of damage.”
“In response, our Utilities Department worked with the Department of Fish & Game to explore available non-harmful mitigation measures. One of those measures is the installation of these floating light units which produce an ambient light that disrupts the sleeping patterns of the geese, causing them to move to another pond. This is a low-cost, non-harmful option to try to discourage the geese from sleeping on and around the basin land.”
[…] it. We’re only employing humane abatement options including application of grape extract, and the yellow lights out on the water. The dogs aren’t killing the geese and don’t make contact with […]