You identified too many ducks and geese as an environmental problem in your community.

Too many ducks and geese living around our lakes and rivers leads to a lot of bird waste. Rainwater picks up the waste as it flows over the land and carries it to lakes, streams, and rivers.

Animal waste is a source of pathogens, which are organisms that can make people sick.  When there are too many of these pathogens in the water, beaches will close to protect human health. Pathogens are one of the leading causes of water quality problems in the United States.

Animal waste also is a source of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) that can lead to excessive algae growth.

Resources:

• https://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwdp/Publications/10pubs/Swallow%20et%20al%202010.pdf

•  https://extension.illinois.edu/hortihints/0408a.html

• https://www.epa.gov/polluted-runoff-nonpoint-source-pollution

• www.epa.gov/wqc/microbial-pathogenrecreational-water-quality-criteria

• https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6424a4.htm?mobile=nocontent&s_cid=mm6424a4_e

• https://www.whoi.edu/main/topic/beach-closures

• https://iaspub.epa.gov/waters10/attains_nation_cy.control?p_report_type=T

• https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/nutpollution.html

• Plant native plants