OVID TWP., MI – Clerks in Ovid and Kinderhook townships are joining forces to support a plan by the Coldwater Lake Association to collect Canada goose eggs this spring to control the local goose population.
Ovid Township Clerk Amy Havasy said she is working with Kinderhook Clerk Pam Tooman on the joint resolution language needed for Michigan Department of Natural Resources permits.
Margie Franker, who chairs the Lake Association’s Environmental Improvement Committee, told the township board that the application needs to be filed early next year to secure a permit in time.
USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services issues permits through Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources.
Franker said the decision does not cover Coldwater Lake State Park. A separate permit application must be filed with the DNR for those 400 acres.
More than 300 lake residents signed the petition requested by both townships, with only about 15 opposed.
“Most of those are hunters,” Franker told the board.
The Marble Chain of Lakes Association received permits in 2024 with approval from Ovid and Algansee townships.
Association President Dennis Smith said trained volunteers collected more than 700 eggs in the past two years.
The process, considered humane, involves removing eggs from nests and freezing them for later disposal, Smith told the Daily Reporter last year.
Nests are destroyed to prevent geese from laying additional eggs, encouraging them to leave the area.
Franker and her committee said Canada geese can each produce up to 2 pounds of droppings a day.
Significant accumulations of droppings in residents’ yards can pose health risks to people and pets. Goose waste can carry harmful bacteria, including E. coli and Salmonella.
The committee aims to improve water quality in Coldwater Lake through a coordinated program.
Excess goose droppings add high levels of nutrients, especially phosphorus, to the lake, the committee said in messages to residents. That can accelerate eutrophication, leading to algae overgrowth that depletes oxygen and harms aquatic life.
Franker and Coldwater Lake Association President Tom Manning said they hope Kinderhook will act later this month and Ovid Township will vote at its next meeting on Jan. 13.
Contact Don Reid, dReid@USATodayCo.Com
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Coldwater Lake Association seeks goose egg eradication permit
Reporting by Don Reid, Coldwater Daily Reporter / Coldwater Daily Reporter
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