Council rejects goose hunt, requests additional data

ALPENA – The Alpena Municipal Council on Monday unanimously rejected a staff recommendation to hold a controlled Canada goose hunt this fall, leaving the city without an authorized hunt inside city limits for a second consecutive year.

The proposed hunt would have taken place during the regular Michigan goose hunting season at the Alpena County Fairgrounds, next to the Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary, on Sept. 10, 17 and 24. Because hunting is prohibited in city limits, any such effort requires council approval.

City Manager Rachel Smolinski had recommended the hunt as one piece of a broader management program. In an Aug. 18 memo to Mayor Cindy Johnson and the council, Smolinski wrote that Canada geese remain common in city parks, the sanctuary and other public areas. The city does not intend to eliminate the birds, she said, but seeks to reduce conflicts with residents and recreational users, particularly where large concentrations produce excessive droppings.

Controlled hunting has been one tool used by the city for years. The 2024 hunt at the fairgrounds harvested 41 geese, down from 118 in 2023. Council declined a 2025 goose hunt.

A second main tool has been egg-oiling in the sanctuary at Lake Besser. The Department of Public Works, working under a USDA APHIS Wildlife Services permit, coats eggs with vegetable-based oil so they do not hatch, and so geese are less likely to nest again in the same place. In 2025, crews oiled 122 eggs from 15 nests.

That effort largely failed this spring. Extreme flooding across the Thunder Bay River watershed in April coincided with the state-designated oiling dates of April 11 and April 25. High water on April 25 left DPW able to find only one nest containing five eggs.

"We wanted to do a complete trial run of a no hunt with egg oiling, and we didn't get that," Councilman Kevin Currier said. "It's easy to see how there could be an extensive overpopulation that builds every year, but I can also see how it's bad timing."

Staff has continued to test nonlethal methods.

This summer the city placed "Away with Geese" devices at the marina, Bay View Park and Washington Avnue Park. The solar-powered units emit an amber, 360-degree light that flashes every two seconds through the night. The light is meant to disrupt geese's sleep and make them feel unsafe, so they move elsewhere. Staff plan to keep watching those sites to judge whether the devices should become a regular part of the program.

An ad hoc Goose Management Committee formed in 2022 continues to weigh options by feasibility, cost and benefit, likelihood of success and known problem spots. The committee meets a couple of times a year to review egg-oiling results and other methods and has stressed the need to keep collecting data so the city can judge what works over time.

Smolinski told the council she had looked for a recommended harvest number from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and other sources and found none. "There are so many factors that go into it," Smolinski said. "We have tracked this data since 2016 and there is no real pattern." The DNR will not issue a city-specific recommendation, she said.

"I think it's a good idea to collect data to see if we can pick up on some trends over time," Smolinski said. "There just hasn't been a good pattern to base anything on."

City counts and management totals since 2016 show wide swings. The 2024 count was 227 geese, with 17 nests, 106 eggs oiled and 41 harvested. Earlier years included a 2023 count of 169 and harvest of 118, a 2021 harvest of 135, and years with no recorded count or no harvest. Council members said the recommended motion was too vague and that they wanted a cap -- a number not to exceed -- rather than an open-ended authorization.

Mayor Johnson said statewide early-season goose hunting often produces better results farther south because of differences in temperature and weather. The state sets the oiling and hunting calendars and did not adjust them for northern Michigan's April conditions.

Council also framed the issue as a humanitarian one. Currier said it is "hard to justify as a means to an end." Members noted growing cruise-ship traffic and said heavy goose droppings on paths, parks and the waterfront present a poor image for visitors.

Johnson closed the discussion by saying the city is not finished with the problem. "We will keep working on this," she said.

Hunting remains legal outside the city during the state season. Inside Alpena, staff will keep using egg-oiling when conditions allow, continue the light-device trial and gather more data through the Goose Management Committee. No hunt is scheduled for 2026.