Credit: AdobeStock/Rebecca Young
In baseball, it’s the Yankees versus the Red Sox. In rap, you have LL Cool J and Canibus. In the NFL, it’s the Bears against the Packers.
You may not be aware of it but Pine Plains has a rivalry no less fierce. The standoff is between the town’s resident population of Canada geese and the humans who want them to move along. The field of battle is the beloved 4-acre expanse of grass and beach known as Stissing Lake Park.
During the day, humans hold sway. Efficient lifeguards check visitors in and monitor swimmers. But at 6 p.m., the lifeguards leave and the park empties. That’s when the geese take over. Some two dozen loitered around the shoreline on a recent evening. During the day they hide out in the reeds like partisans. Only toward dusk do they make their move.
Most people agree that Canada geese are beautiful creatures and their calls are haunting. It’s what comes out the other end that’s the problem. Each goose produces one pound of excrement a day. And they don’t pay an entrance fee.
Residents disagree on where the Stissing Lake geese come from. There is some speculation that they migrated from next door. “They don’t have a program to control geese on Twin Island Lake,” said Rachel Greenfield of the Stissing Lake Association, which represents the 15 landowners on the 70-acre lake.
But those on the other side of Beach Road demur. “We actually haven’t seen many geese on our lake,” said Beth McLiverty of the Twin Island Lake Association. “The swans typically run them off.”
Stissing Lake is beloved by picnickers, toddlers, fishers, kayakers, swimmers, teenagers looking for a place to avoid chores and, most importantly, attendees of the Pine Plains Summer Camp.
Camp began July 9. About 115 kids from kindergarten to 8th grade have enrolled. Asked if he’s concerned about the invading geese, Andy Anderson, the camp’s new director, said, “No. We have good people taking care of the geese. He thanked the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which culls the geese, and the student lifeguards who help clean up after the birds.
Credit: Judith Wolff
Anderson is hyper-vigilant about managing so many kids. “I was deployed overseas with the U.S. Marines but this assignment really has me biting my nails,” said Anderson, who also teaches at Seymour Smith Elementary School. “Luckily, I have an excellent group of camp counselors. They’re very bright and they want to pass on their love for the outdoors to the kids.” As the week’s first special activity, Anderson has invited the Dutchess County 4-H to run a presentation on animal husbandry and bring a petting zoo. The star attraction is the baby goats.
In years past the lake was occasionally closed to swimming due to unhealthy levels of fecal bacteria from geese. For the past four years however, including this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Albany has culled the geese when they are molting and unable to fly. The meat has gone to state-run homeless shelters.
“We were thrilled with the results,” said Greenfield. “Getting rid of the geese materially helped clean up the lake. This year the lake is fine for swimming.” Volunteers with the association have been testing the lake’s water in cooperation with the State Department of Environmental Conservation. The latest test results indicate the lake is “stressed” by runoff and waterfowl that fertilize aquatic vegetation, but otherwise it’s fine for swimming.
Meanwhile, as the summer’s first heat wave melted the asphalt at Peck’s Food Market, the beach is open for everyone to enjoy, with a carpet of fresh sand on which young imaginations can conjure up castles and a summer’s worth of other engineering projects.
“We are ready,” said Brian Coons, Pine Plains’ recreation director. “The grills are scraped, the showers are cleaned every day, and the water is cool. We really want people to come and use the park.”
And should any geese try to prevent the baby goats from showing up to delight this year’s crop of young campers, they’ve got a thing or two coming to them: The campers are taking archery lessons.