Pyrotechnic devices, lasers set to return to Olentangy River

Eric Weitz
Sun, 29 Mar 2015 19:39:08 +0000
Area, Campus, Local, Geese, olentangy river, osu, U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA Wildlife Services

The city of Columbus and the U.S. Department of Agriculture plan to resume goose damage management techniques along the Olentangy River. Credit: Eric Weitz / Lantern reporter

Pyrotechnics, lasers and loud noises are back.

The city of Columbus and the U.S. Department of Agriculture plan to resume goose damage management techniques along the Olentangy River on Monday.

A message in Ohio State’s weekly onCampus email newsletter stated that “loud noises similar to fireworks or a car backfiring, sirens and whistles may be heard along the river” between Fifth Avenue and Lane Avenue as part of an effort to reduce damage to vegetation caused by the geese.

The city of Columbus and the USDA Wildlife Services and Animal Care division conducted similar efforts last year, using pyrotechnic devices and lasers to drive geese from the area, where they were “inhibiting the long-term vegetation growth necessary as part of the river restoration,” according to the OSU Facilities Operations and Development website.

Efforts to remove the geese from the area were scheduled to begin last March. They were originally delayed because the methods of management had to be approved by the fire marshal. The geese removal efforts were initially scheduled to last until December or until the “vegetation matured,” according to an OSU press release from last year.

USDA officials estimated that there were an average of 100 to 150 geese living in the Olentangy River corridor last year, according to OSU’s website.

Last year, signs were placed along the river to notify the public of the process, and USDA officials were expected to “be easily identifiable with brightly colored clothing,” according to the city’s Fifth Avenue Dam and Olentangy River Restoration Project website.