One of the beautiful things about living in Tigard is being surrounded by nature, from parks and trails to streams and wildlife.

But in a community where humans and animals live together in an urban setting, there can be challenges that need to be addressed in a holistic way.

Geese management is one of them.

It would be remiss not to also mention here one of the quirks of Summerlake Park, the geese poop problem.

What's the Concern?

Particularly during nesting season, thousands of migrating Canada geese visit the lake. Consequently, these flocks of geese deposit literally tons of feces on the grassy areas. Geese aren’t just a nuisance, they can pose real public health risks. Their droppings contain bacteria that can contaminate water sources, especially in popular recreation areas like this one. They also might carry diseases, including HPAI or Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.

It’s important to keep wildlife wild, Summerlake Park is not an ideal spot as it is surrounded by homes, drawing large numbers of visitors who enjoy walking with their dogs, biking, fishing, playing pickleball, children using the play structure and much more. We want to keep all community members safe, people and geese alike!

What Action is Being Taken to Mitigate the Geese?

A local business, Geese Guys, figured out a solution; use trained border collies to disrupt breeding geese so that they will simply fly away instead of taking up residence in the park. In recent years, the City of Tigard has contracted with Geese Guys to address the growing population of geese at Summerlake Park. An experienced and identifiable dog handler and border collie patrol the park several afternoons weekly, especially in the spring. The border collie “ranger” as an official working dog is the only dog allowed off leash in the park. These are working dogs trained for this specific purpose.

When you see them out here, please give them space, it helps them do their job safely and effectively.

The dogs are trained to act as natural predators. They don’t harm the geese; they simply encourage them to keep moving and not settle in the park long-term. That way, the park stays a healthy stopover, not a permanent colony. The objective of the Geese Guys program is to manage the population of geese to an acceptable population level to help protect the health and safety of people and wildlife alike in the park. 

We’re currently at a healthy maintenance level. That’s the goal, to prevent overpopulation without removing geese entirely. Since there are no natural predators in urban parks, this is the best tool we’ve got. We are seeing a reduction in frequency and the size of the flock which are the two main goals.

In the Spring, Geese Guys start what’s called Egg Depredation. Once the geese have laid their eggs, the team goes out on kayaks to look for nests and remove eggs. About three weeks later, Geese Guys return to see how many nests are back. Typically, there are only a few and those are left as some geese are more than welcome to reside in Summerlake Park and surrounding areas.

Both methods are humane and follow guidelines from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Where Can I Learn More?

We encourage you to browse the following sources of information and expertise in this area:

• Geese Guys Services - Goose Management Service in OR & WA
• Learn more about the Oregon Goose Control Task Force
• Watch our City Ranger interview Jennifer from Geese Guys below!