To the editor:

I read with interest, the article in Westport Shorelines entitled, “What price green grass?” and am very much in agreement with the general thrust of the Fish Commissioner’s comments to the Conservation Commission. The pie graph presented in this article, listing non-point sources of watershed nitrogen loads in Cockeast Pond, shows seven sources.

 In speaking with neighbors who, like me, have lived directly along the riverside for many years, I hear a growing frustration that our ever-increasing population of non-migratory Canada geese have not been identified or even thoroughly studied as a measurable and significant eighth source. At the very least, they provide a terribly efficient vector for the movement of several of the listed sources (e.g. fertilizers from grasses eaten onshore) directly into the estuary, whether there has been rainfall related watershedding of these contaminants or not.

In one of the few local studies I could find, examining the contribution of geese to these problems, the eco RI News website (ecori.org/2014-11-20-dont-blame-animals-only-for-pollution-problems-html/) stated the following:

“This rapid growth of a permanent goose population impacted the Roger Williams park’s environment, especially its centerpiece — a network of urban ponds. The park’s 100 acres of fresh water are polluted by the pound of waste each goose can generate daily. Nearly 20 percent of the ponds’ pollution problems are caused by the birds’ waste, according to studies.

The nutrients found in geese waste acts as fertilizer that causes algae to grow uncontrollably, which chokes life in the ponds and can be toxic to humans. In fact, Rhode Island Department of Environmental (DEM) total maximum daily load (TMDL) reports have pinpointed birds as a significant source of bacteria in Roger Williams Park.”

I would note that if the same is true for the Westport River estuary, or even just Cockeast Pond, at 20 percent, geese would represent the second largest single contributor to nitrogen loads after wastewater in the graph of Cockeast Pond presented in the article.

The Lloyds Center’s February 2021 estimate was that the Westport River’s population of geese, in the dead of winter is almost 1300 (lloydcenter.org/ice-returns-in-force-on-frigid-final-count-of-lloyd-centers-34th-annual-winter-waterfowl-survey/). This equals 1,300 pounds of goose waste (over half a ton) on a daily basis, across the Westport estuary, presumably including Cockeast Pond. This is either deposited directly into the river or along the river banks where its easily washed back into the river. Most of the rest of the birdlife in the estuary are fish eaters.

In the Spring of 2020, the Westport River Watershed Alliance pointed to the detrimental effect on water quality created at the Head of Westport by a gaggle of geese only 18 in number. (www.westportwatershed.org/river-info/river-monitoring/).

But the other big threat to our river is the ongoing loss of eel grass. Here again, some of us have also regularly noticed hungry geese aggressively digging the mud near shore to get access to the tender, juicy “runners” beneath the surface that allow our ever-diminishing eel grass to spread and flourish. I have seen geese remain in one area, working non-stop on digging out eel grass runners, from mid-tide through low tide and back to mid-tide, until their feet can no longer reach the bottom. I have seen geese eventually scour out a hole as big as one might create when clamming, leaving that 2-3 foot area devoid of eel grass runners.

In closing, unless the data is already out there (and I could not find it), I would urge us to look at the impact that our resident population of geese is having on BOTH the nitrogen load and the loss of eel grass. Whether you categorize geese collectively as another non-point source of nitrogen, or as 1,300 point sources, many of us believe that an examination of the contribution geese are making to both nitrogen loading and to eel grass disappearance should be given some attention.

Thomas Freddo

Westport