Use of the common areas

We have a huge problem with Canadian Geese in our neighborhood. 20-100 of them at a time in and around a rather small lake, by comparison. They poop over all over the common areas and run out of places to poop and begin to fill the streets with poop. I bought a remote control car and chase them away. It's been really effective at keeping them out of the neighborhood. I spoke with both state and federal employees that lead the respective "Canadian Geese" departments they work for and they both told me it's not illegal to harass them.

I get a letter from my condo association which we've been having tons of problems with already "not maintaining the exterior of our condo, leaking roof, rotted exterior siding, parking lights not coming on at night, the works", saying:
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It has been brought to our attention that you have been harassing and menacing the Canada Geese that are nesting in the common area; specifically, reports have been made to our office that they have witnessed you chasing the geese with a remote-control car. - Please cease and desist this behavior immediately. This is considered animal cruelty and the Canada Goose is a federally protected species. If you continue to menace these geese it will be considered a violation and you will be asked to attend a hearing in addition to being reported to the proper state and federal authorities.
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I'm not worried about them threatening to "report me" to any type of authority because I know they can't but the line that gets me is "If you continue to menace these geese it will be considered a violation" - I plan on sending an email asking them to cite what rule or bylaw I'm violating but I've read them several times over and know I'm not violating.. anything.

Every time, last year, I walked my dog I had to clean goose poop off her feet after every walk. She accidentally got goose poop in her mouth and we had a costly vet bill because of how sick she got. You literally can't enjoy any common area aside from the pool. Unless you enjoy goose poop.

So are they allowed to tell me I can't do something.. just because they don't want me doing it?

You can not go to prison for harassing them. It is not illegal: https://www.google.com/search?q=is+it+illegal+to+harass+canadian+geese

I have, as stated in my original thread, contacted both state and federal agencies to confirm this already, Hubby.

I agree with Tim. Know for a fact you can not harass nesting geese. My work place has a "Mother Goose" nesting in a parking lot. We get emails constantly about location, status, and to stay away from that area. It's monitored by the wildlife department.

It's also NOT your responsibility but the HOA. This is common area owned by ALL the owners. So if you don't like the geese situation you go to the HOA board to handle it. Let them know your information.

A company nearby handles the geese situation by having installed loudspeakers playing the sounds of other geese. Geese are family oriented and don't like other geese families coming to their area. So can play sounds of geese if that isn't an annoyance to anyone.

Overall, harassing may not be wrong. What is wrong is you doing it on common area without HOA permission or involvement.

Going to try and Hit this topic from a different angle. If everyone agrees to leave the Geese alone so be it.

How is the HOA going to keep the Parks and walkways safe and clean for its homeowners? Geese do not clean up after their selves. No Poop stations exist for Geese. IF people and animals are getting sick from the mess it should be a concern for all homeowners. HOA should have a plan and after they pay for cleanup on a regular basis maybe they will try to get them to hangout elsewhere. This will end up costing everyone but safety is a real thing.

I'm aware of both solutions. I have a toy poodle that I have trained to chase geese "not harm them" but after a year I got a letter saying she wasn't allowed on the property without a leash after one person complained about her chasing the geese "her favorite thing to do". She's trained to walk by my side without a leash but she actually, for whatever reason, likes having a leash on more. The leash thing is a not only a condo rule but it is state law as well. I have no problem with following the rules and have been walking her with a leash since.

I asked about that methyl stuff and they said I couldn't - I also volunteered to oil the eggs "it's free for them to sign up" they refused. - And for the record I never disturbed or messed with any nesting geese. I'm not sure where that even came from.

That and it's free and doesn't cost anyone anything

Such is life in the urban setting and all these suburbs – it is what it is. Thanks to lots of buildup and running off (or killing) animals who could keep these things under control, we now have tons of geese because people keep feeding them and all the pretty lawns, retention ponds and that stuff make the community very attractive to them. I had a family of them march through a week or so ago – haven’t seen them since, so I can only hope they’re at the retention pond… or the retention pond at the Kroger’s across the street…or one or several retention ponds in the nearby office park! We also have a large city park where they could go, but I guess the deer have dibs on it.

(the NextDoor social media site serving my area HAS reported coyote sightings as well as the occasional bobcat – maybe the problem will resolve itself someday!)

It’s true that a key to getting rid of the things is to make the area as inhospitable to geese as possible, so one place to start would be for the board to encourage everyone to NOT FEED THEM and stick up some signs to that effect (if you catch someone doing it anyway, maybe they can pay for the cleanup in that area). Some say putting up decoys can help, but I’ve also heard they quickly figure out the decoys aren’t real, so you’d have to change the location regularly.

I’ve also heard some people keep swans to drive off geese because they’re like the Jets and Sharks from West Side story, especially when they have babies. I’ve also heard swans can be just as aggressive – some have put a beat down on people severe enough to send them to the hospital, as well as the morgue. Sometimes the two seem to call a truce and you wind up with a double dose of bad ass birds.

As far as your poodle is concerned, this is why I suggested that your board look into hiring a company with specially trained dogs – it seems to work for golf courses. And speaking of retention ponds, one website suggests letting the grass around the ponds (if you have them ) grow tall and wide (20 inches tall and a couple of feet wide – it limits easy access to the water that the gees want and I believe they also hate this because tall grass hides predators.

A final suggestion – check with the natural resources department in your area and see if it has a service that’ll get rid of the nests. Federal law states as soon as the things begin to nest, you have to leave them alone, but the work around is to get certified people who can get to the nest and put oil on the eggs or somehow get rid of them, thus driving off the geese. In fact, see if you can get some sort of wildlife expert to come to a board meeting and talk about how nasty these things can be – that may convince them to take action. Good luck!

Sheila, yeah, I've tried everything with them. My dog is free, effective, and she enjoyed doing it. This condo association will spend a fortune on somethings and nothing on others with no rhyme or reason to it. When I brought up oiling the eggs a board member yelled "NOPE, NOT DOING IT YOU GOTTA BUY A SUPER EXPENSIVE PERMIT AND WE AIN'T DOING THAT". I forwarded everyone on the board the contact information to the guy that runs it and explained they could call him and that he would explain that it would be free. I even offered to buy the corn oil and do it myself. They love the geese. Additionally, it's private property so nobody can do anything unless the property owners request it themselves. I'm not trying to be a nuisance. It's just nice to have a small portion of grass my dog can use without stepping in goose poop every time. Sucks :/

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/downloads/canada_goose.pdf

It actually IS illegal to harass or menace Canada Geese w/o a 'Depredation Permit'.

Legal Status and Authorities
The Canada goose is a migratory bird species that is
afforded the protections of the Migratory Bird Treaty
Act, Federal regulations, and State laws.

The OP's HOA is 100% correct.

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

I didn't, in any of what you posted, read anything saying it's illegal to harass them.

Directly from the source:

Rumbaugh, Jeffrey A - APHIS
10:48 AM (2 hours ago)

Mr. *******

You are not engaging in animal cruelty in any way by chasing geese with a remote controlled vehicle and you are not in violation of any federal or state regulations. Canada geese are indeed a federally protected species, but it is perfectly legal to harass Canada geese and most other migratory birds to disperse them from areas where they are causing damage. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will issue permits to lethally take Canada geese in situations where they are causing damage and non-lethal methods of dispersal have not worked. From the Code of Federal Regulations:

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=f7c98d41bf468225ff27a74702fbb91e&mc=true&node=se50.9.21_141&rgn=div8

§21.41 Depredation permits.
(a) Permit requirement. Except as provided in §§21.43, 21.44, and 21.46, a depredation permit is required before any person may take, possess, or transport migratory birds for depredation control purposes. No permit is required merely to scare or herd depredating migratory birds other than endangered or threatened species or bald or golden eagles.

Concerning harassment during the molt, you’re perfectly within your legal rights to disperse geese then as well. The only problem is that they won’t go far since they can’t fly at that time, but there’s nothing illegal about it. It’s disappointing that your association doesn’t understand that your non-lethal method of dispersing geese was not only legal but apparently very effective in reducing the number of birds leaving droppings all over the condo complex.

Mickey,

Goose chasing (which is what you're doing) is a legal activity and you're not committing a crime.

Don't trap, physically harm or kill a goose. (this is very regulated by VA state law and federal laws)
Don't touch their nests or bother their eggs. (The HOA needs a federal permit for that (free of charge)

Look it up for yourself and call your wildlife commission and local animal control.

"Goose people" are overly emotional and don't realize that if you bring wildlife resource officers into the discussion of geese that euthanasia is a legal option when properly permitted.

I can't stand Canada Geese and the people who desire properties be overrun by them are equally a nuisance. "Goose People" actually resulted in me having a BETTER relationship w/ animal control authorities.