Federal agency on wild goose chase

0 Comments | Insight on the News, March 16, 1998 | by Sean Paige

Things at the Maryland headquarters of the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, or NIST, are all flocked up, sources tell waste & abuse, ever since its rolling 570-acre Maryland campus was besieged by an estimated 1,500 Canada geese. Rather than using the property as a way station during annual migrations, the geese instead have settled in for the duration, to the woe of the 2,700 humans who work there. The crisis prompted a "sources sought" posting for "herding services" in Commerce Business Daily, where government bids for work and contract awards are published, as NIST weighs whether to contract goose control out to a local herder or bring the work in-house by getting some Border collies and a trainer of their own.

It isn't NIST's first attempt to rein in the unruly gaggle, which is trampling the grass, killing off fish in the ponds (currently being dredged), clogging traffic, eating the azaleas and generally overfertilizing the facility. There also have been a number of unpleasant goose-human confrontations. An attempt several years ago to remove most of the geese to Maryland's Eastern Shore "failed miserably," according to NIST spokesman Michael Newman. NIST is hoping that regular -- but nonviolent, they are quick to stress -- harassment of the birds will keep their numbers down to a manageable 100 hard cases. At least, that's what they hope will happen. Newman could not say what the government would be willing to pay for a dog or dogs and trainer -- the solicitation simply is meant to test the market.

The property also is a sanctuary for approximately 300 deer -- a few of which have crashed through windows and been hit by cars on adjoining roads. That's six times the number of deer the grounds can accommodate, according to an evaluation by the Humane Society, which is working with NIST to curb (again, through nonviolent measures) the herd's size. Does are being injected with a "pig protein" contraceptive using blowguns and darts, according to Newman, a strategy that is having "mixed results."

The invasion may force second thoughts among NIST officials about the past practice of feeding the animals during hard winters.