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| Geese congregate at Echo Lake when humans feed them. The beach was recently closed for several days when the bacteria count was high. Photo by Pat Deagan |
Fecal bacteria in lakes and ponds can occur from a number of sources, including dog, geese, and duck feces. High fecal bacteria levels make waters unsafe for swimming, wading, and for dogs to drink from.
The City of Shoreline works to keep waters safe for recreation and for wildlife. In the coming months, you'll notice new educational signs at several of Shoreline's parks reminding park-goers to pickup pet waste and to not feed waterbirds. These two actions can dramatically help keep fecal bacteria levels low, and keep our beaches open and safe for park users.
To further support this effort, the City of Shoreline is proposing to update the Shoreline Municipal Code (SMC 8.12) to expressly prohibit feeding waterfowl in Shoreline Parks. Code requiring pet waste pickup already exists (SMC 8.12.280).
To further support this effort, the City of Shoreline is proposing to update the Shoreline Municipal Code (SMC 8.12) to expressly prohibit feeding waterfowl in Shoreline Parks. Code requiring pet waste pickup already exists (SMC 8.12.280).
Human feeding of waterfowl can cause unnatural increases in population size, which leads to larger volumes of feces; result in overfed animals that produce larger volumes of feces; and can cause waterbirds to relocate to the beaches where they are fed, resulting in more feces on beaches where park-goers recreate.
If you would like to provide input on this proposed ordinance, please consider using the comment form below. You can also contact Christie Lovelace, clovelace@shorelinewa.gov with any questions.
Comment form
City council, meeting in closed session: "We're getting a lot of flak about unfettered development, the destruction of the urban tree canopy and the placement of a low-barrier shelter....how about we invent a problem and propose a solution so it looks like we're doing something for the city?" This proposal raises so many questions, from where illicit duck feeding falls on the continuum of city problems to what the plans for enforcement will be....
ReplyDeleteAnonymous was a good choice for someone posting such a stupid comment. If you'd bother to read the article instead of just taking a gratuitous anti-government potshot, you'd see it's a health issue for anybody using the parks. And what's wrong with city government dealing with a problem that actually has a clear solution?
ReplyDelete