Rough River Dam State Resort Park Beach Closed. Here’s the Real Reason!

Late last week Rough River Dam State Resort Park posted to their Facebook page they would be closing the beach due to "natural circumstances".  Lots of feathers were ruffled and for good reason.  Here's what we know.

IT'S A GREAT BEACH

Angel here and our own roving reporter Dave Spencer broke the news that Rough River Dam State Resort Park Beach would be closed to visitors for the rest of the summer.  The park is open to guests of the resort and even the public.  It's a great beach and so much fun.  There is sand and allows for folks to layout, have a picnic, and kids can even play at the park.

WINGS AND WATER A RECIPE FOR DISASTER

I had the opportunity to talk with Parks Director, Michael Ricks, who told me the main reason for the beach closure was due to a very large flock of geese migrating to the area around 200 birds.  They have made the beach their summer home and don't seem to have any plans of moving on for the time being.  The geese are like little teenagers making messes all over the place and not cleaning up after themselves.  This has caused an even bigger sanitary problem.   Earlier in the season-high water was noted as an issue.

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WHAT'S THE PLAN OF ACTION

Mr. Ricks told us the geese are a protected species and moving them is going to be more complicated.  The biggest issue according to wildlife-removal.com is;

The trouble with Canada geese is that they usually return to the same locations annually. It is very difficult to trap and relocate them; they will just return again. The best way to get rid of Canada geese is to make them want to leave on their own. This is no easy task. Geese are protected under a migratory bird law, and you are limited in what you can do to remove them from your property. You cannot kill a Canada goose. This means you cannot shoot one, poison one, lethally trap one, or bludgeon one to death (heaven forbid!). Even if you could get close enough to harass one, they are incredibly aggressive and protective birds, and they would likely retaliate. Harassment techniques are allowed, and they can range anywhere from sound cannons to barking dogs. This type of harassment does work—if only for a little while. Birds exposed to sound cannons will fly off, but they will eventually return. The problem with mechanical sound makers is that the geese get use to them, rendering them totally ineffectual. Dogs can be a huge help, but a dog can only be outside and harassing geese for a certain amount of time. Once the dog leaves, the geese will return.

The park is working on a plan of removal but they have not released it at this time.  They want to make sure they don't run into the issue again in years to come.