Politics & Government

Goose Hunt at Lake Ronkonkoma?

Advisory committee weighs wildlife/fishing issues in water.

Representatives from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Suffolk County Department of Health spoke to the Lake Ronkonkoma Advisory Board Wednesday night at the William H. Rogers Suffolk County Legislature Building about various issues pertaining to the lake.

As the process of revitalizing the lake progresses, members of agencies will be presenting data to the committee in regards to the environment and its surroundings.

Geese seemed to be the major topic of discussion Wednesday: the amount, the bacteria they leave from their excrement and the potential extrication of them from the lake.

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New York State Assemblywoman Ginny Fields said the average goose leaves about seven pounds of excrement a day. Multiply that by the amount of geese that call Lake Ronkonkoma their daily bath, spa, or hangout and that's a multitude of bacteria. 

The Town of Islip uses a boarder collie approach to rid geese from their side of the lake, but the downfall comes when they hang around the Town of Smithtown and Brookhaven portions. Suffolk County Legislator John M. Kennedy Jr., the chair of the advisory committee, said he will contact Town of Islip Supervisor Phil Nolan to learn more about the program and see about the possibility of the other town governments getting involved.

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Kevin Kanakos, one of the brains behind the proposed Lake Walk Tour, mentioned the idea of sterilizing the geese, which would decrease the amount of them over time. It would involve them ingesting something with the necessary ingredients.

Kennedy and Fields said all options will be considered, "but anything we attempt has to be so cheap that it's free," she said.

Or, she added, "we could have a goose hunt," eluding to the game Duck Hunt.

Charles Guthrie, a regional fisheries manager for the DEC, said his organization will be taking a survey of the lake's bass count this year. He also said Long Island Bass Masters has been adding 1,200 bass a year since 2007 to increase the amount in hopes of hosting an event in the future and getting more fisherman to use the waterway.

The committee will meet again May 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the same location.


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