News release: Parks Department Removing Geese at Legion Park Pond.
Starting the week of December 16th the city of Sidney Parks Department will begin using handheld pyrotechnics to remove geese from the Legion Park Pond.
During the summer of 2023 and 2024 City Parks experienced a massive fish kill in the city pond. With the assistance of Nebraska Game and Parks, it was determined that a period of cloudy days lead to the fish being starved for oxygen. Large flocks of geese use the open water of the pond in the winter. They leave behind an excessive build-up of nitrogen and other nutrients. These nutrients deposited by large numbers of waterfowl allow the fast growth of algae. When extended cloud cover comes along, the algae dies back. As part of the decay process oxygen levels in the water plummet. Then the pond fish suffocate for lack of oxygen.
City of Sidney Parks Department will be removing the extensive numbers of geese with handheld pyrotechnics. These handheld pyrotechnics create loud noises within Legion Park to keep geese off the pond, trails, and the baseball fields. This product is recommended by Nebraska Game and Parks to haze geese out of recreational areas. The timing would occasionally be during the day to disburse the flocks. Generally, the Parks Department would apply the loud noises to keep the geese away when they try to land and roost on the pond around sunset.