SEA aims to keep geese off the North Shore

Fans aren’t the only ones who sometimes make a mess on the North Shore.

Canada geese are leaving their mark as well. And the Pittsburgh-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority is renewing its efforts to combat it.

SEA board members awarded a three-year agreement Thursday to the Geese Police of Western Pennsylvania to prevent the birds from, um, fouling up the North Shore riverfront park with their droppings.

“It’s all over the sidewalk. It’s all over the grass. It makes biking difficult,” said Morgan Hanson, the authority’s solicitor. “The amount of droppings is substantial. We’re not talking small amounts.”

And if it’s not the pooping, it’s the pecking.

Mr. Hanson said he has been accosted by geese while jogging on the North Shore riverfront trail.

SEA officials have been contracting with the Geese Police since 2015 to try to rein in the geese. The company uses border collies to coax the geese away from the park and into the air or the water. The dogs do not chase the birds — rather, they use an intimidating stare to move the geese along.

The goal is to make the geese so uneasy that they will think twice about returning to the lawns and sidewalks along the riverfront.

It’s hard to say whether the number of geese flocking to the

North Shore has been increasing or declining. But Mary Conturo, SEA executive director, said the Geese Police team has been effective in doing its job since being hired five years ago.

“They just keep it under control better than if we didn’t use them,” she said.

Ms. Bowen said the biggest obstacle the company faces is not proliferation but people feeding the geese. That not only is unhealthy for the birds, it keeps them coming back hoping for more.

“They’re effectively calling them in,” she said.

The SEA contract typically runs from March to December. Work is suspended from June 15 to July 21 during the flightless molting season, when the birds’ feathers are falling off and new ones are growing in. Under state regulation, dog owners are banned from allowing their pets to chase or harass geese during that period.

Geese Police generally visits the North Shore three to four times a day in the spring. It varies the times each day so the creatures don’t become comfortable with the schedule.

Having geese overrun the area is more than a nuisance. It can be a health issue.

A Canada goose can generate three pounds of fecal matter daily. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many germs in those droppings can infect humans, including E. coli and Salmonella.

SEA board member Nicholas Futules, a county councilman, wondered whether there were alternatives to Geese Police contract, which would pay up to $52,000 over three years. The county, he said, has used other methods to control the geese population in its facilities and parks, including concussion horns.

“That may be a better solution than spending $18,000 a year on a dog running through a park. It seems a bit out of realm,” he said.

The SEA, Ms. Conturo explained, had tried using noise only to find that the geese got use to it. Treating the grass to make it unappetizing to eat “didn’t work after awhile, either.”

The board also approved a three-year agreement Thursday with Montore Building Services LLC, also known as the Squeegee Squad, to provide powerwashing and maintenance in the park. The contract will pay up to $13,000 a year.

In other actions, the board approved:

• Up to $524,033 in reimbursements to the Pirates for PNC Park projects involving cleaning the facade, carpet replacement, tunnel flooring, and stair painting. The money comes from a capital reserve fund financed mainly through ticket surcharges.

• Up to $169,802 in reimbursements to the Steelers for change orders relating to fire alarm, sprinkler piping, and concrete and sealant repair projects at Heinz Field. As at PNC Park, the money is taken from a capital reserve account funded largely through ticket surcharges.