Response to Wildlife Management near CHO Airport
In response to concerns from some homeowners of the Forest Lakes Subdivision, the Charlottesville Albemarle Airport wants the community to fully understand the events leading up to the recent removal of geese within striking distance of airport traffic, generally a 5 mile radius.
Since the 2009 US Airways bird strike incident in LaGuardia, NY the FAA has placed a greater emphasis on airports to manage potential aviation related hazards.”The North American non-migratory Canada goose population alone has increased about 4 fold from 1 million birds in 1990 to over 3.9 million in 2009. About 1,500 Canada Geese strikes with civil aircraft have been reported in the U.S., from 1990-2008. About 42% of these strike events involved multiple birds.”*
After a recent airport inspection from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services, it was found that the Canada Geese population had increased to a point that further mitigation was required at CHO. A flock of geese were even observed crossing the runway approach area flight path.
It was soon decided that it would be necessary to remove geese on and in proximity of the airport on behalf of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The Forest Lakes Homeowners Association agreed to the mitigation plan.
This action was part of an ongoing safety program designed to deal with the issue of wildlife incursions at airports. The removal of the geese is necessary and comes on top of other steps to protect the aviation system. The Airport Authority understands that Canada Geese are a species that many people care about. The concern of a potential hazard to aircraft cannot be ignored however, leaving the USDA no choice but to undertake this action.
Having lived in Hollymead for 19+ years, was the Hollymead Homeowners Association contacted about OUR geese? Those geese nested in our backyard. They brought their babies through our yard to feed. They flew overhead and were beautiful to watch. I’m disturbed that an airport has the authority to regulate what animals are in my backyard. What’s next? If a suspected terrorist lived in a neighborhood, are you going to have everyone in the subdivision jailed to prevent a future event that will never happen? I’m sure it’s useless to complain because it’s obvious you prefer to work under the radar until it’s too late for complaints to make a difference. This disgusts me and the fact that it happened without any public input or relocating the geese is disturbing.