WETM showing once again they’re right on top of things:

As for what happened to the birds after they were removed, Mayor Mandell said the meat was donated to a local food bank.

At least they answered the one question I had....LOL

https://www.mytwintiers.com/news-cat/local-news/more-than-200-geese-euthanized-at-eldridge-park-over-health-concerns/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTUy3lleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETF4emJUMFBzdmN3ZERMZ3NRc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHgPPTDm7QpOPR-E8HtivDQntLsJ1MNam-GJgVDPgDzQED1MGVwimglsgWBbX_aem_6wfDX-Gtevfjg37SNpOhCw

44 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

At least they answered the one question I had....LOL

Well the meat didn’t go to waste, that’s a good thing. Here’s what caught my eye:

We go so often that they recognized our car.

Which is, in part, what led to their being rounded up and killed. The old saying, “A fed bear is a dead bear,” doesn’t only apply to our ursine neighbors.

1 hour ago, Chris said:

Well the meat didn’t go to waste, that’s a good thing. Here’s what caught my eye:

Which is, in part, what led to their being rounded up and killed. The old saying, “A fed bear is a dead bear,” doesn’t only apply to our ursine neighbors.

That's exactly what I though. They were part of the problem

This article, from The Conversation, is both interesting and timely.

The following was posted to social media by For The Love Of Finn, a wildlife rehabilitation facility in Wellsburg:

Over the past several days, many of us have experienced a wide range of emotions over what happened at Eldridge Park. The loss of those 250 geese has left people heartbroken, frustrated, and asking what can be done moving forward.

Today, I had the opportunity to meet with a couple of the members of the Eldridge Park Society to begin talking about one very important question:

Where do we go from here?

The reality is that we cannot change what has already happened. We can only decide what happens next.

One thing became very clear during our conversation: everyone wants to see a healthy park where people and wildlife can coexist. The challenge now is figuring out how we get there and how we prevent ourselves from ever reaching a point where such a difficult situation happens again.

The geese will return. Wildlife will continue to be part of Eldridge Park. If we don't take action, we risk finding ourselves facing the same challenges again.

So instead of asking, "What should have happened?" I think we need to start asking:

What can we do moving forward?

I am looking to put together an Eldridge Park Community Stewardship Group—a group of people who are willing to learn, listen, research, and work toward solutions that support the future of the park.

This is not about pointing fingers. This is not about continuing to argue about what happened. This is about understanding, collaboration, and action.

Our first step will be learning.

We need to tour the park, understand how it operates, learn who owns and manages the different areas, understand the challenges, and look at all the pieces involved. Every part of this matters. Without understanding the full picture, we cannot develop effective solutions.

From there, we will research what has worked in other communities, connect with people who have experience with successful programs, brainstorm ideas, and look for common ground.

And brainstorming means exactly that—ideas are welcome. We don't dismiss ideas before they are explored. We look for the common themes, the possibilities, and the solutions that can realistically move us forward.

Then we bring those ideas together with the people who manage the park and the City, and we work toward solutions that make sense.

This will take people willing to put in the work.

It will take education.

It will take volunteers.

It will take research.

It will take creativity, collaboration, and commitment.

I'm looking for people who want to turn their concern into action. People who are willing to learn, listen, share ideas, and help create a better future for Eldridge Park, Elmira, and our future generations.

If you are interested in being part of the Eldridge Park Community Stewardship Group, please send me a message at 4theloveoffinn@gmail.com or text 607-215-2124. My name is Lori Wheeler for those of you who may not know.

This is how communities solve problems—not by walking away, but by coming together, understanding the challenges, and doing the work.

Let's take a difficult situation and use it as an opportunity to create something better—for our park, our community, and the wildlife that shares it with us.

With as many people out there in social media land that had opinions and want something to be done about this, they should have no problem getting a group together.

21 minutes ago, Chris said:

With as many people out there in social media land that had opinions and want something to be done about this, they should have no problem getting a group together.

I'm sure they will have a few. Most in social media land don't want to actually help if it means stepping away from the keyboard. They would rather just voice their opinions and ideas on FB. Some of them are dumb. I will say that the rehab lady has fielded the dummies quite well.

Honestly if I see one more person say "it's illegal!" "They are protected!" "Everyone who was involved should go to jail!" It's the USDA FFS. They going to arrest themselves?

Lawd, do your research. Only protected in as much as you have to wait until hunting season to shoot them. When I explained this to one lady, gave her the dates and told her they could shoot 15 a day during that season, she about lost her mind. If you do the math, that's a lot of geese. It took multiple people giving her the DEC website links which I doubt she looked at, but she did skulk away. lol.

1 hour ago, KarenK said:

Some of them are dumb.

“Some” is being pretty forgiving.

For every one voice of reason, there are a dozen irrational idiots.

Aside from deciding that killing "protected" birds is "illegal".....after Mandell made the statement about food bank donation, they've also decided that it's illegal to donate game meat. 🙄

5 hours ago, MsKreed said:

For every one voice of reason, there are a dozen irrational idiots.

Aside from deciding that killing "protected" birds is "illegal".....after Mandell made the statement about food bank donation, they've also decided that it's illegal to donate game meat. 🙄

LOL. They missed the Food Bank begging for venison donations every year I guess.