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Alpena concludes final goose hunt of the year

ALPENA, Mich. — For the fifth year in a row, Alpena city officials decided it was necessary to hold a goose hunt in order to deal with the population and the problems they bring. Feathers and droppings along bike paths and athletic fields are what’s left behind when hordes of these birds walk through.

Thursday was the third and final hunt of the year. Two groups of hunters, one at Mich-e-ke-wis Park, and one at the Alpena County Fairgrounds managed to bring in 52 geese. Building Official Donald Gilmet said he’s confident most of the birds shot were from the area. “I would say that over 50 of them would have been local geese,” he said. “I say that because they’re different. The local geese are in their little family groups where you might see anywhere from four to eight geese hanging around together. Those are the local geese that were born here. That’s our target.”

Both hunting locations were off limits to the public for the duration of the hunt. Barricades were set up to deter anyone from being nearby the hunters. Some residents were concerned about the firing of weapons in close proximity to populated areas. Gilmet said the proper precautions were taken so no one was in danger. “Safety is paramount,” he said. “Nobody shoots a gun when there’s anybody around, and the direction of fire is always in a safe direction. There’s never any guns fired back towards 11th avenue.” A sergeant with the Alpena City Police was also patrolling the river to make sure no one would be in the line of fire.

There were 122 total geese taken throughout the three hunts. Gilmet says that’s a success in his book. “The goal is just to have Canada geese, but not have as big a concentration, because the bigger the concentration of geese the bigger the concentration of what they leave behind when they hit the water for the night. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of accomplishing that goal over the past five years.”

As for the dispatched geese, nothing will go to waste as the hunters and their families will take them home for food.