For more than a decade OLMD has managed the nuisance of over population of Canada Geese that make Okauchee Lake their regular residence, never migrating north with most flocks. As a result, OLMD has worked with the state’s Department of Agriculture – Wildlife Services to capture geese in the spring. While this has certainly trimmed the goose population and its nuisance impact over the years, it is also hit and miss, as the geese have an uncanny ability to disappear on the day chosen to mitigate the nuisance.

With those challenges in mind OLMD explored alternatives and has now secured a permit from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to stop the life cycle of geese by oiling eggs before they hatch. This is a simple and safe technique to impact the overabundance of Canada Geese.

Property owners who have noticed a large round or oval goose nest on their property can fill out the form below to identify the location of the nest and give permission to OLMD resources to access the property where the nest is located. Act as soon as you spot a nest, as our permit (and the opportunity to impact the eggs) is in the spring, and the permit does not allow egg oiling after June 30. Of course, you can also alert the OLMD if you wish to revoke that authority for property access.

Our wildlife management is conducted by Arnold Greohler (262-490-9363), a licensed trapper and Wisconsin wildlife enthusiast. Once a nest is identified and permission is confirmed, he can come and oil the eggs to prevent hatchlings which also causes the adults to be more likely to disperse.

You can find a good YouTube description of this activity for Canada Geese egg oiling basics, which is a presentation of the United States Department of Agriculture.
Canada Goose Egg Oiling Basics on YouTube Link

Follow the link below to learn more about identifying goose nests.
Canada Goose Nesting (Location, Eggs + Behavior)