Geese rescued from ice

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

A team effort by the Colorado Division of Wildlife and Poudre Fire Authority saved a couple of domestic geese from becoming a holiday meal for a scavenging bald eagle in December.

The geese were ducks out of water on two fronts. They aren't adapted to live in the wild, and they can't walk on ice.

The geeses' plight began a year ago when someone abandoned them at Watson Lake in Bellvue, no doubt thinking the scenic lake would make a good home.

Bob Upton, assistant manager for the DOW's Bellvue Fish Hatchery, said the geese did well for a year, but this winter the lake froze so quickly they were unable to make their way to open water. Once stranded on ice in the middle of the lake, the geese were unable to fly and unable to waddle. They occasionally flapped their wings, turning around in circles on the ice.

"It's not smart to put domestic geese into a wild area," Upton explained. "There are very few waters in Colorado that stay open in the winter."

In early December, hatchery manager Dave Smeltzer noticed a bald eagle scouting the geese for future prey. Without food or water, the geese would soon weaken enough to make an easy meal, so he called PFA to the rescue.

The firefighters from the LaPorte station quickly joined into the spirit of giving, which also allowed them to practice ice rescue skills.

On the first venture, firefighter Scott Wiggins hooked himself to a tether rope, crawled out to the goose, then pulled out a Stokes litter attached to another rope. He carefully placed a serene goose into the litter, and fellow firefighters pulled them back to shore.

On the next attempt, firefighter Doug McGraw also crawled to the rescue. Crawling distributes a person's weight and reduces the chance of breaking through the ice. Although the second goose was not as happy to see his rescuer, McGraw successfully cradled it in his arms, and his cohorts pulled them in together.

After each rescue, Smeltzer carried the geese to the north end of the lake, which stays open where the river flows in. Within minutes the geese were happily mixing with their wild cousins.

PFA incident commander Tim England deemed it a worthwhile effort. "It's very rare we get an opportunity to help another agency with an unusual situation and get some training, too," he said.