WASHINGTON – Federal authorities are taking action today to remove more than 750 geese from the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and protect New York City airports from bird strikes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week issued its final decision to adopt their final environmental impact study laying out a combination of lethal and non-lethal methods for reducing the risk of bird strikes at JFK Airport. The Interior Department moved forward today with the removal of these birds that pose a risk to public safety. The announcement comes after Gillibrand pushed the USDA to expedite this final decision, and in a phone conversation, she had urged Interior Secretary Salazar to quickly issue new permits for the removal of geese from the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge immediately upon this formal acceptance of the study. The feds are now taking action today to mitigate the Canada geese during the critical molting period when they are flightless. 

“We could not afford to sit back and wait for a catastrophe to occur before cutting through bureaucratic red tape between federal agencies,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). “We are finally taking action to help reduce bird strikes and save lives. I thank Secretary Salazar for his leadership in moving this process forward.”

Last month, Gillibrand also requested the expedited removal of 200 geese at two landfill areas along the Jamaica Bay shoreline, which the Interior Department had the existing authority to carry out and was able to complete two weeks ago. Gillibrand introduced federal legislation in May to reduce bird strikes that was adopted into the underlying 2012 Farm Bill which passed the Agriculture Committee.

Since the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ in 2009 where US Airways Captain Sully Sullenberger made a heroic water landing protecting the lives of all 155 passengers and crew onboard shortly after taking off from LaGuardia Airport due to a bird strike, the problem has not been fully addressed by federal authorities. In April 2012, a Los Angeles-bound Delta Airlines flight was forced into an emergency return to JFK Airport shortly after takeoff due to bird strike. According to news reports, LaGuardia and JFK airports saw increases in bird strikes of 28% and 53%, respectively, between 2009 and 2011. 

After the heroic landing of Capt. Sully Sullenberger, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Park Service vowed to address the public safety problem posed by Canada geese residing at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. More than three years later, the problem continued to pose safety risks to flights departing New York airports.