Have you checked to see what your local ordinances are? If they are in your favor, handing her a copy might help :)

I'm a total softie when it comes to animals, but I do agree with you as to feeding wildlife in residential neighborhoods...it's rarely appropriate or healthy for animals or humans.

Michigan/DNR

"Methods of Control and Prevention

Elimination of Feeding: Artificial feeding can lead to large concentrations of geese as they congregate for "free handouts." Feeding causes the loss of wild instincts and can lead to nutritional imbalance. Geese also lose their fear of humans when fed, which can lead to abnormal behavior such as aggression towards humans, turning them into "nuisance animals." Communities must work to abolish feeding resident Canada geese. Some local governments have established "no feeding" ordinances."

Update: I called the township this afternoon to see if there is any ordinance in place prohibiting the feeding of geese. No, there is not. The gal said she'd talk to her supervisor and call me back later to see if there is anything that can be done about it and gave me the # to the health department. The health dept. told me to call the state DNR, which I did, and according to them there is no law prohibiting this. So there's really nothing I can do about it unless the township decides to help me out and have a talk w/her, or if things get really bad I suppose I could document the poopage (is that even a word?) via photographs and march those down to the health department in person.

Maybe if you inform her of the ill effects of feeding on the geese she would stop. It doesn't seem like she cares much about the ill effects on your yard.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has determined that there is a significaant sanitary and health hazard associated with accumulations of fecal matter of Canadian geese. You might remind your Health Dept. of that finding, if they are hesitant about stopping the pollution.
Canadian geese are a protected species and regulations are enforced by the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS)
You might check with a nearby office to determine if it is permissible to feed them. The continuous feeding of wild creatures is often prohibited, as it creates a dependency and lack of fear of humans. This often causes the animal to become overly aggressive and attack the hand that feeds them. If you have never been bitten by a goose, then you have avoided a painful experience! Can vouch for that!
Rb

Bird droppings can be a health hazard. My father died from a fungus he got from bird droppings. We breath this fungus in every day and fight it off, but in heavy concentrated areas, and people with auto-immune diseases, people can get it. My mother got avian TB. For these reasons, I don't have any bird feeders or bird baths in the yard. I love watching birds by us, but I don't want a lot of them around.
Good luck MXK on stopping your neighbor from feeding those geese. Call your local paper or tv station. Do a search on diseases you can get from bird droppings and show them. Get pictures too.

Kat

Sometimes you can get those feeder folks classified as "nuisance" causing. I recall some cases in newspapers, where the neighbors complained of the droppings, constant noise, health related, caused by the feeders drawing in quantities of birds. Feeding grains or food, also drew in vermin, rats, opossum, coons, to eat it. BLECKKK

Not sure if a line of orange snow fence would keep the geese out of your yard with the droppings. Geese can be quite nasty, especially where food is involved. They don't die if not fed in winter cold, they migrate some other place.

Staying congregated, they do raise chance of getting diseased. Kind of like the present law against deer baiting. Baiting is not being allowed to prevent spread of disease on the feed. If DNR finds bait piles, you can get a fine and ticketed. Bait piles spread TB, perhaps other things. Animals and birds never congregated in such quantities until people "felt sorry for them" and started the feeding programs. Now the birds are lazy, won't go seek the food on their own.

Good luck to you, keep after the officials.

Mxk3, how much do you like this woman? Her blatant disregard for anything but her getting the warm fuzzies from feeding these nasty things irks the heck out of me.

If the official route doesn't work, please permit me to suggest that you get evil and scoop up piles of those droppings and leave them on her stoop or steps in front of the door, or all along the drive, or just fling shovelfuls of that crap into *her* yard. Then maybe she'll bring herself to care about the **** she's inflicting on all the rest of her neighbors!

Well, it's been over a week since I took "that tone" when speaking to her, and I have seen her out there trying to flag down her flying friends (yes, this wingnut was out there in the yard on the day when it barely got above the 0 mark trying to get them to land). But apart from that day, I haven't seen much of the geese. I have no idea whether she gave up on them (seeing as how they don't heed her signals LOL!) or whether she took my complaint to heart. I really don't care why she seems to have stopped, I'm just pleased that for now there is a respite from all those geese. I hope it stays that away....if not, I'm armed and ready with my camera to document everything.

Thanks for the all the advice, I'll update if anything more happens (oh geez I hope not!)

Buy her a puppy? Or more realistically, leave fliers from the local animal shelter in her mailbox with pictures of the cute kitties and puppies who need love? Maybe it she had a better object she would stop it with the web-footed rats.

She *does* take care of dogs!! She volunteers with local animal rescue groups (in fact, years ago she set me up with the group where I got my Lab), and she pet-sits and dog walks for folks in the neighborhood. Her dogs died, and she doesn't want another one right now - not exactly sure why. She is a nice woman and she really loves animals, but she doesn't doesn't seem to get it regarding the ducks/geese. Well, like I said, it's been quiet out there for a few days......

There was an issue about this locally in my paper. Another take on this is if she's going to feed the ducks, she needs to be feeding them the right stuff (not bread) and be committed to doing it all season otherwise the ducks become dependent on the food and will not migrate as morz8 states. If she stops feeding them, they could starve to death. Since she loves animals, you could spin it this way and appeal to her that she's really not doing them any favors. Does she have birdfeeders? You may want to give her a few to get her started. If she loves birds so much, she should be feeding wild birds - not ducks or geese. That could be just as satisfying and the start of a new hobby.

Sorry, but I believe she should have the right to feed birds on her property.

But then, you should have the right to turn your dog (or maybe a pellet gun) loose on them when they trespass into your yard.