Columnist Susan Snyder: Waterfowl feeding has ripple effect

Friday, March 12, 2004 | 8:33 a.m.

The biggest threats to Desert Shores waterfowl bear bags of bread crumbs.

Well-meaning people come on foot or arrive by car to feed the ducks, coots, cormorants, swans and other birds that live along shorelines of the northwest community's four man-made lakes.

The people love these birds -- maybe to death.

In response to residents' complaints about plant damage, large quantities of bird droppings and dead ducks in the roads, the five-member Desert Shores Homeowners Association board met with wildlife officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for advice on how to rid the community of the problem.

"We gave them some options and said we would sit down and work up a management plan with them," said Darren Williams, the USDA wildlife official who attended the January meeting. "But we have had no further contact with them."

One option discussed -- a last resort used only when other methods fail -- called for sedating and euthanizing the unwanted birds. The suggestion sparked a barrage of angry phone calls, letters, petitions and neighborhood protest signs. Some signs likened board members to "Nazis," Rita Peterson, Desert Shores Community Association manager, said.

"I have a file full of anonymous letters. I got a letter on my desk from PETA this morning," she said Wednesday. (PETA stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.)

In a letter to be circulated among residents today, Desert Shores board members say they are waiting to see whether the birds will leave if people stop feeding them.

"Feeding is an enormous problem," said Amy LaVoir, a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "We're attracting much larger numbers of waterfowl because we have provided water, shelter and food that wouldn't exist otherwise."

Water birds are nesting in the Las Vegas urban valley, hatching offspring and becoming too numerous because we've made the desert too inviting.

Artificial lakes, lush vegetation and golf courses lure the birds. Bread crumbs from people make them stay. It's a problem everywhere, not just in Desert Shores, wildlife officials said.

As long as we place wildlife habitat where it did not previously exist, we will have problems with the wildlife that chooses to live there. Remove this year's ducks and coots, and others will be along next year to replace them.

LaVoir said people should use opaque swimming pool covers, refrain from leaving pet food outdoors and shoo away wild birds that seem to be moving in.

"It is a significant problem in the Las Vegas Valley," she said. "A lot of people just want us to come in and get them out of their yards."

And do what with them? Artificial environments create unrealistic expectations for everyone.

I visited Desert Shores Wednesday and parked next to Lake Maddison and read a sign that says, "Please do not swim, dive or feed the birds."

More than 40 ducks and coots swarmed around my ankles, looking for a handout.

It's sad when wildlife ceases to be wild. The anonymous callers crying foul are absolutely right. It's not fair at all.

But the birds aren't the ones we should expect to know better.