The city council gave the Fort Pierre, S.D., golf course the green light to allow the discharge of firearms to protect the greens from geese. The resolution stipulates that hunters cannot fire within 200 yards of other property, narrowing down the designated hunting area to the 10th fairway.
The city council has approved goose hunting on Dunes Golf Course in Fort Pierre, S.D., the Pierre (S.D.) Capital Journal reported.
The resolution to allow discharge of firearms was requested by Dunes owner Cullan Deis as a way to protect his golf course, particularly the greens, from geese, the Journal reported.
“I’ve seen them wipe out a whole green over a winter,” Deis said.
Deis has taken precautions to ensure public safety, and said he limits hunters to the 10th fairway. Public Works Director Brad Lawrence added that hunters cannot fire within 200 yards of other houses or property, and that the only place on the course that fits that bill is the 10th fairway, the Journal reported.
In a cover letter to the council, Deis explained that he spoke to neighbors of the golf course and heard support from the community, the Journal reported.
Councilman Larry Cronin, who voted against the resolution, said he still worries about the safety of hunting in city limits. “There are other ways to keep geese off a golf course,” Cronin said.
Deis has tried other forms of warding off goose depredation, including shooting agricultural fireworks to scare the geese away. While these can deter the geese from an area, the geese eventually get used to the fireworks and return, he told the council.
“It’s good for revenue and it keeps the geese from eating me out of house and home,” Deis said.
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