PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 
COMMISSION AGENDA               Item No.      4c 
ACTION ITEM 
Date of Meeting     August 4, 2015 
DATE:    July 27, 2015 
TO:      Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:   Michael Ehl, Director Aviation Operations 
SUBJECT:  Interlocal Agreement for Waterfowl (Canada Goose) Management Program 
Amount of This Request:    $8,920      Source of Funds:  Airport Development Fund 

ACTION REQUESTED 
Request Commission authorization for the Chief Executive Officer to execute a multiagency 
2015-2018 interlocal agreement between the Port of Seattle and United States Department of
Agriculture-Wildlife Services for the Waterfowl (Canada goose) Management Program. The
agreement commits the Port to contribution over four years of $8,920. 
SYNOPSIS 
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's Wildlife Hazard Management Plan (WHMP), a section of
its Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)  approved Airport Certification Manual  (ACM)
requires that the Port of Seattle manage wildlife that is hazardous to aviation safety. The
expectation of the FAA and air carriers is that the airport operator will work to control wildlife
issues on and near the airport out to a distance of over 8 miles in some instances. The Port of
Seattle has been a member of the Seattle Metropolitan Waterfowl Committee (SMWC) for over a
decade. Canada geese and other waterfowl have been documented to impact human health by
contaminating the land and water with their droppings and by posing a serious risk to aviation
safety (USAirways flight 1549, January 2009, Miracle on the Hudson). The SMWC, established
in 1987, is a resource management group with a mission of maintaining manageable numbers of
waterfowl, especially Canada geese  within  primarily  King County. The  United States
Department of Agriculture-Wildlife Services (USDA-WS) will receive funds from each
participating member to continue this long-term management program that includes 
spring/summer population monitoring, egg addling, and removal. 
BACKGROUND 
Since 1976, when the Port of Seattle hired the world's first airport wildlife biologist, the primary
means of protecting aviation safety at the Airport has been and continues to be the identification
and reduction of hazardous wildlife attractants. Recent examples of the Port's dedication to this
strategy are the Airport-Approved Plant List, netting/lining its stormwater ponds, and in October

Template revised May 30, 2013.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
July 27, 2015 
Page 2 of 5 
2014, the closure of the Tyee Valley Golf Course to reduce the attractiveness of the airport's
south end to Canada geese, ducks and gulls. 
In the late 1960s, state biologists brought Canada geese to the Puget Sound area from the
Columbia River basin to expand their range. Since then their numbers have increased to an
estimated 25,000 in the region and 3,000 in the Seattle area. Resident Canada geese have very
few natural predators. Estimates of annual population growth for resident Canada geese are over
10 percent annually even with the existing egg addling program. Today, this species nests earlier
in the year and has expanded its presence to more inaccessible areas. 
PROJECT JUSTIFICATION AND DETAILS 
The objective of the program is to keep the  Table 1. Damaging Aircraft Strikes
population of resident Canada geese at roughly  with Canada Geese at the Airport 
current levels and to keep this resident population
Date     Aircraft   Damage 
from increasing to levels of a decade or more ago
when beaches were closed and hazards to aviation  Nov 22, '00   EMB-120   Moderate 
were substantial. Table 1 illustrates how safety has   Dec 13, '95   B737-300   Moderate 
improved at the Airport  since the SMWC  took  Aug 22, '95  B737-200   Severe 
aggressive steps at reducing Canada geese numbers   Sept 30, '90   B737-300   Moderate 
in the metropolitan area. No damaging strikes with geese at the Airport have occurred since
November 2000. The SMWC has also been successful in eliminating the need to close public
swimming beaches because of dangerously high fecal coliform levels caused by geese in those
waters. 
With the assistance of the USDA-WS, the SMWC members will continue to facilitate an
expanded egg addling program on more public and private lands. USDA-WS will also
implement a program of control subject to the terms and conditions of their permit issued by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the authority of the U.S Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Each
year the USDA-WS provides an annual report to the members of the SMWC which summarize
the number of geese observed, eggs addled, and geese removed during the previous years of the
program. 
Scope of Work 
Using best management practices the USDA-WS will carry out a program using public
education/outreach, population monitoring, egg addling, harassment reinforcement,  and
population reduction methods to help keep their numbers at current levels. They will make every
effort to minimize damage to the surrounding environment and seek as many accessible nesting
areas as possible to do egg addling. Field conditions or changing conditions may increase or
decrease the number of eggs addled and geese removed from previous years' totals. 
Schedule 
The work would be performed between March through August in the years 2015, 2016, 2017,
and 2018.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
July 27, 2015 
Page 3 of 5 
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 
The Port's contribution is $2,230 each year for a total of $8,920 for the entire 4-year term of this
ILA. Twelve agencies each contribute a similar amount to this program. 
Budget Status and Source of Funds 
The funds to support this ILA have been part of the Airport's operating budget for the past
decade. Thus, the funding source is the Airport Development Fund. 
STRATEGIES AND OBJECTIVES 
This agreement supports the Airport's Strategy 1.1 to Operate a world class international airport
by ensuring safe and secure operations. Further, meeting safety standards is a foundational
element of the Port's strategy to meet the region's air transportation needs at Sea-Tac Airport for
the next 25 years. 
The SMWC has a strategy of using public education/outreach, population monitoring, egg
addling, hazing/harassment, harassment reinforcement through removal and population reduction
methods to help keep their numbers at current levels. Utilizing all aspects of this strategy has led
to a high degree of public acceptance and a program that has been successful in maintaining
lower numbers of resident Canada geese in the greater Seattle metropolitan area. Involving an
educational component allows the USDA-WS to provide technical assistance on how to reduce
the attractiveness of an area to geese and how to mitigate damages caused by them. Hazing and
harassment can be effective in reducing their presence in localized areas for short periods. Once
accustomed to harassment methods, a measured use of removal is needed to re-instill the
fright/flight response. Population monitoring through formal surveys and public comment
indicates the issues with geese are expanding geographically and cannot be effectively managed
using egg addling and harassment alone. For the program to be effective the annual population
surveys and the employment of the other hazard reduction strategies should continue. 
TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE 
Economic Development 
Impacts to the economy related to aviation safety and the use of recreational areas to the public
are not impacted as a result of the Port of Seattle continuing as a participant of this ILA. 
Environmental Responsibility 
It is also the Port's responsibility to be a member of any regional efforts to assist with managing 
Canada geese in a manner that does not negatively impact the environment by having too many
or too few Canada geese in the region. This is also in the best interest of aviation safety. 
Community Benefits 
Continuing to be a signatory of this ILA supports the Sea-Tac WHMP (FAA regulations) and
Seattle/King County Board of Public Health's unanimous decision to adopt the June 2000

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
July 27, 2015 
Page 4 of 5 
resolution to curb Canada geese populations in Western Washington. The resolution states in
part: "the accumulation of goose feces . . . presents a public health concern throughout the
region due to increased risk of exposure to disease organisms by humans who come into contact
with the feces . . . Canada goose feces contain disease  -causing organisms which include
salmonella, giardia and cryptosporidium." 
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED 
Alternative 1)  No Action. This is not the recommended alternative. 
Pros: 
The Port would save several thousand dollars annually. 
Cons: 
Sea-Tac Airport would not be in compliance with: 
o  CFR FAR 139.337 Wildlife Hazard Management 
o  FAR 139 Airport Operating Certificate Requirements  to comply with FAA
approved Wildlife Hazard Management Plan 
o  FAA Advisory Circular 150/5200-33B Hazardous Wildlife Attractants On or
Near Airports. 
Alternative 2)  Embark on a new effort to manage Canada geese numbers more locally with
only those entities lying within 8 miles of the Airport.  This is not the
recommended alternative. 
Pros: 
The Airport would remain in compliance FAA mandates as it is today. 
Cons: 
Resident Canada geese can easily travel over 8 miles a day meaning a more regional
approach to managing geese in King County would still be needed. 
A duplicative outreach program and ILA with some of the same municipalities would
likely not benefit the Port. 
The regional effectiveness of the SMWC would likely be weakened by concurrent
Port efforts to create another waterfowl management group. 
The goose management work would still be implemented through a USDA-WS
contract, but at a higher cost than it is today. 
As in past years, the Port may experience some minor negative public reaction by
those individuals not fully understanding the benefits of a long-term wildlife damage
management program such as the one the SMWC has designed and has asked the Port 
to execute via the attached ILA. 
Alternative 3)  (Status quo) Execute the 4-year ILA; the 1-year ILA executed annually by the
Port in previous years no longer exists.  This is the recommended
alternative. 
Pros: 
The Airport would remain in compliance with FAA mandates as it is today.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
July 27, 2015 
Page 5 of 5 
Goose management issues on the Port's Marine Division properties can also be more
easily addressed via this ILA when they arise there. 
The SMWC can better maintain its effectiveness at keeping the resident, nonmigratory
Canada goose population at acceptable levels. 
Programs that work to control animal populations gradually over the long-term result
in fewer individuals being removed in total compared to the reactive approach of
responding when the population has grown exponentially for many consecutive years 
and after the damage has occurred. 
Cons: 
As in past years, the Port may experience some minor negative public reaction by
those individuals not fully understanding the benefits of a long-term wildlife damage
management program such as the one the SMWC has designed and has asked the Port
to execute via the ILA. 
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REQUEST 
2015-2018 ILA for Waterfowl (Canada Goose) Management Program 
2015 Cooperative Service Field Agreement between the Port of Seattle and the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service,
Wildlife Services 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS 
None.