A family of geese at Buckeye Park in Marietta.

We have a lot of parks in the area that offer great views of the Ohio, Muskingum and Little Kanawha rivers. Wide paved paths offer area residents opportunities to take a stroll under large shade trees that hug the banks of the river.

Just watch where you step. You are not alone.

The park that you love might also be home to a large group of Canada geese. There is a good chance ithey left a little something for you on the sidewalk, so be careful.

Like a group of bullies on a grade school playground, sometimes it feels like geese have taken over some areas. In some instances, they have.

During the 1800s, too much hunting, wetland destruction and egg harvesting led to the Canada geese being nearly extinct in Ohio. It was rare to see one anywhere in the state.

In 1956, the Ohio Division of Wildlife began a program to reintroduce them to the state. Dozens of breeding pairs were placed in state-controlled wetland areas, and federal and state regulations were enacted.

The honking large bird rebounded quickly. By 1979 geese had nested in half of Ohio’s 88 counties. Today they can be found nesting in every one of them. The population is estimated to be more than 100,000 statewide.

In our area, geese can be broken into two groups. Migrating geese that just stop long enough to rest, and resident geese that live here year-round and can be found along areas with water and manicured lawns. We have miles of such areas in our area including the spaces around Marietta’s River Trail and Parkersburg Ohio River Trail. Unlike a lot of birds, geese eat grass and these areas provide an ideal habitat. It is the resident geese that causes the most problems.

In certain areas they have made a complete mess of things and it leaves runners and walkers dodging a virtual minefield as they make their way through.

The issue only gets worse every year. They mate in late February and early March. They lay around 5-6 eggs that are now hatching out, they can be somewhat aggressive while nesting. Next year there will be even more geese.

The geese tend to use the same breeding grounds every year. They have few natural predators and hunting them along a park area is a hard no. They also have a 20-year lifespan.

Signs telling people not to feed them, even coyotes made of plywood have done little to discourage them.

We will, I guess, have to coexist with them. Just watch your step.

Art Smith is online manager of The Marietta Times and The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. He can be reached at asmith@mariettatimes.com