LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The geese and ducks have been blamed for the concentration of nutrients in water and lawns. Around Lake Daylesford, stormwater run-off is significant but to lay blame on them is unjustified.
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When walking around the lake, I have seen algal blooms but not near the areas where the geese and ducks congregate.
Instead of blaming them for the destruction of lake vegetation, I think the council needs to look at itself.
Three years ago, it destroyed sections of lake vegetation, leaving piles of trees and plants lying on the edge of the lake.
Neither the Council Plan 2019/20 nor the Biodiversity Strategy outlined a rationale for the removal of the geese and ducks at Lake Daylesford.
The Biodiversity Strategy actually commits the Council to "protect, enhance and restore biodiversity across the Shire."
For the council to make the decision to remove the geese in the manner that it did, without community consultation and being pushed through at a meeting in Clunes, is indicative of a few vested interests having sway over the council.
A council document mentions "individual conversations with key stakeholders" in the week of July 15. Shouldn't these have included the whole community, as the lake is a Daylesford treasure valued by all?
The first Alla Wolf-Tasker heard was when she was contacted by a media outlet on the day of the council meeting and asked for her comment.
The geese have been living around Lake House for decades, yet no one bothered to contact her.
The word 'pristine' has been used to describe the desired outcome for Lake Daylesford.
Given its history with mining, market gardens, housing development, tourism, cars and people, the lake has never been a pristine environment.
I am vehemently opposed to the council's decision and believe it needs to reconsider.
Dianne Sharpe, Daylesford.
