New signs at Pioneer Park in Walla Walla on March 29, 2023, warn parkgoers not to feed the ducks.

WALLA WALLA — Feeding gaggles of geese and paddlings of ducks may be a popular activity for visitors to Walla Walla’s Pioneer Park, but city officials say it’s getting out of hand.

A new message board installed in March broadcasts the policy that Parks and Recreation Director Andy Coleman said has been in place for years: Do not feed ducks, geese and squirrels at the park.

The sign is meant to increase awareness among visitors to the park, which has an outdoor duck pond and an enclosed aviary.

“We haven’t been getting compliance at the level we’d like to see it,” he said. “I know everyone enjoys feeding those types of animals, but the concerns and some of the issues it raises just aren’t healthy for (the animals) or for the other users of the park.”

Dropping a handful of corn or bird seed attracts the animals, and that’s part of the problem.

The birds don’t land just for that handful. They stick around and wait for it, leading to overpopulation and an increase in excrement with potential public health issues, Coleman said.

“Our population of geese continues to grow, and they don’t migrate like they used to because there’s plenty of food to keep them around,” he said. “With all the feces they produce, it could be considered a public health issue.”

Though he didn’t have numbers, Coleman said the city has seen an overpopulation of ducks and squirrels, too. This can have an environmental impact.

“The more we feed them, the more they’re encouraged to just stay there, and they may damage trees,” he said of the squirrels.

The foods people bring to feed the animals, like bread, also aren’t healthy for wildlife, and geese, specifically, can be aggressive toward people and pets, Coleman added.

He said there won’t be any penalties for those who continue to feed the wildlife — there are no state laws or city codes that offer a method for penalty, he said — but the city is asking for the public’s cooperation.

“There’s lots of other activities out there,” he said. “Go view (the animals), whether it’s at Pioneer Park or somewhere else, but refrain from feeding them,” he said.