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new and good practices. As a consequence of this situation, we have come up with Ecological <br /> Advocacy Committee (EAC). We are trying to come up with a series of best practices. As a <br /> naturalist and a historian I'm going through and thinking about all the best practices from the <br /> past. One hundred(100) years ago, if you saw a bird of prey or any kind of predator,the best <br /> practice was to shoot it on spot. That was the best practice because they would eat the farmer's <br /> food and humans needed the food. We now know better and that isn't a good idea. We actually <br /> kind of messed up the food chain by doing that, without knowing it. In the 1940s, the best <br /> practice was to take DDT and spray it all over the plants of food to kill all the insects on them. <br /> We learned that by doing that we actually messed up the ecosystem. It killed all the things that <br /> eat everything else in the food chain. We actually learned a lot about the food chain around that <br /> time. As late as the 1950s and early 1960s, the best practice was to have all our toilets go into the <br /> St. Joseph River. The river was our sewer. At the time,that was the best practice. So what we are <br /> trying to do is get away from bad practices and I think it is something that evolves with time as <br /> we get smarter. It is a dynamic thing. <br /> Mr. Harrington then gave an account of his personal life growing up in South Bend and feeding <br /> the ducks. He grew and learned more and realized the effect of him doing so. <br /> Mr. Harrington continued,At Leeper Park, what we have is a totally unnatural ecosystem. There <br /> is nothing natural about it. It is essentially an impoundment. A lot of them can't fly and can't <br /> evade predators, so they are just stuck there. There are a multitude of problems that come from <br /> feeding the ducks. It is not only bad for the people, but it is bad for the ducks. There are also <br /> many different diseases associated with ducks and geese. When they are fed bread, twinkies, and <br /> donuts, it is alien junk food to them. They need protein and they get that from aquatic plants, <br /> seeds and insects. They are not getting that here. This causes a whole host of issues. Dependency <br /> on people is also not a good thing because they can become aggressive. It is not a good thing <br /> when animals lose the natural fear they have associated with people. That is what is happening <br /> with these ducks and geese. Dogs could also eat the duck and geese feces and get sick with some <br /> of the diseases. The water contamination is also a big problem because there are so many ducks <br /> in such a small pond. The E-Coli and chloroform bacteria levels are incredibly high. <br /> Mr. Harrington then scrolled through a presentation (which is available in the City Clerk's <br /> Office)that showed pictures supplementing all the aforementioned issues. <br /> Mr. Harrington concluded, There needs to be signage and a campaign that encourages people to <br /> stop feeding the ducks and geese. <br /> Mr. Perri followed up, This is merely a conversation and these proposed plans are not scheduled <br /> to take effect until 2018. <br /> Committeemember Oliver Davis asked, What will be done with the ducks and geese that live <br /> there now? <br /> Mr. Perri answered, Between the Potawatomi Zoo and the Water Foul Rehabilitator,we would <br /> try to find places where they would survive. <br /> 3 <br />