DATE: August 4, 2025
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Stefan Chatwin, City Manager
Marlene Subhashini, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Derek Schweigart, Parks and Recreation Director
Frank Fanara, Parks Manager
DEPARTMENT: Parks and Recreation
SUBJECT: AGREEMENT WITH WILDLIFE INNOVATIONS, INC. FOR
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTEGRATED ADAPTIVE CANADA
GOOSE MANAGEMENT PLAN
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a Resolution:
1. Authorizing the Mayor to execute an agreement with Wildlife Innovations, Inc. for the implementation of the Integrated Adaptive Canada Goose Management Plan in an amount not to exceed $389,840 for the first year of a pilot program that includes an initial period from August 2025 through June 2026, with the option for two one-year extensions;
2. Approving a 10% continency ($38,984) with authorization given to the City Manager for contract amendments up to the contingency amount, for a total cost of up to $428,824; and
3. Approving a supplemental budget appropriation of $383,824 for fiscal year 2025- 2026 from the General Fund reserve (001-0000-295-5002). These funds will be combined with $45,000 currently in the Parks Maintenance contractual budget (001-0521-451-4251) for geese mitigation to fund the total cost of up to $428,824.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City continues to experience significant impacts from its resident Canada Goose (CAGO) population, including turf degradation, fecal accumulation in parks, compromised lagoon water quality, and increased ongoing maintenance costs. In 2023, the City initiated development of an Integrated Adaptive Canada Goose Management Plan (Plan). The Plan was approved by the Council on December 2, 2024, alongside adopting the Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND), with all findings and standard conditions of approval and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Following approval of the Plan, the City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in early 2025 to identify a qualified firm to implement a Pilot Program for CAGO population management. Only one qualified proposal was received, and its cost exceeded expectations while omitting several critical elements. As a result, on April 21, 2025, the City Council directed staff to reject all bids and reissue the RFP with an expanded scope. The revised scope aims to improve program reach and effectiveness and attract a more competitive pool of respondents.
The revised RFP was advertised on May 30, 2025, and two (2) proposals were received. After evaluation, staff recommends awarding an agreement to Wildlife Innovations, Inc. (WI) for pilot implementation in the seven (7) priority parks identified in the Plan from August 2025 through June 2026. The pilot will deploy integrated deterrent strategies, monitor effectiveness, and inform long-term management of the CAGO population.
BACKGROUND
The City has long relied on non-lethal mitigation strategies to reduce conflicts with Canada geese, including egg addling, visual and audio deterrents, and regular power washing of impacted park areas. However, these efforts have provided only limited and temporary relief as the resident goose population has continued to grow, creating persistent issues across Foster City’s park system and waterfront areas.
On February 6, 2023, the City Council approved an agreement with WI (City Resolution No. 2023-16) to prepare an Integrated Adaptive Canada Goose Management Plan and complete all necessary CEQA documentation. The Plan focused on developing a comprehensive approach to reducing the impacts of geese which included analyzing local population impacts, reviewed applicable federal and state regulations and evaluated effective practices in comparable jurisdictions. It identified humane, adaptive, and scalable strategies tailored to Foster City’s conditions, including habitat modification, deterrents, public education, and long-term monitoring.
Following a public hearing on December 2, 2024, the City Council adopted the Plan and associated IS/MND and MMRP under CEQA. The Plan calls for only non-lethal measures to be implemented as well as habitat modification. The Plan recommends a phased implementation, beginning with a focused pilot program in parks experiencing the most significant goose-related impacts.
On February 3, 2025, the City Council authorized staff to issue an RFP to retain professional services for implementation of the pilot project that would focus on three (3) high impact parks in the City that were identified in the Plan. The RFP was released on February 20, 2025, with a submission deadline of March 20, 2025. Two (2) proposals were received; however, only one, submitted by WI, met the minimum qualifications. The first-year cost for implementation of the pilot project was $386,520, significantly exceeding the anticipated cost.
At its regular meeting on April 21, 2025, the City Council authorized staff to reject all bids and reissue the RFP with an expanded scope. The revised scope aimed to increase the Plan’s effectiveness by including all high impact parks identified in the Plan, while also increasing cost efficiencies through economies of scale and potentially attracting more proposals from prospective vendors.
ANALYSIS
The RFP was reissued on May 30, 2025, and reflected an expanded scope that aligned more directly with the recommendations outlined in Phase III of the approved Integrated Adaptive Canada Goose Management Plan. The updated scope included implementation of deterrent strategies across seven high-conflict parks: Marlin, Gull, Erckenbrack, Leo J. Ryan, Catamaran, Edgewater, and Sea Cloud. These locations were selected based on consistently high levels of geese activity, park usage, and public complaints, and had previously been vetted through the CEQA review process.
The RFP required the selected contractor to provide comprehensive services, including:
Conduct site-specific assessments and develop habitat modification recommendations.
Deploy deterrent techniques including remote-controlled devices, foggers, lighting, and aversive conditioning.
Deploy trained conservation dogs for hazing operations. Operate electric and/or amphibious boats for lagoon hazing. Track deterrent effectiveness using GPS and submit biannual activity reports. Participate in public meetings as requested, including City Council and Parks and Recreation Committee meetings.
Ensure compliance with CEQA MMRP and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Refine management strategies based on monitoring data and site observations. Collaborate with City staff on educational materials and community outreach.
Optional Tasks Include:
Obtain permits and conduct egg addling within City limits and at Bair Island, with recordkeeping.
Review and analyze archived camera data from City monitoring efforts.
The RFP emphasized integration with existing City operations, such as power washing of high-impact areas and the regionally coordinated egg addling program, ensuring efforts were comprehensive and non-duplicative. The contract term includes an initial period from August 2025 through June 2026, with two optional one-year extensions which may be considered by the City Council in future fiscal years.
There were two (2) responses to the RFP including one from WI and the other from Torpedo Pest Control & K-9 Services (TPK). A summary of the bid results is included in Attachment 3. These firms responded to the first RFP. The proposal received from TPK was the costliest of the two proposals and was not as comprehensive as the one received by WI and did not provide cost estimates for several tasks listed in the RFP.
Staff recommend awarding the contract to WI whose proposal demonstrated deep technical competence, alignment with the Plan’s goals, and a scalable implementation strategy. The firm’s experience with humane deterrents, adaptive monitoring, and compliance with federal wildlife regulations supports the long-term viability of this partnership. The pilot program will generate critical performance data to inform future citywide management, align with best practices, and reduce conflicts between geese and park users.
The final scope and fee proposal from WI addresses the City’s desire to expand the pilot project implementation to all seven (7) high impact parks which will increase the potential effectiveness of the project. This was done without an additional cost to the City compared to the first RFP response and further provides flexibility to expand beyond the seven (7) priority parks if the presence of geese is effectively reduced in those parks and/or mitigation efforts become more efficient. This approach is consistent with adaptive CAGO management which is at the core of the Plan. While habitat modification is not included in the scope of the pilot project, WI will evaluate various habitat modification methods and make recommendations to the City which can be considered and implemented in conjunction with the project, and in close coordination with the Parks Master Plan implementation.
The final project scope and fee was reviewed and negotiated with WI and is included as Attachment 4. The final scope addresses some redundancy in Tasks 10 and 13 which includes coordination of educational materials, public outreach and attendance at City Council meetings. Task 6, which included the use of a boat for surveillance and geese hazing activities, was revised and made an optional task that can be added later if warranted. The final proposed implementation schedules were updated to reflect when hazing field work would occur. The above changes were reflected in the summary cost tables for years 1-3 which resulted in cost savings for the City.
Optional tasks not recommended at this time, and which can be potentially added later include Boat Operation for Surveillance and Hazing, Egg Addling Operations and Review of Previous Camera Data. Egg Addling is currently performed by another City contractor and is a shared cost between the cities of Foster City, Redwood City, Belmont and San Mateo. The current contractor has indicated to the City their availability and commitment to performing these services for another year.
California Environmental Quality Act
The approval of the agreement is for the implementation of the Management Plan. On December 2, 2024, the City Council via City Resolution No. 2024-127 adopted the IS/MND with all findings and standard conditions of approval and MMRP pursuant to the CEQA Guidelines section 15074. Implementation of the Plan, including various management techniques, was contemplated as part of the IS/MND and thus no supplemental review or action is necessary.
FISCAL IMPACT
The fiscal impact of this proposed resolution is $383,824 for fiscal year 2025-2026 to be appropriated from the General Fund reserve (001-0000-295-5002). These funds will be combined with $45,000 currently in the Parks Maintenance contractual budget (001- 0521-451-4251) for geese mitigation to fund the total FY 2025-2026 cost of up to $428,824.
Upon review and assessment of the pilot project’s success in the first year, the City Council may opt to renew the agreement with WI as part of the upcoming annual budget process. The cost estimate for years two and three not including optional tasks or contingency are as follows:
Year Two (FY 2026–2027): $381,598
Year Three (FY 2027–2028): $385,306
The proposed agreement with WI does not commit the City beyond the current fiscal year unless funds are appropriated in subsequent years. Optional services, such as boat operation for surveillance and hazing, off-site egg addling and analysis of archived camera data are not included in the agreement at this time but may be exercised in the future at the City’s discretion, subject to operational needs and available budget.
CITY COUNCIL VISION, MISSION, AND VALUE/PRIORITY AREA
Facilities and Infrastructure
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1 - Resolution
Attachment 2 - Agreement
Attachment 3 - Summary of Bid Results
Attachment 4 - Wildlife Innovations Final Project Scope