HAGERSTOWN -- Life is quite daffy in parts of Hagerstown these days.
Some people are calling themselves (and maybe others) "quacks." Secretaries joke about city officials "ducking" out of the office when ruffled constituents call. And schoolchildren are hollering, er, "fowl," sending angry letters and petitions to the City Council.
This quackmire (sorry) stems from efforts to control the burgeoning population of mallards and other ducks, as well as Canada and domesticated geese at two man-made lakes at Hagerstown's picturesque and popular City Park.
Too many birds -- numbers exceeding 900 in the summer -- mean damage to plant life around the 1.8- and 5.5-acre lakes, unsanitary conditions on sidewalks and elsewhere, and bad bird behavior. Some waterfowl, particularly mute swans, can be quite aggressive.
Health problems need to be considered, too -- for humans and ducks.
Feeding the birds attracts rats and muskrats and domesticates waterfowl (and keeps them from moving on), while the food -- popcorn and bread -- is often unsuitable for waterfowl.
Too many people feeding the ducks, geese and swans has also meant trampled vegetation and erosion around the lakes at the 27-acre park, which is also the home of the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts and the Hager House, the city's oldest dwelling.
Hagerstown's mayor and City Council appointed a committee last spring to come up with a waterfowl management plan.
That group, which includes a veterinarian and members of the RTC Washington County Ornithological Society, discussed its recommendations during a well-attended public hearing earlier this week. The council is expected to vote on the plan by the end of January.
Among the recommendations: Domestic and hybrid waterfowl should be relocated to other ponds. And the birds should be pinioned -- their wing feathers clipped -- so they don't fly back to City Park.
A manageable population for the lakes is about 250 birds, the committee said.
Managing waterfowl at the park is a recurrent problem, city officials said. Years ago, city workers simply moved birds or eggs -- measures no longer allowed under state and federal regulations.
Previous attempts to relocate Canada geese -- which make up the largest population of waterfowl in the summer -- have proved futile.
Euthanasia, which a consultant suggested as a more humane solution than relocation, is not being considered, said Mayor Steven T. Sager. Talk of euthanasia raised the ire of residents and schoolchildren, many of whom wrote angry letters to City Hall.
The committee also said the bird populations could be curtailed by banning the sale of corn until all domestic and hybrid birds have been successfully relocated. A park concession stand now sells corn.
Douglas Stull, the city's public-works manager and an ex officio member of the committee, said these and other recommendations, including public education, should create an environment in which waterfowl and people can co-exist.
But not everyone agrees.
Wiley Rutledge, a Hagerstown attorney, opposes relocating the birds and any ban on feeding waterfowl. He contends the city is more interested in creating a waterfowl refuge than maintaining a public park.
"The problem is with migratory waterfowl that come into the park," Mr. Rutledge said. "No matter what you do, there is no way to keep the numbers from ballooning in the summer months."
Residents, many of whom have grown up in the city and recall feeding the ducks as youngsters, have their own ideas.
Some suggest limiting areas where ducks can be fed, enlisting city workers to clean sidewalks and taking other measures to keep the lakes clean.
"My problem is not the ducks, but the people," said Max Hemphill, a Hagerstown resident. "There's too many of them. I don't know how you control them. The park is not big enough for all these people."
Others voiced similar concerns.
"I much prefer the company of ducks," said Bob Feinberg, a Frederick resident who plans to move to Hagerstown to live near the park. "[Watching ducks] has been a refuge from my work on Capitol Hill.
"I have found the ducks articulate, intelligent and funny -- all in ways I don't find on Capitol Hill," he said.