Kalispell council bans bird feeding in parks

The Kalispell City Council on Monday voted to enact an ordinance restricting the feeding of waterfowl in city parks.

The measure will impose a civil penalty for anyone caught feeding waterfowl or abandoning animals in city parks.

Council member Sid Daoud was the lone opponent.

The new ordinance was largely in response to waterfowl troubles in Woodland Park, where migrant and domestic waterfowl have created problems with overpopulation, aggressive behavior, feces and other unnatural conditions.

In the spring, the council started working with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to try to find a solution for Woodland Park. Through a community-led effort, all of the domestic birds were adopted, leaving somewhere between 125 and 150 migrant birds still in the park.

Since then, the council held a work session to discuss ongoing ideas to improve the natural environment at Woodland Park and other municipal parks. Concerns included feeding the remaining waterfowl, because this practice creates dependence and unnatural behaviors like human conditioning and aggressiveness.

Discussions also touched on concerns about the abandonment of animals in city parks. A recurring problem, particularly in Woodland Park, is pet owners who reportedly drop off animals such as rabbits in the park shortly after the Easter holiday.

The Kalispell Police Department will have the authority to hand out civil citations to anyone who feeds the animals or abandons pets in city parks. The ordinance also includes the installation of signs that warn park users about the ill effects of artificial feeding and the repercussions for continuing to feed them.

Daoud spoke against the ordinance, highlighting issues with the potentially confusing language of the ordinance and the possibility that law enforcement could prioritize catching bird-feeders instead of attending to other issues in the city. He said he preferred a sign as a deterrent, without the addition of a civil penalty.

Other council members felt the ordinance is necessary because, as council member Chad Graham stated, the bird-feeding ban “has to have some teeth.”

Dillon Tabish, a spokesman for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, offered the only public comment in support of the ordinance. He said FWP “support[s] and applaud[s] the city of Kalispell moving forward on this,” since allowing bird feeding in parks “…sets a somewhat bad example for how humans interact with wildlife.”

IN OTHER business, the council unanimously approved a final plat and subdivision improvement agreement request for Silverbrook Phase 2A-B, a one-lot commercial subdivision on 2.72 acres at the north end of the Silverbrook Estates development, abutting Church Drive.

Senior Planner P.J. Sorensen said this component is “just a small corner of phase 2 overall.”

The subdivision improvement agreement includes improvements for mailboxes, landscaping and a bike path, which Sorenson said would connect to existing trails near the development. The applicant, WGM Group, on behalf of Silvermont Properties, LLLP, has provided $228,758.50 to the city for these remaining improvements.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at (406)-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.