Penn State's University Park airport has developed a widlife hazard management plan that's due, in part, to a 2010 collision between a mallard and a private aircraft. Nobody was injured, but the duck managed to do a whopping $45,000 in damages to the jet—sure makes hitting a deer with your pickup seem not so bad, eh?
The airport is taking several measures, such as replacing nearby soybeans with unpalatable grasses (there's a type of grass that geese won't eat?), discouraging people from feeding waterfowl in nearby ponds and oiling eggs to prevent them from hatching.
It's worth noting that, as of next week, I will live about 10 minutes from the UP airport. So, as a service to the community, I hereby volunteer my dog and myself to assist with the waterfowl control efforts. But I won't be oiling any nests.
