There is no People’s Republic of Montclair

Paul Jacobs
Published: July 30, 2008

Michael Novak’s letter about geese in Montclair is a typical, narrow-minded, irrational, extremist response to the majority who are trying to solve a difficult problem. He has a poor grasp of the facts and
therefore resorts to clouding the issue by casting juvenile insults on the HOA president instead of offering solutions. 

He admits he doesn’t know what egg addling is, doesn’t know what a bird sanctuary is or how Montclair became one, and apparently believes that birds can read signs. A bird sanctuary is supposed to
be a place where migratory birds can temporarily rest on their way to wherever they naturally migrate. 

The operative word here is migrate. It is not a license to turn Lake Montclair into a petting zoo.  It is not a license to change naturally migratory birds into domestic animals. Novak and his ilk advocate
forcing people to come home from work every day and see 25 geese on your lawn eating every green scrap of life. They advocate having your yard reduced to a barren brown patch of dirt every spring
choked with bird droppings. They advocate forcing one to have to deal with a miserable intestinal virus every summer. 

Montclair needs a measure of responsible wildlife management. There is no People’s Republic of Montclair. There is only an HOA board and president elected by a rational majority who is trying to solve a
problem the majority wants fixed. Here is hoping the minority lunatic fringe is not allowed to prevail.

PAUL JACOBS

Montclair