The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is investigating a large number of fish found washed up on a Gippsland beach in Victoria's south-east. The australian salmon were found on the 90 Mile Beach near Loch Sport, and it is believed they came from a fishing boat that ran aground last Sunday. Dieter Meltzer from the EPA says the authority has decided to leave the fish to be eaten by seabirds. "Probably more impact, more damage done to the coastal dunes by trying to access the site in vehicles and so it was decided that we'll let nature take its course," he said.

DEAD GEESE FALL FROM THE SKY IN KEIZER, OREGON
"Geese are literally falling from the sky in and around Keizer," Oregon (population 32,204), "and wildlife experts don't know why."

"About 150 Canada geese were found dead Friday," January 28, 2005, "at a private pond off Wheatland Road owned by Morse Brothers Rock Products in rural Marion County. Thirty or so other dead birds were discovered three months ago near Staats Lake, a private lake in Keizer."

"State wildife officials visited both sites to investigate. The officials suspect that the birds may have died from something they ate, but it doesn't appear that anything found in the ponds or the lake killed the birds."

"'Reports of one bird here or one over there is not cause for alarm,' said Will High, wildlife biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. 'But when you have 10 or 20 or 30 or 100 of them all of a sudden die in one day, well, that's just not normal.'"

"Only cackling Canada geese, a small subspecies of the larger Canada goose, were affected, High said. Other varieties of birds, including ducks, gulls and three other species of geese, were alive and well in both bodies of water."

"The dead birds were found floating in the water. They appeared to swim with their heads under water, High said. Others were found on dry ground lying on their stomachs with their wings flared out."

"The goose carcasses have been sent to the National Wildife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin to be tested. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal agency that regulates migratory birds, also was notified."

"Five years ago, large numbers of dead geese were discovered in Staats Lake. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife investigated the problem but couldn't track down the cause. Tests showed that the birds weren't dying of infection or disease; the results were inconclusive but hinted the birds died from something they ate."

"Wildlife officials said that in recent weeks, large numbers of dead geese also have been found in Monmouth (population 7,741) and McMinnville (population 26,500). They don't know if the incidents are related."

Keizer is on River Road 3 miles (5 kilometers) north of Salem. McMinnville was the site of a famous UFO sighting in 1950. (See the Salem, Ore. Statesman-Journal for February 2, 2005, "Geese die in droves in Keizer-- Experts baffled." Many thanks to Steve Wilson Sr. for this newspaper article.)

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