The Laconia Airport has had problems recently with a number of animals wandering onto the runway and flying in the immediate area where planes and jets take off and land. This year alone, there have been two bird strikes at the airport and the abundance of other animals, including deer and bears, have posed a concern.

Airport Director Diane Cooper said that she has seen the amount of animal activity jump over this summer and she is not sure why there is such an amassment of animals.

"We've always had some kind of wildlife, but this year there has been an increase," said Cooper. "There's more of each grouping of animal and more animals within each of those."

She said that the wildlife has become bolder than they have been in the past, with many of them coming out in the middle of the day. Airport employees have reported seeing deer running across the runway and gaggles of geese pooling on the runway that do not move when planes are on landing.

Bird strikes can occur while a plane is taking off, landing or less commonly in flight. A single bird can cause significant damage by crashing through windshield or damaging the propeller or engine of the plane. When planes take off, they need a high rate of speed to become airborne and there comes a decision point where there is no turning back because of the amount of runway. If an animal is in the way of an aircraft, the outcome of the situation for both parties is most likely not positive.

"For us, it's been a public safety issue," said Cooper. "We've had two bird strikes this year. The first one happened earlier this year when a jet was on its final approach and a goose struck the wing."

The jet was scheduled to make a fuel stop and then proceed to London. The damage to the jet was estimated at $200,000, which grounded the jet for three days and caused crew members and passengers to wait for another plane to arrive. An engineer and the parts had to be flown in from Canada in order to repair the plane.

"Fortunately the goose hit the stabilizer on the wing rather than going into the engine," said Cooper. "The damage to the plane was huge... besides the possibly of human life being lost."

The second incident occurred a few weeks ago when a plane was approaching the runway and a gaggle of 15 geese were perched on the runway. As the plane came closer, the geese did not move and when the plane hit the ground, it took out two of the geese, killing the geese and causing damage to the landing equipment on the plane.

"If a plane gets hit or it loses an engine while taking off, it much more difficult to recover from that," said Cooper. "If you get a dent in a car you can still drive it, but any dent on any part of the plane makes a significant difference for flying."

A bird strike was to blame for the emergency landing of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 which had to land on the Hudson River back in January. One hundred and fifty five passengers were evacuated from the airport in mid winter on the river.

"Fortunately no one died, but because this was such a high profile incident, this situation is really coming to light," said Cooper. "This is a major issue."

When the airport was first built, there was nothing but farm land, swamps and woodlands. During the reconstruction of the runway, the airport had to create an area of wetlands on the east side of the property which attracted birds.

"Birds and airports don't mix," said Cooper. "The geese have been an ongoing issue. Before you couldn't get close to them without them scattering off, but now they aren't doing that anymore."

Marsha Barden, wildlife biologist for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services, said that there has been an increase of Canada geese over the past 10 years.

"We've noticed the resident geese used to nest up north, but are now nesting year-round all over the United States," Barden said.

According to Rob Calvert, a wildlife biologist for N.H. Fish and Game, adult geese lose their primary flight feathers after they have their young in late spring/early summer, which may be the reason why geese have been hanging around the airport because of Lily Pond and the other wetlands.

"They use the water as a way to escape from predators," said Calvert. "Between June and July, this is the period of time they can these bodies of water and grow new wings."

Calvert said the geese can certainly pose problems at airports, but they don't tend to be a problem unless there is a water body near by.

Deer have seen running across the runway, which any driver knows can be a problem. Cooper said the in the past, deer could be seen primarily around dusk and dawn, but now she has heard reports of them being active during the day.

"I've seen a heard of about seven," said Cooper. "They're a problem because just when you think they're going to stay, its like on the side of a road, at the last second they run out in front of you."

Through the USDA, the airport has a depredation permit that allows them to take deer and birds that are posing a hazard, which must be reported at the end of the year. As of August, the airport has taken two deer this year, which do not go to waste since the meat is donated to a food pantry. Cooper said there is strictly no hunting on airport property and the person that takes the game is a professional.

The airport has had one other large mammal on their property, with the presense of bears. Cooper said a bear was spotted in the middle of the day outside the terminal building a few times. Bear project leader for the N.H. Fish and Game, Andrews Timmins said that he isn't surprised to see the bear out during the middle of the day.

"It's been a poor year for summer foods and we have seen an increase in bear activity." said Timmins. "We've had reports of bears in that area around the transfer station."

Timmins said wetlands are good summer habitats for bears since it provides them with dense cover. As fall approaches, bears become more active since they need to eat more before hibernating in the winter months.

"People shouldn't be fearful at all," he said. "They shouldn't approach them, just like any other wildlife though, since they can be unpredictable."

Mark Ellingwood, a wildlife biologist for the N.H. Fish and Game said that the overall population of wildlife in New Hampshire has been doing well in the previous years.

"I'm not suggesting that there is an over population," said Ellingwood. "The bear population is strong in New Hampshire and the same holds true to the deer population."

From a historic standpoint, he said that the levels are relatively high from years past, but it would be speculation to say it is the reason behind the increase of wildlife activity at the airport.