There's a whole lot of talking going on about USA's goose problem.

From New Jersey to Minnesota, Virginia to South Dakota, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) was holding meetings during February to ask the public its views on the dirty business.

And it goes far beyond goose droppings marring a suburban lawn or golf course lake, although that is part of it. Some of the more serious details in what FWS calls "bird/human conflicts" are not at all amusing.

Related Story: How U.S. Will Tackle Goose Explosion

"Each year an average of 60 goose strikes are reported to the Federal Aviation Administration and the FAA estimates a additional 240 strikes are not reported," said the FWS. "Nearly 50 percent of goose strikes involve some degree of damage to the aircraft and at least 24 percent adversely affected the flight."

But while the talking goes on, a man and his dog are roaming the vast plains of the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, proving that, unlike that other obsession of pilots - the weather - geese are a problem about which something can be done.

The dog, specifically a 30-pound border collie named Shadow, has solved the goose problem at Dover AFB within a few weeks, according to Dr. Nicholas B. Carter, executive director of Border Collie Rescue, Inc.

"We've cleared the airfield and nearby golf course," reported Dr. Carter. "We get in a vehicle and drive the dog where needed and then let the dog run. These dogs can run 100 miles a day, why 30 miles is just a warm up for them."

"One little dog can chase away 100,000 geese. We just cleared snow geese in Delaware and it was three or four huge fields just white from one end to the other. Even I'm amazed. You hear the wings flapping and my jaw drops. The dog sits there and thinks they hit pay dirt."

Carter says his border collie solution is just beginning to catch on at airports and one airport manager in Florida told him the dog solved in 16 days what had plagued him for 16 years. "They're trying to reduce the damages to aircraft and avoid a catastrophe," said Carter.

The dog solution appears to be both low-tech and low-cost. Carter's organization was awarded the Dover AFB contract in January. The annual cost: $59,600, which includes a vehicle, handler and insurance. (See Border Collie Rescue link.)

Another call for the border collie solution has been put out by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) headquarters complex at Ft. Belvoir, VA. See notice of that solicitation here.

Carter recently arrived back from a visit to Israel, where airports are fighting a massive bird strike problem. The reason: Most flyways (paths taken by migratory birds) from Asia, Europe and Africa seem to go right through that country.

As for the American problem with geese, he said, "It only takes a single goose sucked into an engine to cause a big problem. An F-16 engine is very expensive to replace."

A report of birdstrikes from 1990 to 1998, issued by the FAA late last year, claimed that civil aircraft only were hit with more than 22,000 birdstrikes in that period. There was "substantial damage"to 1268 aircraft and 19 aircraft were destroyed. The full report is found at http://www.faa.gov/search.htm.

The damage caused in the nine-year period by birdstrikes: $67.6 million. And that did not report on damage to military aircraft.

Most problems between birds and aircraft occur within 100 feet of the ground, said Carter. Which is why the border collie is so effective, chasing the 20 to 25 pound Canadian goose away from the field.

"The border collie is a workaholic, they'll work 14 hours a day and not complain. In fact, they'll complain if you don't work them hard enough. This breed is a herding breed and even if they get the bird, they won't go in for the kill."