farallon islands mice

(pg. I have yet to receive a response. The Farallon Islands are an important reserve protecting a huge seabird colony. Alternative B: Eradicate invasive house mice from the South Farallon Islands by aerial broadcast of the rodent bait Brodifacoum-25D Conservation as the primary method of bait delivery; and . Fast forward to the fall of 2013 and a 741 page Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement (RDEIS) is released. This public notice announced a non-native mouse eradication project for the Farallon Islands, which are located 27 miles off the coast of San Francisco. There is also the potential for long term damage to the environment. Below is a quote from the ten page comment letter submitted last month. Council member and Point Blue California Current program director Jaime Jahncke said the federal agency has answered many of the questions while others will be answered as it develops more detailed implementation and operations plans. Page 139 contains the statement that "Adverse effects as a result of possible sub-lethal exposure are unknown for brodifacoum or diphacinone." The petrels are listed as a species of conservation concern by state and federal agencies and listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is Fish and Wildlife's assumption that the population of the ashy storm-petrel, a bird that is naturally a slow breeder, would recover if the mice could be eliminated. As I read the document I couldn't believe what was being contemplated. A. During the two world wars, the military operated a … The Wake Atoll Rat Eradication Review concluded that planning and associated research did not seem to adequately address some of the key issues and the general complexities of the project, and that the number of information gaps noted during the planning process should have led to serious consideration of postponing the project until those issues were more fully addressed. “The ashy storm petrels have survived with up and down populations all this time. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Her six page comment letter found here reflects many of the same concerns I have regarding the inaccurate and misleading science behind this proposed project. Fish and Wildlife’s proposal to airdrop and hand place about 2,900 pounds of cereal pellets laced with brodifacoum — a rodenticide partially banned in California — on the islands to eradicate the estimated 60,000 or so mice will be no different than what was presented to the commission in July 2019, according to agency spokeswoman Erin Curtis. Since the DEIS does not include the disclosure statement, required by 40 CFR 1506.5(c), specifying that Island Conservation has no financial or other interest in the outcome of the project, it is unclear whether this issue has been addressed." Fish and Wildlife Service wants to dump 1.5 tons of rat poison pellets on the Farallon Islands to get rid of the invasive mice. We felt we had to put that in a resolution.”. The mice, believed to have been introduced by ships in the 19th century, have been wreaking havoc on the island’s ecosystem in a variety of harmful ways, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. Island Conservation is also the contractor that will get the eradication business if the decision is made to move forward with this project. The islands of the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge host the largest seabird breeding colony in the United States outside of Alaska and Hawai`i. “I’m willing to work for an alternative and if that alternative can be useful, I’m happy to make it available to any agency,” Mayer said. On April 13, 2011, we published in the Federal Register a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) f… ~ George H. Fenwick, PhD, American Bird Conservancy. At peak season, there are nearly 500 mice per acre on the South Farallon Islands — about 59,000 in all. 4321 et seq. Biologist Sonce DeVries recently retired from USFWS after 22 years. I first wrote about this topic for the Huffington Post back in 2011, after members of the public were denied the opportunity to make public comments at the first public scoping meeting held in Fort Mason, San Francisco in May of 2011. FARALLON ISLANDS, Calif. (KGO) -- The U.S. To better understand what happens with island eradication projects, watch this news report which tells what happened on two islands in New Zealand after brodifacoum was aerially dropped over two islands. "American Bird Conservancy is concerned about the tenuous and indirect connection between the stated goals of the Project and the proposed means of achieving them. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a report presented to the commission in March that a massive house mice population is threatening the whole ecosystem on the rugged Farallon Islands… A copy of the South Farallon Islands Mouse Eradication Project can be found at bit.ly/2vQ9Nm0. Fish and Wildlife Service has shelved a controversial proposal to exterminate tens of thousands of invasive mice on the environmentally sensitive Farallon Islands… Each of the six to 12 owls that inhabit the islands during the winter can kill 60 to 70 petrels including breeding petrels, which has an impact on the population, according to a Point Blue study released last year. Part of HuffPost Environment. We are conducting environmental review for the proposed South Farallon Islands Invasive House Mouse Eradication Project in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act as amended (NEPA; 43 U.S.C. The proposal has sparked a heated debate about the safety of using rodenticides on a national wildlife refuge and marine sanctuary. While she fully agrees that invasive species are an issue that need to be addressed, she feels strongly that the approach that has been used in the past by USFWS and Island Conservation is not the way to do it. There are an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 breeding ashy storm petrels in existence, according to the study. All rights reserved. Points raised by the EPA include the fact that the amount of bait proposed for use violates federal law, that predictions with respect to the success of hazing of wildlife are overly optimistic and do not mention how hazing activities would affect the mice, and fails to include any information about the failures of several previous island eradication projects. Western gulls, one of the most opportunistic birds I have ever worked with as a wildlife rehabilitator, also consume ashy storm-petrel chicks. This dog was bred and the result was eight of her eleven puppies died soon after birth. While the DEIS states that no choice of alternatives has been made, the text clearly indicates that the reader is being strongly encouraged to select Alternative B, the use of Brodifacoum as the preferred alternative. I started researching island eradication projects over two years ago and quickly learned of what happened on Rat Island in Alaska, a previous rodent eradication project that resulted in the poisoning of at least 46 bald eagles and over 420 seabirds. Marin County Integrated Pest Management Commission chairwoman Kraemer Winslow spoke at the meeting to advocate for an alternative option. It is believed that the owls show up to feast on the mice when the mouse population spikes during the fall and early winter. They had flip charts and wrote down questions, concerns and suggestions. Richard has many concerns about the proposed project that he outlined in this four page comment letter here from the Ocean Foundation. This is how the food web becomes contaminated. If this 1.3 metric ton poison drop is allowed to move forward, thousands of wild animals will be inhumanely poisoned, and in turn, those killed become a poisoned food source for other animals. Charter, who is one of the council’s conservation members, argues the agency has not provided adequate information about the potential impacts the poison could have on non-targeted species that could potentially end up on local beaches. We learned that an environmental impact statement was underway and that USFWS had engaged with two partners for this project; Island Conservation and PRBO (now Point Blue Conservation Science). The islands of the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge are managed by the U.S. The rationale being used is that the mice are the food source that attracts an average of six burrowing owls —which also eat petrels—to the Farallon Islands every year. Photo taken by Duncan Wright. During her tenure as Acting IPM Coordinator from 2010-2012, she reviewed proposals for a number of island eradication projects. Despite the critical data and the many voices of opposition, USFWS may still decide to move forward. The conclusions in the RDEIS are founded on what we deem to be a faulty and incomplete analysis. This week, the marine sanctuary’s advisory council, which advises sanctuary superintendent Maria Brown, held a meeting on the proposal and approved a resolution seeking information about the plan. But the proposal from the U.S. Loretta Mayer, cofounder and former CEO of the Arizona-based biotechnology company SenesTech, which developed the rat contraceptive Contrapest, said that her current work with the FYXX Foundation she cofounded is looking to create a similar contraceptive tailored to mice. While she said a totally different product would have to be developed and approved, which would take a lot of time, Mayer said they would look to potentially obtain an experimental use permit from the Environmental Protection Agency. When the mouse population dips during the winter months, the few burrowing owls that remain on the island can, and do, turn to eating the chicks of the ashy storm-petrel. The Farallon Islands sit 27 miles off the coast of San Francisco. Dolphins and Penguins Die Following Drops in New Zealand The agency acknowledged that other species such as Western gulls and burrowing owls will likely ingest the poison, but that it use several techniques such as hazing, monitoring, carcass removal, bait destruction and others to keep the bykill below significant levels. Warming temperatures spur creative solutions to help Cassin's auklets. Removing invasive mice from the Farallones could significantly boost the recovery of a rare, elusive seabird species by discouraging predatory owls from overwintering on the islands… There are so many mice on the Farallon Islands that sometimes the ground appears to be undulating, a gently rolling tide of rodents. Tap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you. The final report is available here. And since Island Conservation is a registered 501c3, income earned from eradication projects is tax free. This letter dated 12/09/13 from the EPA identified the numerous issues the EPA has with the draft environmental impact statement. The U.S. "The Revised DEIS is inadequate in reflecting a casual and dismissive attitude throughout the document regarding the inevitable mortality of public trust living resources, such as numerous non-target species, including birds and marine life, in a manner which hardly presents a fairly-considered cost-benefit analysis. "Much information can be obtained from previous rodent eradication attempts and it is not clear that lessons learned from these projects have been integrated into the planning for the proposed project. Twelve species of seabird and shorebird nest on the islands; western gull, Brandt's cormorant, pelagic cormorant, double-crested cormorant, pigeon guillemot, common murre, Cassin's auklet, tufted pu… Notice how Richard Griffiths with the New Zealand Department of Conservation dances around the repeated question with respect to the testing of dead dolphins and penguins for exposure to brodifacoum. They were either deemed infeasible or inadequate to stop the mouse problem. -- quickly caught my attention. The South Farallon Islands have sustained ecological damage over many decades from the presence of invasive mice. Fish and Wildlife Service has extended to June 10 the deadline for accepting public comments on a controversial proposal to eradicate nonnative house mice on the Southeast Farallon Islands. The problem on the Farallon Islands is more complicated. "My review of the references cited in this DEIS shows that some significant misinterpretations of the original references have occurred. Learn more. Federal officials want to dump nearly 1.5 tons of poison in the South Farallon Islands to eliminate a centuries-old rodent invasion. “The mice have been on the southeast Farallon Island for over 100 years,” Winslow said. We made it easy for you to exercise your right to vote! After animals ingest the poison, the animal bleeds to death because the active ingredient interferes with the blood's natural ability to clot. “The ashy storm petrels have survived with up and down populations all … ), its implementing regulations in 40 CFR 1500-1508, other applicable regulations, and our procedures for compliance with those regulations. Here's the really scary thing. This is our main concern for the Farallon project." A controversial proposal to spread rodenticide-laced bait on the South Farallon Islands to eliminate invasive mice for the benefit of birds is expected to return for the California Coastal Commission’s review in mid-June. Nonnative mice are the issue. Only to give opinion and point out any potential NEPA violations, such as the conflict of interest issue. Retired USFWS Biologist Weighs In Visitors view a section of the Farallon Islands from a whale-watching tour boat about 30 miles off the coast of San Francisco. The creation of the environmental impact statement netted the Santa Cruz based nonprofit a total of $481,883. In speaking with one representative from USFWS, I raised the question of other animals being poisoned in the process, something continually referred to as "non-target species." In reading the data provided by USFWS, I found it very interesting that out of 1,618 prey items analyzed in 679 owl pellets, only 82 storm-petrels were found. Photo of burrowing owl courtesy of Wikipedia images. Writer, Conservationist and Concerned Citizen of the Planet, Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter. ©2020 Verizon Media. By Peter Pyle. The Fish and Wildlife Service’s environmental review also states that should the poison bait drift into the ocean, the rodenticide would likely not show up at detectable levels in the water and near-shore fish and marine invertebrates. Information requested include a list of sanctuary species that could be affected; a request for the Fish and Wildlife Service to respond to the questions raised by Brown in a February 2019 letter; and to specify the accuracy of helicopter bait drops among other information, according to the sanctuary’s media specialist Mary Jane Schramm. We are also worried about the potential to cause long-term damage to the very practice of eradication of non-native mammals from islands. This is the type of scientific documentation that is required to be disclosed in an environmental impact statement. What happened to this dog has the potential to be replicated by a number of species that live in, or close to the fragile ecosystem of the Farallon Islands, if brodifacoum or other anticoagulants were to be aerially broadcast across the terrain. I reached out to USFWS and asked for a comment with respect to that mission and how this project is contradictory. Critics of the proposal say they understand the need to address the mice impacts on the island’s ecology, but argue the federal agency should consider other alternatives to poison. The mice feast on native plants, local insects such as the Farallon camel cricket and even the eggs of amphibians like the Farallon arboreal salamander and birds like the Cassin’s auklet. It seems this proposal is once again about a solution looking for a problem.”. Based on the data from USFWS the majority of the owls' diet appears to be invertebrates and mice. With no mice to feed on, migrating owls would find the islands inhospitable and … ~ Sonce DeVries, retired biologist and former Acting IPM Coordinator, USFWS. Availability of the final EIS for a project to eradicate invasive, introduced house mice on the South Farallon Islands. Models presented to the commission suggested there would be a 63% decline of the ashy storm petrel population if the mice were to remain. The U.S. California's Farallon Islands--home to what scientists believe is the world's densest rodent population--may soon be showered with poison in an effort to eradicate the mice boom and restore the islands' suffering ecosystem. “Groups in charge of the sunlight are not cooperating. Crews may drop 1.5 tons of rat poison on the Farallon Islands to stop an invasive house mice species from wreaking havoc on the native ecosystem. “We are returning to the commission to respond to their questions from last year’s hearing and provide a more thorough presentation on the proposed project,” Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Erin Curtis wrote in an email. To you the ashy storm petrels have survived with up and down populations all this time potential. The most opportunistic birds I have ever worked with as a Wildlife rehabilitator, also consume storm-petrel. Be bleeding internally and brodifacoum was detected in the RDEIS are founded on what we ’ re trying to.. Sunlight are not cooperating information Act a project to eradicate invasive mice in Biologist Sonce,. Unknown for brodifacoum or diphacinone. was being contemplated potential NEPA violations such... Was not sent - check your email addresses farallon islands mice may still decide to move with. 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