This free webinar will explain the threats posed by a controversial proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to use helicopters to disperse 1.5 tons of cereal bait laced with a powerful rodent poison, Brodifacoum, onto the Southeast Farallon Island off of San Francisco. The problem with second-generation anticoagulant bloodthinners like Brodifacoum is that they also poison everything that eats the dying mice, or eats the bait pellets, or eats a seabird that carries the poison to mainland beaches. Because of the poison, at least a thousand Western Gulls are expected to die, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates.

A final decision about this scheme is likely to occur at the upcoming November 2020 virtual online meeting of the California Coastal Commission. The California Coastal Commission will then consider whether or not the Farallones Poison Drop is consistent with California’s federally-approved Coastal Plan.

The Coastal Commission has a unique and decisive role to play in protecting our coastal wildlife, and Commissioners listen carefully to the public. Contraceptive baits are now becoming available that don’t spread throughout the food chain and therefore do not impact non-target wildlife. The goal of this webinar is to help bring about a less toxic and more humane solution that does not involve poisoning the entire ecosystem in the midst of our Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

This free webinar, on July 14 at 1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern, will fill in the details about this controversial proposal, the pending decision, the harmless alternatives, and the precedent-setting implications for marine protected areas everywhere.