Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2015)
Wednesday, April 15, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Tales from a Sisters Naturalist by Jim Anderson Poisoning our world Our world is in a world of hurt. I have a dreadful feel- ing that not too long from now we’ll discover a lot of what we call home is soaked with deadly chemicals, espe- cially our water reserves. The corn-growers in the midwest have been dump- ing agricultural chemicals into the soil for a hundred years in the hopes of get- ting a better crop and mak- ing more money. Closer to home, some hay farmers are doing the same thing to rid their fields of “weeds,” and in some cases insects and rodents. On a healthier vein, it’s with a sigh of relief when I pass a sign, “No Spray!” and the green organic irrigated hayfields while heading east on the Bend-to-Burns high- way between Brothers and Hampton and see all those beautiful dandelions grow- ing in among the alfalfa. I know there are no poisons killing “weeds” and rap- tors, and no chemicals soak- ing into the soils to make the alfalfa greener than it should be. In addition to the chemi- cals are the other poisons, in the full sense of the term, the deadly rodenticides. Gary Landers, our local raptor rehabber, began seeing rap- tors from the Powell Buttes area suffering from second- ary poisoning years back. Chemical-laced poison is applied to the land to kill rodents, the hawks eat the dead rodents on the surface, and they, too, ended up dead. Last Spring, while work- ing with the Oregon Eagle Foundation and the USFWL on a golden eagle census for Oregon, we found two baby eagles dying and then dead from secondary poisoning in a nest between Sisters and Bend. The necropsy report stated they had died from brodifacoum and bromadio- lone, both second-generation anti-coagulant rodenticides. On the heels of the eagle necropsy report came this alert from the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA): Recently the Oregon Department of Agricultural was contacted by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) regarding finding a dead great horned owl in the mid-Willamette Valley. The owl tested posi- tive for brodifacoum and bromadiolone, both sec- ond-generation anti-coag- ulant rodenticides. The owl appeared to be a victim of secondary poisoning; the owl did not eat the poison directly, but ate rodents, which had consumed the poison. According to ODFW, owls are expert nocturnal hunt- ers and provide free rodent control, and it’s estimated a barn owl can consume a third of its body weight per night. That’s about six voles or vole-sized rodents an eve- ning and over 2,000 voles per year. If you have a pair of owls, double that. And once they have a nest with young they consume even more rodents. The young birds are particularly sus- ceptible to being poisoned. It is especially important not to use anti-coagulant rodenticides in your barn if you have roosting or nesting raptors… Take-home message – Do not use these products in gardens, agricultural fields or other places that are not specifically indicated on the label. If you have raptors in the area, particularly nest- ing raptors, use an alterna- tive method of rodent con- trol. For more information regarding rodent control, go to, http://npic.orst.edu/pest/ rodent.html. Thank goodness, the EPA is in the loop and is banning the use of the more deadly poisons, and changing the labels for use on others. According to ODA, brodi- facoum bait—a primary rodenticide—is causing the death of deer, squirrels, chipmunks, passerine birds and even children—71 per- cent identified as occurring in urban or suburban resi- dential areas. The half-life of this chemical is 307 days! Several years back, ODOT applied this bait in DROP-IN PUBLIC STUBBORNLY UNPRETENTIOUS SINCE 1989 YOGA CLASSES 7 DAYS A WEEK! photo by Jim anDerson A grisly sight; a nestling golden eagle, found dead in its nest between Bend and sisters from secondary agricultural poisoning. the Brothers Oasis in an effort to reduce the ground squirrel population that was eating the beautiful green lawn in the picnic area. It may have worked for the target species, but western meadowlarks—the Oregon State bird—and other birds were also killed, along with the only known nesting bur- rowing owls in Deschutes County. Please, good people, lay off putting more poison into our environment. If you’re raising hay and need to elim- inate gophers and ground 164 N. Elm St., Sisters 541.390.5678 | www.lifeloveyoga.com squirrels, hire it done by trapping, and chalk it up to the cost of doing business. There’s a hay farmer in the Fort Rock Valley grow- ing alfalfa on several 125- acre plots irrigated with piv- ots who refuses to use poi- sons of any kind. He hires a trapper to rid his field of unwanted rodents. It makes for happier and healthier owls, hawks, and people. And if you don’t like the dandelions in your lawn, please pull them up, don’t spray them. My bees will be everlastingly grateful. OU DAY FOR Y O T L L A C E IN OR R E C N A R U FREE I NS SON! COMPARI COM A��� • H��� • L��� • B������� Call Jason Rybka, 541-588-6245 88 6245 257 S. Pine St., #101 | www.farmersagent.com/jrybka SAVE GAS. EX EXTEND TIRE LIFE. Schedule your alignment today! a 541-549-1026 5 541 549 1026 Breakfast 6-11 | Soup 11-2 daily | Buy coffee at SistersCoffee.com 541-549-0527 • 273 W. Hood Ave. 23 DAVIS TIRE 188 W. Sisters Park Dr. In Sisters Industrial Park across from SnoCap Mini Storage Serving Sisters Since 1963.