Update: Anacapa Island Faces Its Next Hurdle

© 2001 Wendy Dager

Once again, Channel Islands National Park is in the news because of its efforts to eradicate that which it considers problematic. This time, park officials are attempting to seek approval for their plan to kill 2,000 non-native black rats on the island.

In November, 2000, a pound of the poison brodifacoum was laced in 50 pounds of kibble, then dropped from a helicopter on Middle Anacapa. Of the island’s 700 acres, this initial poisoning affected only 10 acres on a portion of the island that is not open to public visits. Future drops are planned for the fall of 2001, and again in 2002, but the National Park Service must first have the approval of the Environmental Protection Agency. Controversy remains over whether the poison will also affect other animals on the island, as well as if nonnative species should, indeed, be eradicated. —For more on the subject, read past Leaf-let topics such as "Non-Indigenous Species Extract Huge Cost," "Ecological Restoration: Attempting to Set Back the Clock," and "Population Control on Santa Cruz Island".

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