EPA bans prairie dog poison in NM, other states

In response to a ruling by the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia in July, the EPA on Aug. 8 banned the use of chlorophacinone, trade-named Rozol Prairie Dog Bait, in Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Dakota until the EPA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finish their consultation on whether black-tailed prairie dogs should be listed as threatened or endangered. Rozol still can be used in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming. Rozol is an anticoagulant, which causes animals that eat it to bleed to death internally. It has been used for more than 30 years to control a wide range of rodents. Rozol also can kill animals that eat prairie dogs that have ingested it. This effect on nontarget species additionally might be driving concern about the poison, said Kevin Fridley, director of the South Dakota Department of Agriculture's Division of Agricultural Services. Because Rozol is oil-based, it does not break down in water. It often works with a single application, unlike some other poisons, and because it can be dropped directly in prairie dog holes instead of being strewn about them, it reduces the chance of birds and animals foraging in prairie dog towns will come in contact with the poison, Williams said...more