Letter to the Editor: Rat Poisons and Wildlife

Dear Representatives of the Select Board, Health Department, Department of Public Works, Facilities Department (Schools), and Conservation Commission;

As local communities in and around Belmont wake up to the dangers of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) to children, wildlife, and pets, we see encouraging progress toward reducing and eliminating SGARs. We would like to share with you what is going on in neighboring towns in this regard as Save Belmont Wildlife seeks to work with our community to eliminate these poisons as part of a cross-community effort. We are working to prevent the further poisoning of Massachusetts birds of prey and promote alternative rodent control, like integrated pest management (IPM), that works with wildlife to control the presence of rodents in our towns.

Last week, at a packed public event (a presentation by the founder of Save Arlington Wildlife, Laura Kiesel, hosted by Green & Open Somerville), Somerville’s environmental health coordinator announced that the city of Somerville would remove bait stations containing SGARs from their school grounds immediately. Somerville will also evaluate phasing out their use of SGARs on their other municipal properties and in demolition projects throughout the city. It’s a great start, and we hope this will be just the beginning of their efforts. See Somerville’s comprehensive public service content on rodenticide at bit.ly/Somerville-rodents.

The Arlington Select Board voted unanimously to support a ban on SGARs within Arlington’s borders in 2022. From there, the Arlington Town Meeting voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution requesting that their town manager adopt an IPM policy that banned SGARs on all municipally owned and managed lands. The town manager quickly complied. Town Meeting also voted in favor of submitting a home rule petition requesting permission to ban the use of SGARs on private property, which is currently pending in the state legislature.

The Arlington Health Department has posted a lot of content to assist townsfolk in addressing pest problems without poison as a first resort.

The city of Newton followed in Arlington’s footsteps in 2023, with all chambers of the city council voting unanimously in favor of an SGARs ban on public lands and submitting a home rule petition to the State Legislature to ban on private lands, where it recently had its hearing at the Joint Committee for the Environment and Natural Resources.

In Waltham, the conservation commission updated policies based on those of Arlington’s conservation commission in codifying restrictions to SGARs on all lands under their jurisdiction.

In Lexington, Save Lexington Wildlife is pursuing a nonbinding resolution toward banning SGAR use on public lands at their Town Meeting this year. They will pursue a home rule petition next year.

In Newbury, Save Newbury Wildlife convinced their Select Board to vote unanimously to prohibit SGARs on their public properties effective immediately. Newbury’s new policy to ban the use of SGARs on municipal property precedes their next step, a citizen’s petition to ban the use of SGARs on private property. Save Newbury Wildlife will also request that the town educate residents on integrated pest management. These two articles will be discussed and voted on at the annual Town Meeting.

Locally, the Save Belmont Wildlife group has been working closely with Save Arlington Wildlife, and both are part of a quickly expanding Save Wildlife network that now has initiatives in Waltham, Winchester, Lexington, Belmont, Newbury, Natick, and Somerville.

In its institutional mission to protect birdlife, Mass Audubon is launching local campaigns in communities across Massachusetts to regulate the use of SGARs by providing information and organization to volunteers from as many towns and cities as possible.

Members of SBW and SAW founder Laura Kiesel would be glad to meet with Belmont health, DPW, facilities, and school department decision-makers to discuss these developments further and what (we hope) it means for the future of reduced rodenticide use in Belmont.

Thank you for your attention to this initiative to improve our commonwealth.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey North, Town Meeting member Precinct 1, Managing Editor, Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter

Allison Lenk, Town Meeting member Precinct 8

Dean Hickman, chair, Sustainable Belmont

Laura Kiesel, founder Save Arlington Wildlife

& Volunteers of Save Belmont Wildlife