Obviously, non-targeted species will be affected when the Feds airbomb the Farallon Islands with rodenticide to kill all those mice.
Like this one. See it? Here’s the big version, via nature photographer Jenny Erbes.
But so what. What’s the deal?
This is one of the things that the feds do right.
Like, they were so effective up north not too long ago that Rat Island will need a new name after 229 years.
So, hurry up Feds, we’re waiting on you…
You see, the Feds had a plan to kill the famous rats of Rat Island, Alaska and they did that, with extreme prejudice, just a few years back.
See? No more Japanese rats from that shipwreck of the 18th century:
Click to expand
So why can’t the Feds do the same thing with our Farallon Islands?
Get cracking, Feds.
You know, one of these days, I’ll start a half-assed non-profit, pay myself a six-figure salary, put the wife on staff, hire the kids too, put cute animal pictures on the homepage to keep the cash coming in – whew, good times.
Anyway, unrelated to that, srsly, comes now WildCare Bay Area to object to the Feds’ plans to airdrop a couple tons of poison on the Farallones (or Farallon Islands, (Spanish for pillars or “rocky outcrop,” see comments)) to kill the thousands of resident, non-native house mice what eat the eggs of endangered native birds.
Like this one. See it? Here’s the big version, via nature photographer Jenny Erbes.
All right, enough of Marin, let’s hear from the people on the scene:
In closing, Marin, You So Crazy!
A relatively fog-free day in the Sunset District.
Through the tinted glass of the ginourmous windows of Yelp-rated Sava Pool
From a higher sperspective in the Twin Peaks area, on an exceptionally clear morning.
Can you see the lighthouse on the top of South East Farallon Island?
Noisy Canon 10D at 840mm, from Christmas Tree Point Road, a skosh more than 30 miles away…
Mark your calendar and get your popcorn – soon you’ll be able while away those lazy afternoons at work glued to the images you’ll see from the “FIRST EVER WEBCAM TO STREAM LIVE FOOTAGE FROM THE FARALLON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.”
“Just in time for the first annual World Oceans Day, the first ever webcam on the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge will go live on June 8 at http://www.calacademy.org/webcams/farallones/ Powered by solar energy and perched on a windswept lighthouse on top of Southeast Farallon Island, the webcam will provide an unprecedented view of the seabirds, seals, and possibly even sharks that call these isolated islands home.
“The live webcam feed will be accompanied by animal identification guides, Farallones history, and research and conservation information. This exciting new initiative is made possible through a cooperative partnership between the California Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and PRBO Conservation Science.”
It’s going to be mega.
See all them sharks and boids? Well, maybe not, but this is a relatively fog-free day in the Sunset District. Until the new webcam came along, this was as close as you could could get to the Farallones.
Through the tinted glass of the ginourmous windows of Yelp-rated Sava Pool
From a higher perspective in the Twin Peaks area, on an exceptionally clear morning.
Can you see the lighthouse on the top of South East Farallon Island? That’s the site of the new webcam:
Noisy Canon 10D at 840mm, from Christmas Tree Point Road, a skosh more than 30 miles away
That will have to do you until Monday.
Remember their promise: “possibly even sharks.”
FIRST EVER WEBCAM TO STREAM LIVE FOOTAGE FROM THE FARALLON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
Cooperative partnership between California Academy of Sciences, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and PRBO Conservation Science allows Web users to follow the action on the largest seabird colony in the continental United States
SAN FRANCISCO (May 27, 2009) – Just in time for the first annual World Oceans Day, the first ever webcam on the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge will go live on June 8 at www.calacademy.org/webcams/farallones. Powered by solar energy and perched on a windswept lighthouse on top of Southeast Farallon Island, the webcam will provide an unprecedented view of the seabirds, seals, and possibly even sharks that call these isolated islands home. The live webcam feed will be accompanied by animal identification guides, Farallones history, and research and conservation information. This exciting new initiative is made possible through a cooperative partnership between the California Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and PRBO Conservation Science.
Located 27 miles west of San Francisco, the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge is composed of three island groups that are home to the largest seabird colony in the continental United States. Approximately 250,000 seabirds representing 13 species and five species of seals and sea lions use the islands. Gray whales, blue whales, and humpback whales migrate past the islands every year. The area is also an important feeding ground for great white sharks. The refuge was established in 1909 by President Theodore Roosevelt as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds.
More deets after the jump.
