Join the Save Newbury Wildlife group!
Send an email to [email protected] to be included on our email list.
You can follow our progress here and on our facebook page.
Send an email to [email protected] to be included on our email list.
You can follow our progress here and on our facebook page.
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We are pleased to report that the Newbury Select Board voted unanimously 1/23/24 on a policy to ban the use of SGARs on municipal property.
The citizens of Newbury voted overwhelmingly to approve our petition to restrict the use of SGARs on private property on 4/30/24!
Will the town of Newbury support an initiative to the Select Board to submit a Home Rule Petition which permits the Town to adopt a bylaw which will restrict the use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) on privately owned properties, as has been enacted by Select Board on town-owned properties; whereas these rat poisons pose a danger not only to their intended targets but also to wildlife, pets, and humans; eliminating SGARs from our environment would help protect our ecosystem; such Home Rule Petition and later adopted bylaw would provide an educational component to help citizens keep their properties rodent-free and also provide an integrated pest management plan (IPM), overseen by the Board of Health, to implement rodent control; or will the town act on any action related thereto? (Inserted at the request of Kathleen Downey and 10 registered voters.)
These Bills Need Your Support:
On the state level, H.814/S.540 are the bills that could most meaningfully lead to laws that restrict the use of SGARs. Currently, Massachusetts law prohibits towns from regulating pesticide (which includes rodenticides) use on private property. This legislation would return power to the towns and cities to regulate pesticides by abolishing the state law that currently prevents Newbury and other municipalities from being able to ban or restrict SGAR (and other pesticides) use on private property. Both these bills are in dire need of more co-sponsors.
Arlington, Newbury, Newton, and Orleans have bills proposing to limit rodenticide use in their respective towns (H.804 for Arlington, H.4741 for Newbury, S.2448 for Newton, and H.4481 for Orleans which includes most pesticides) that must be voted on by the entire state legislature. It’s important to get a commitment from Reps and Senators throughout the State House to support these bills and to vote in their favor when they come up on the floor of their respective house or committee. The passage of of these bills could establish a legal precedent that would allow other municipalities to also regulate SGARs and other harmful pesticides.
Finally, the proposed bill H. 825/S.487 : An act relative to pesticides (otherwise known as the “Hawkins bill”) is also in need of co-sponsors. This bill would require a state registration database to track SGARs use in the state and promote education and awareness about these poisons.
Senator Bruce Tarr ([email protected]) and Representative Kristin Kassner ([email protected]) representing Newbury are sponsors of H.4741 (Newbury's home rule petition) co-sponsors of H.825/S.487 (the Hawkins bill) but they have not co-sponsored H.814/S.540 (authorizing towns to regulate pesticides use on private property), H.804, S.2448, or H.4481.
Meet with your State Representative
This is the most effective method of communication and easy to accomplish: Your Massachusetts Senators and Representatives (or their representative) keep open office hours in your town or you can make an appointment that is convenient for you.
Rep. Kristin Kassner ( [email protected]): Newbury Council on Aging, the second Monday of each month 10 am
To schedule a different time/day email: [email protected]
Sen. Bruce Tarr ([email protected]) : Newbury Council on Aging, the third Thursday of each month 12:15 pm
To schedule a different time/day email: [email protected]
If you don't live in Newbury you can Find your state legislator here.
Write a Letter/Email to your State Representative
We encourage you to write or call your state senator and state representative and request their support of these bills. When you write a letter/email include the following:
On the national level, please write to our US Representative Seth Moulton, as well as our US Senators, Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey.
Here is contact information:
For Seth Moulton: https://sethmoulton.house.gov/email-me
For Elizabeth Warren: https://www.warren.senate.gov/contact/shareyouropinion
For Edward Markey: https://www.markey.senate.gov/contact/share-your-opinion
Some asks you can make of Moulton, Warren and Markey:
The citizens of Newbury voted overwhelmingly to approve our petition to restrict the use of SGARs on private property on 4/30/24!
Will the town of Newbury support an initiative to the Select Board to submit a Home Rule Petition which permits the Town to adopt a bylaw which will restrict the use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) on privately owned properties, as has been enacted by Select Board on town-owned properties; whereas these rat poisons pose a danger not only to their intended targets but also to wildlife, pets, and humans; eliminating SGARs from our environment would help protect our ecosystem; such Home Rule Petition and later adopted bylaw would provide an educational component to help citizens keep their properties rodent-free and also provide an integrated pest management plan (IPM), overseen by the Board of Health, to implement rodent control; or will the town act on any action related thereto? (Inserted at the request of Kathleen Downey and 10 registered voters.)
These Bills Need Your Support:
On the state level, H.814/S.540 are the bills that could most meaningfully lead to laws that restrict the use of SGARs. Currently, Massachusetts law prohibits towns from regulating pesticide (which includes rodenticides) use on private property. This legislation would return power to the towns and cities to regulate pesticides by abolishing the state law that currently prevents Newbury and other municipalities from being able to ban or restrict SGAR (and other pesticides) use on private property. Both these bills are in dire need of more co-sponsors.
Arlington, Newbury, Newton, and Orleans have bills proposing to limit rodenticide use in their respective towns (H.804 for Arlington, H.4741 for Newbury, S.2448 for Newton, and H.4481 for Orleans which includes most pesticides) that must be voted on by the entire state legislature. It’s important to get a commitment from Reps and Senators throughout the State House to support these bills and to vote in their favor when they come up on the floor of their respective house or committee. The passage of of these bills could establish a legal precedent that would allow other municipalities to also regulate SGARs and other harmful pesticides.
Finally, the proposed bill H. 825/S.487 : An act relative to pesticides (otherwise known as the “Hawkins bill”) is also in need of co-sponsors. This bill would require a state registration database to track SGARs use in the state and promote education and awareness about these poisons.
Senator Bruce Tarr ([email protected]) and Representative Kristin Kassner ([email protected]) representing Newbury are sponsors of H.4741 (Newbury's home rule petition) co-sponsors of H.825/S.487 (the Hawkins bill) but they have not co-sponsored H.814/S.540 (authorizing towns to regulate pesticides use on private property), H.804, S.2448, or H.4481.
Meet with your State Representative
This is the most effective method of communication and easy to accomplish: Your Massachusetts Senators and Representatives (or their representative) keep open office hours in your town or you can make an appointment that is convenient for you.
Rep. Kristin Kassner ( [email protected]): Newbury Council on Aging, the second Monday of each month 10 am
To schedule a different time/day email: [email protected]
Sen. Bruce Tarr ([email protected]) : Newbury Council on Aging, the third Thursday of each month 12:15 pm
To schedule a different time/day email: [email protected]
If you don't live in Newbury you can Find your state legislator here.
Write a Letter/Email to your State Representative
We encourage you to write or call your state senator and state representative and request their support of these bills. When you write a letter/email include the following:
- Introduce yourself. Are you a longtime resident? Are you a bird watcher? Do you walk the back roads? Are you a nature lover? Do you have pets that go outside?
- The issue you are writing about: The use of SGARs and the detrimental effect on our wildlife and pets.
- What you want them to do: Co-sponsor the above bills and amend the Hawkins bill (H.825/S.487) to include the original language that required pest control professionals to disclose the impacts of SGARs on non-target animals (including wildlife and pets) to prospective customers and get signed consent after the disclosure that these customers still wanted these poisons to be deployed after learning about their risks. This language was stripped out at some point due to the influence of the pest control lobby. We feel it is critical that the current iteration of the bill include this provision and pass with it intact.
On the national level, please write to our US Representative Seth Moulton, as well as our US Senators, Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey.
Here is contact information:
For Seth Moulton: https://sethmoulton.house.gov/email-me
For Elizabeth Warren: https://www.warren.senate.gov/contact/shareyouropinion
For Edward Markey: https://www.markey.senate.gov/contact/share-your-opinion
Some asks you can make of Moulton, Warren and Markey:
- to become a champion of this issue
- to work with other interested legislators to draft or sponsor propose legislation that would ban or heavily restrict the use and availability of AR poisons, both online and for use by pest control professionals
- to pressure the EPA to pass stricter regulations on anticoagulant poisons–or better yet–to ban them altogether and remove their registration as an available rodenticide
- to fight against efforts by conservative legislators to pass federal laws both independent of and in the 2023 Farm Bill that would stop states and local municipalities from being able to restrict or regulate pesticides, including anticoagulant rodenticides.
Join the EwA SGARs Brigade
Documenting & Assessing the Impact of SGARs on Non-Target Species
Help document the location of potential and confirmed SGARs bait devices, and sick or dead animals likely victims of SGARs in the Greater Boston Area (Massachusetts, U.S.). By doing so, you'll contribute essential data to raise awareness about the intersection of rodents, SGARs use, and wildlife victims and give open-access, evidence-based tools for communities to understand the spread and impact of SGARs and act accordingly. Learn more.
Documenting & Assessing the Impact of SGARs on Non-Target Species
Help document the location of potential and confirmed SGARs bait devices, and sick or dead animals likely victims of SGARs in the Greater Boston Area (Massachusetts, U.S.). By doing so, you'll contribute essential data to raise awareness about the intersection of rodents, SGARs use, and wildlife victims and give open-access, evidence-based tools for communities to understand the spread and impact of SGARs and act accordingly. Learn more.