giant pouched rat in Florida. Because of poor 

 containment by the pet trade, this rat became 

 established on Grassy Key. The FWS, Florida Fish 

 and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and Florida 

 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 

 were fearful of the impacts that the Gambian giant 

 pouched rat could have on southern Florida and the 

 entire gulf coast region if it became established on 

 the Florida mainland. 



Working with these agencies, NWRC helped obtain a 

 quarantine emergency exemption from EPA to conduct 

 an eradication effort using specially formulated zinc 

 phosphide bait. Bait application for this eradication 

 effort began in June 2007 and continues. 



Rodenticide and Avicide Use for 

 Agricultural Protection 



Rodenticides continue to be a critical tool for the 

 protection of agricultural resources. During FY07, 

 the Registration Unit responded to requests from 

 EPA for additional data for zinc phosphide and 

 strychnine. The Registration Unit also responded to 

 numerous requests for regulatory assistance from 

 State agencies and WS. Many of the requests for 

 assistance came from WS Operations personnel 

 looking for help interpreting product labels to 

 ensure that proposed applications were legal. 

 However, State agriculture and pesticide agencies 

 also requested label modification to meet growers' 

 needs and requested scientific review of registration 

 application material for vertebrate pesticide products 

 proposed for registration within their States. 



All APHIS strychnine products are now officially 

 reregistered with EPA. These strychnine 

 products are restricted to subterranean baiting for 

 pocket gophers. The final data requirement for 

 reregistration, a product storage stability study, was 

 completed and submitted to EPA in FY 2007 by the 

 Registration Unit, in cooperation with the NWRC 

 Analytical Chemistry Project and the Pocatello 

 Supply Depot. 



At the request of EPA, APHIS voluntarily cancelled 

 its two inactive product labels that allowed 

 aboveground baiting. With the exception of one 



Nevada State registration, all aboveground uses of 

 strychnine have been terminated. 



APHIS worked with the State of California on two 

 agricultural protection studies involving an avicide 

 (DRC-1339) and a rodenticide (zinc phosphide). 

 To secure a registration for using DRC-1339 

 in feedlots, the California EPA asked APHIS to 

 conduct a storage stability study. In cooperation 

 with the NWRC Analytical Chemistry Project and 

 the Pocatello Supply Depot, the Registration Unit 

 completed and submitted this study to the California 

 EPA. With this product approval, all five of the 

 APHIS DRC-1339 products are now registered for 

 use in California. 



The California Department of Food and Agriculture 

 (CDFA) requested an amendment to the APHIS zinc 

 phosphide concentrate label to include use with 

 artichokes. CDFA provided all the data needed to 

 ensure product efficacy and worker safety. APHIS 

 submitted a label amendment request to EPA in 

 April 2007. Use of this product in artichokes is 

 expected to be approved in late 2007. In addition 

 to this label modification, APHIS also submitted a 

 request to EPA to allow use of this product in food 

 and feed crops, including alfalfa, barley, dry beans, 

 sugar beets, and wheat. 



In FY 2007, the NWRC Registration Unit finished 

 a multiyear cooperative study with a private 

 rodenticide registrant, the NWRC Olympia Field 

 Station, and the forest- products industry in the 

 Pacific Northwest to develop a rodenticide product 

 containing chlorophacinone for controlling mountain 

 beavers in reforestation areas. The Registration 

 Unit's role in this project involved obtaining two 

 Experimental Use Permits from EPA to conduct 

 efficacy trials and trials looking at the economics of 

 baiting techniques. In addition, the Registration Unit 

 worked closely with the private rodenticide registrant 

 to ensure a successful product registration. 

 Through these efforts, the product received State 

 registrations in Oregon and Washington. 



Developing Methods 45 



