Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Federal Agent Using Rifle to Take Out Predators in San Dieguito Lagoon

Predation has become such a problem at the San Dieguito Lagoon near the Del Mar fairgrounds that an agent of the United States Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services division has been employing a rifle to kill a list of varmints raiding the nests of protected bird species there.

But does the practice represent a hazard to human interlopers who have of late been frequently sighted illegally wandering within the area?

"Shooting was used to remove crows, ground squirrels, and one coyote observed on the nesting sites," according to a May in-house report by Wildlife Services specialist Joseph Baima.

An inventory of actions accompanying the memo shows that three squirrels were shot, as were three American crows, in addition to the coyote, which was killed May 8.

The memo adds that "Evidence and observations of numerous coyotes using the lagoon were recorded in May."

But "the most frequently captured predator species this month was ground squirrels and roof rats," the document goes on to say.

"Seven raccoons and four long-tailed weasels were also removed."

The report blames part of the problerm on what it speculates is illegal dumping of animals near the protected area.

"Wildlife Specialist Baima suspects raccoons are being released on the west side of I-5 near the emergency call box because of the sudden increase of raccoons trapped in this specific area.

"A sudden increase of activity in one specific area is typical of animals being relocated by the public.

"This pattern has occurred on other nesting sites located in urban areas.

"[Baima] moved and set additional cage traps to remove the raccoons before they got to the nesting sites."

Besides the racoons, a certain kind of large rodent has grown into a virtual plague: "At the present, the main concern is the established populations of roof rats that have spread along I-5."

Besides the rats, human instrusions are also a growing issue.

"During the month of May there were several incidents of trespassing in San Dieguito Lagoon," the memo notes. "Most of them involved unleashed dogs, joggers, people riding bicycles, and juveniles with spray paint."

"On May 11th, Specialist Baima contacted Ranger Natalie Borchirot regarding people trespassing near the nesting sites."

"They both agreed the increase of people was due to the longer summer days and summer break from schools.

"She assured Specialist Baima there would be more patrols during the summer, particularly in the evening when it was common to see people."

Interviewed this morning by phone, Ryan McCreary, assistant district supervisor for Wildlife Services, said the division's shooting program represented no danger to the human interlopers or neighbors because, "it's done safely and very rarely used."

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024

Predation has become such a problem at the San Dieguito Lagoon near the Del Mar fairgrounds that an agent of the United States Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services division has been employing a rifle to kill a list of varmints raiding the nests of protected bird species there.

But does the practice represent a hazard to human interlopers who have of late been frequently sighted illegally wandering within the area?

"Shooting was used to remove crows, ground squirrels, and one coyote observed on the nesting sites," according to a May in-house report by Wildlife Services specialist Joseph Baima.

An inventory of actions accompanying the memo shows that three squirrels were shot, as were three American crows, in addition to the coyote, which was killed May 8.

The memo adds that "Evidence and observations of numerous coyotes using the lagoon were recorded in May."

But "the most frequently captured predator species this month was ground squirrels and roof rats," the document goes on to say.

"Seven raccoons and four long-tailed weasels were also removed."

The report blames part of the problerm on what it speculates is illegal dumping of animals near the protected area.

"Wildlife Specialist Baima suspects raccoons are being released on the west side of I-5 near the emergency call box because of the sudden increase of raccoons trapped in this specific area.

"A sudden increase of activity in one specific area is typical of animals being relocated by the public.

"This pattern has occurred on other nesting sites located in urban areas.

"[Baima] moved and set additional cage traps to remove the raccoons before they got to the nesting sites."

Besides the racoons, a certain kind of large rodent has grown into a virtual plague: "At the present, the main concern is the established populations of roof rats that have spread along I-5."

Besides the rats, human instrusions are also a growing issue.

"During the month of May there were several incidents of trespassing in San Dieguito Lagoon," the memo notes. "Most of them involved unleashed dogs, joggers, people riding bicycles, and juveniles with spray paint."

"On May 11th, Specialist Baima contacted Ranger Natalie Borchirot regarding people trespassing near the nesting sites."

"They both agreed the increase of people was due to the longer summer days and summer break from schools.

"She assured Specialist Baima there would be more patrols during the summer, particularly in the evening when it was common to see people."

Interviewed this morning by phone, Ryan McCreary, assistant district supervisor for Wildlife Services, said the division's shooting program represented no danger to the human interlopers or neighbors because, "it's done safely and very rarely used."

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.