Construction laxity and callousness is not only minimizing quality of life to Alewife and Fresh Pond residents by means of over-development and a disregard for present traffic gridlock, but the often times quickie city building permit omits pedestrian safety and open space concerns, and encourages distribution of rat poison in areas around their new construction sites indiscriminately killing wildlife. Dead animals are showing up at Alewife and recently, Ruby, the noted Red tail was killed from rodenticide and proven by an official necropsy. Although not known what killed the 4 geese and opossum by the storm water wetlands oxbow and new forebay adjacent to Cambridge Park Drive at the “Triangle”, we must immediately appeal to leaders in the city and owners of newly permitted construction to avoid all rat poison or rodenticides, and instead use other methods. In 2008, the US-EPA declared that “second-generation rodenticides such as brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethialone, and difenacoum posed an "unreasonable risk" to children, pets, and wildlife, and gave manufacturers three years to cease selling directly to residential consumers”. In California alone, many inner city children were damaged by rodenticides and now they are showing up at Alewife/Fresh Pond through wildlife kill.

This warning should spread to all west Cambridge businesses and residents in the wildlife areas of Fresh Pond/Alewife and vicinity. We viewed the female fox lying dead from rotenticides captured by photographer McLean at Mt Auburn Cemetery 2 years ago which resulted from a careless bakery nearby. Companies such as granite and trash disposal MaBardy, Belmont Bank on Fawcett St., and all of the companies and businesses in the Concord- Alewife quadrangle might be sent notices not to poison rats but to use alternative means, and become educated by Raptors are the Solution (RATS), a national alliance of citizens, nonprofit groups, and local governments that educates consumers and municipalities about safe methods of rodent control and the dangers of second-generation poisons.

Safe alternatives include single and multiple-entrance snap traps, electrocuting traps, glue traps (provided you use them only indoors and frequently dispatch stuck rodents), and even first-generation baits with certain active ingredients which can be easily researched.

Years of watching the families of Buzz and Ruby grow through the lens of Paul Roberts; and Buzz brought back to life by the tender love and care of Susan Moses and Tufts animal hospital, should not have been brought to an end with the demise of Ruby from rodenticide, possibly impacted from new developments such as the Fawcett St. residential building where her 5th nearby nest was built with Buzz, and chicks were waiting for her. We’ll need to use her demise as cause for preventing more death around West Cambridge’s wildlife and throughout Cambridge, Belmont and Arlington. Residents children and pets can also be victims of these poisons.

Once our sensible thought processes have been put into gear, and modern technology used, deadly 2 generation poison will be passé and those who use it will be as well.

Education is even more important than owl boxes, but as a wildlife stewarding group, FAR is committed to building at least 20 owl boxes in the area and joining the “Hungry Owl Project”. http://www.hungryowl.org/. Best means for rodent control. This simple gesture is FAR’s Tribute to mother Ruby with whom we grew to love and admire her tenacious loyalties and instinctive mothering skills.

Ellen Mass, Friends of Alewife Reservation, Cambridge
Kathy Johnson, Friends of Alewife Reservation, Cambridge