Conservation Commission to back town rodenticide ban, extends Habitat permit

WESTON — December 10, 2024 — Weston Conservation Commission moves toward backing a municipal ban on second-generation rodenticides. At the Dec. 10 meeting, resident Kristen Barbieri of Save Weston Wildlife presented on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, citing the March 2023 death of an Arlington bald eagle and three barred owl deaths at the Cape Wildlife Center in the past two weeks. Barbieri said 96 percent of Massachusetts pest control companies use the products, which she called "horrendous" because animals "literally bleed out." Conservation Agent Jordan McCarron will draft a letter supporting a Select Board policy modeled on Newburyport's, targeted for a Jan. 14 hearing, and floated including SGAR prohibitions as special conditions in future wetlands permits. The commission also voted unanimously to extend the order of conditions for Habitat for Humanity's Zero Wellesley Street 40B project to Jan. 19, 2028, and issued a certificate of compliance for 141 Cherrybrook Road.