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M-44s are spring-loaded devices stuck in the ground and scented with decomposed animal tissue. They blast cyanide into the mouth of any creature that bites and pulls them. They were introduced in 1967 to replace gunpowder-driven Coyote Getters.

M-44s are designed to kill coyotes, foxes and feral dogs that sometimes prey on sheep and newborn cattle. They also kill at least 150 nontarget species.

On April 15, the Trump administration lifted former President Joe Biden鈥檚 M-44 ban on the Bureau of Land Management抖阴ap 245 million acres, and once again, M-44s will be deployed by the .

鈥淚鈥檝e worked since 1994 with countless people who have lost their dogs to M-44s or been poisoned themselves,鈥� said Brooks Fahy, director of , a nonprofit based in Eugene, Oregon. 鈥淢-44s can never be used safely. They are indiscriminate killers, and no young child, dog or wild animal can read a warning sign. I firmly believe it is only a matter of time until an M-44 kills a child.鈥�

During Trump鈥檚 first term, M-44s were in widespread use but hugely unpopular. The public wanted them banned. In 2019, when Trump鈥檚 EPA issued a proposal to keep them registered for use, there was such public outcry that the agency pulled the proposal.

Four months later, EPA reissued its proposal. During the public comment period, it received 22,390 written responses. All, save 10, opposed continued M-44 registration. The Administrative Procedure Act requires federal agencies to consider all 鈥渞elevant matter presented鈥� in public comments. Yet Trump鈥檚 EPA ignored the law, and M-44s remained registered until Biden鈥檚 ban.

On April 15, the Trump administration bypassed any public comment period, reauthorizing M-44 use on BLM land via a memorandum of understanding between BLM and USDA.

Wildlife advocates are furious. Predator Defense called the Trump administration鈥檚 resurrection of M-44s 鈥渋nsane.鈥� Project Coyote called it 鈥渄evastating.鈥�

And this from Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action: 鈥淩einstituting use of poison bombs sounds like war tactics from 1970s rebel guerrillas in Angola and not the actions of public lands agencies. Their statutory and moral responsibility is to steward native wildlife, not poison the animals.鈥�

So, who鈥檚 pushing M-44s back on public land? Whoever it is, it抖阴ap not sheep producers, explained Carter Niemeyer, employed by Wildlife Services for 26 years and supervising field agents for much of that time. M-44s were created mostly for them, but they now use guard dogs. Littering public land with poison bombs scented to attract canids is the last thing sheep producers want, he said.

Still, Trump spokesmen claim that the M-44 ban was lifted to benefit the wool industry. There鈥檚 widespread speculation that Trump ended the ban simply because Biden imposed it.

鈥淢-44s are unforgiving,鈥� said Niemeyer. 鈥淎ny animal that triggers one is dead. With traps and snares, you can usually release nontargets. Random coyote poisoning — 鈥榩reventive control鈥� 鈥� is killing coyotes anywhere and everywhere because one might someday eat a sheep. When we had, say, two coyotes regularly killing sheep, we鈥檇 remove them. That抖阴ap 鈥榗orrective control.鈥欌��

Robert Crabtree, America鈥檚 leading coyote researcher, found that random killing creates more coyotes. In natural populations, average litter size at birth is five or six. But competition in summer decreases pup survival to one or two. Random killing reduces competition, resulting in higher survival.

Niemeyer found that random killing also creates chaos by replacing older coyotes that have learned the dangers of depredating livestock with younger, inexperienced coyotes that do depredate.

But random killing is precisely what will now be happening on BLM land.

There has been legislation to permanently ban M-44s on federal lands, but it has been in limbo for years. Thanks to public outrage, there鈥檚 new life in a bill called 鈥淐anyon鈥檚 Law,鈥� named for teenager Canyon Mansfield from Pocatello, Idaho. In March 2017, when he was 14, Canyon encountered an M-44 on BLM land behind his house. He thought it was a lost sprinkler head.

When he picked it up, his 3-year-old yellow Lab, Kasey, got hit in the muzzle and died. Some of the cyanide also sprayed Canyon鈥檚 face, damaging his eyes. Until his late teens, Canyon suffered from chronic cyanide poisoning. It抖阴ap unclear if he suffered permanent damage.

Americans who love public lands, their dogs and wildlife need to聽ask their legislators to support聽Canyon鈥檚 Law, H.R. 4180 and S. 2179, banning M-44s. Primary sponsors are聽Rep. Jared Huffman, D-California,聽and聽Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon. At this writing,聽there are seven cosponsors.

Longtime wildlife writer and author Ted Williams is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West.聽

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