#Agriculture Management

[determinate-negation]

sunflowers also have the quality of removing metals and toxins from soil theyre in and can be used for phytoremediation to decontaminate soil

[reasonsforhope]

"A Delhi-based engineer has designed a replacement for polystyrene packaging out of “rice stubble” the dead stalks left over after the rice season in India, millions of tons of which are burned every year.

They say wisdom oft comes from the mouths of babes, and Mr. Arpit Dhupar was at first left scratching his head when his young nephew drew a picture of the world with a grey sky.

Everything else was normal, green grass, yellow sun, white and brown mountains; why was the sky grey? It dawned on him that his nephew was drawing the sky as he saw it every year when the rice stubble was burned: grey.

“We shouldn’t live in a world where we have to explain to kids that the sky should be painted blue. It should be a given,” he told The Better India.

So he launched a new business venture called Dharaksha Ecosystems in order to tackle the rice stubble problem. Essentially, the farmers need it cleared off their land asap after harvest. Its high moisture content means it’s not useful for stove fuel, so they burn it in massive pyres.

In his factory, he turns 250 metric tons of rice stubble harvested from 100 acres of farmland in Punjab and Haryana into packaging, while paying the farmers a rate of $30 per acre for something they would usually burn.

Dhupar originally wanted to use mushrooms to rapidly biodegrade baled stacks of rice stubble, but found that the fungus left behind a metabolite that wasn’t biodegradable—in other words, he’d have to create a waste problem to solve a waste problem.

Over time he realized that the filaments that make up the subterranean structure of the mushrooms, called mycelium, were acting as a sort of binding agent, turning the baled stubble into something durable.

“This wasn’t a waste material but could be a usable one,” said Dhupar. “Through bio-fabrication, we could use the stubble waste to create a material similar to [polystyrene], but one that was biodegradable.”

There are a lot of these sorts of sustainable packaging ideas floating around, invented by people who rarely have experience in markets and commerce. This is not the case with Dhupar’s stubble packaging.

He has already prevented over half a million pounds of polystyrene from entering landfills since launching his product, which has numerous, exceptional properties.

They sell around 20 metric tons of their product every month, making about $30.5 thousand dollars per annum, mostly by selling to glassware companies."

-via Good News Network, 3/22/23

[lost-estradiographer]

I

know that voting for the status quo sucks.

To say it "sucks" massively understates the exact amount of suffering that exists under the status quo, an amount that I acknowledge I am too privileged to ever fully grasp.

I cannot magically provide some viable third-party candidate just barely a month before the election. I cannot solve Israel/Palestine Conflict that has haunted the world for over 70 years. I am a 29-year old transgender woman working her way through her own mental illnesses, trauma, and an undergraduate degree. I was never going to be the one to solve anything here.

All I can tell you is that regardless of whether you vote or not, there will be a presidential election. It's going to be a shitshow, regardless. Whether you vote or not, there will be a different president in January. Voting for the status quo may not be directly in your interests.

We had four years of Trump and we are still trying to unfuck ourselves from that. The beginning of my antagonistic relationship with the government was protesting in the streets of DC under his administration. I've fled from the Metro PD. I've put on a change of clothes and slipped out the back door of a gay sports bar.

Fucking vote.

Fucking vote.

Fucking vote.

Honestly, I

I don't want to see this voter apathy shit anymore.

People are going to keep dying under any president. Any president can, and probably wil, be morally culpable for the deaths of innocent people, both in the country and abroad. Carter might be the last president we had that wasn't overtly a war criminal and we still had foreign civilians killed by U.S. military involvement under the Carter admin.

I'm torn between asking you to block me, or asking you to message me, if you're taking the route of voter apathy. I'll tell you right away, here and now, that I probably don't have a solution to whatever problem is keeping you from voting for Harris. I can't even solve my own problems right, tbh. The government isn't really here for me, either.

But there isn't going to be some sort of miraculous revolution that results in The Ending Where Everyone Lives. If there's a revolution, then supply chains will falter and children and the infirm will die of preventable diseases and infections and complications in hospitals that would have otherwise been able to easily deal with such things. That's what happens in a revolution. I'm after the long-term idea where Humanity as a species lives. I'm after the route where we don't have an ending, we keep going.

Fucking vote, because exactly one of the two leading presidential candidates believes climate change is real, and it is the single greatest threat to all life on earth. We have spent the past 250 years, not just playing God with the environment, but actively creating an ecological niche in which future generations of humanity must continue to play God with the environment, dragging it back to a healthy place drop by drop, inch by inch, a degree at a time.

Or, I mean, don't vote. Either way, we'll all die at some point. Perhaps some of us will be lucky enough to die standing by our principles.

Those lucky few will become soil one day, just like I will.

I am begging you on my hands and knees to fucking vote, though, because our options are The Status Quo vs. Worse. That's

That's it.

There is no door number three right now. Our system, our flawed and broken and imbalanced and unjust system, does not accommodate for a third door. Whether you vote or not, you will be dragged through either Door 1 or Door 2 with all of humanity, as we whirl through the cosmos upon our tiny little speck of dust. The only other legitimate option is to allow oneself to become trampled; to become soil early. I don't say legitimate to give this option legitimacy, but to make clear that again, there is no door three. Door three is a casket. A one-way bed.

I didn't vote in 2016, and I'm hoping that you'll vote for the status quo this time, because that's the route that gives me the best odds of having a long and healthy life to regret my failure through inaction.

Just please

Fucking vote.

Or again, if you're taking the apathy route, probably just save me the time of blocking you, because you're not going to magically pull a viable third-party candidate out of your pocket less than six weeks before the election.

[tomorrowsgardennc]

today, let's talk about

✨️ aphids ✨️

specifically, when you have a basic greenhouse enclosure (aka not a commercial-built high tunnel with all the accessories).

aphids will be a problem. guaranteed. this is due to lack of airflow (like, legit airflow from wind or a very robust intake/exhaust system). i have a fan or few for my greenhouse tunnel contraption, but it's more for to help prevent stagnant air and keep the temperature uniform. i'm not at aphid-prevention level of airflow yet. and that's ok, because over the past few years i have learned the signs and what to do about them and today i am sharing with you.

✨️ step 1: finding ✨️

there is one tell tale sign that indicate you are in the presence of aphids. just like other pests, the sign you'll see is poop. for aphids, this looks almost like white and clear glitter on leaves. on the soil, it will look more like white glitter. the leaves will also be very sticky. sticky, glitter poop.

✨️ step 2: locating ✨️

ok, we found the pest poop. now to find the pests.

aphids nom on two parts of the plant: the newest growth, and under the leaves. as you see here, the very tip of this pepper plant has some babies. now when we get to the next stage, keep in mind that since the aphids are here, you already lost the game. there's no hope in this new growth unless you do the following and final step.

✨️ step 3: elimination ✨️

no no, put that neem oil down. neem oil kills any and all bugs. it does not detect which is good and which is bad. no no, dish soap and water legit does nothing except wash the poop away; ignore what pinterest and the influencers say about that combo. ok, army of ladybugs bought at the local hardware store is good, but we gotta do one more thing before we unleash them. and that's 𝓼𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰.

legit, the only way to remove an aphid infestation, regardless of what stage of infestation ("beginning", "haha, i'm in danger", or "HELP I'M DROWING IN GLITTER POOP") the most effective way to have any hope of saving the plants is to squish the aphids. this will not happen all in one day, nor two days, or three. day three is when you unleash the ladybug army, though, and i'll explain why in a second.

day one you'll be in shook and overwhelemed, and squish to your hearts content. but you will not get every single one nor any eggs. day two will show progress. day three is now manageable, and all the subsequent days afterwards will be to ensure you got every. single. last. one. including the eggs that hatch.

✨️ final step: release the hoard ✨️

sadly i can't find my video of releasing ladybug hoards in the greenhouse in years past... so i'll just scatter ladybugs 🐞 as i type this 🐞 part out to help with the ambiance.

ladybugs and other happy 🐞 bugs love to eat aphids. why not 🐞 have them do all the work?

well, think of your favorite cake. like legit the most perfect cake you could ever imagine. mine is yellow cake with chocolate mousse frosting and sliced fresh bananas. mmmm...

now imagine 20 of those, 🐞 and they're capable of reproduction. don't ask how, but they do. at a rate of 10 cakes every 🐞 other day.

🐞 how long will it take for you to be able to eat all those cakes before they can stop reproducing??

also, keep in mind when you purchase a pack of live ladybugs, only about 2/3rds actually are alive in the packet 🐞 by the time they make it to freedom and the remaining will either die very shortly from the last bit of energy to be free and fly away or just fly away and enjoy being elsewhere because they're an 🐞 introvert who was just stuck in a bag for a month or so 🐞🐞🐞🐞 and fuck everyone and everything they just want to leave regardless of the buffet at their feet.

that will leave you with approximately 10 ladybugs. and now that 🐞 you have done all that squishing, they will keep the aphids in check and make sure they don't pop up ever again. now your plants will attempt to regrow and leaves or new growth they lost and be happy.

✨️ the end 🐞✨️

[sisyphussister]

is it just my eating disorder or should the agricultural society of america not have a say in how many calories the average person ought to eat per day?

[spacenintendogs]

Can you share more about your degree? It sounds super interesting! Mine was just pretty straight forward (literature) lol.

sure!!

horticulture is never rlly easy to explain bc there's the basic definition of like "the art or practice of garden cultivation and management" according to the oxford dictionary (that i googled lol) but it's like. so many "hard" sciences and "soft" sciences mixed together. my first class was intro to horticulture and one of our tasks was to legit make our own definition.

i always explain it as the study of the art and science behind plants and how we apply them to our environments, human made or not.

i just have a two year degree bc i went to community college but it's skdkskd usually enough to get a job in the industry & work your way up. my degree was also very very hands on. during the 2020-2021 lockdown i had to go on campus despite the rest of it being closed (obv we were masked & stayed outside) but it was for classes like plant id courses, nursery production, etc

my fave classes were entomology (study of insects) & plant pathology (diseases caused by pathogens & environmental conditions!!). i also loved plant propagation (how to grow seeds!!!!) and it led to how i chose my certification in greenhouse production!! i learned basically how a greenhouse runs & how to manage it!! (i have a second certificate in permaculture (permanent agriculture in which you learn how to garden but it's a self sustaining ecosystem based on where u live!!) but that is based on a number of hours completed rather than taking a bunch of classes)

there is also a huge push for sustainability! lots of my professors had their docorates and masters in climate science and were very open & honest abt the way of the world & how gray it is in terms of what we make advancements in. (first class ever we talked abt gmos which are a touchy subject a lot of the time. they have their bads and goods. it's very messy as a topic & no clear answer on what to do bc they can't just get rid gmos but also? can't we do better with them?)

it's also learning abt how the industry in terms of sales & how plants grown travel. learning at shipments & the amt of mileage with a semi truck vs other forms of transport. how much each stop in the supply chain gets when you buy groceries (shopping local vs. big box stores).

i also did a project with my old high school in designing an outdoor classroom for them & learned abt designing a landscape (this was specifically one using mostly native plants!)

we would go to local forest preserves to learn about different ecosystems and biomes and why native plants are best but also how the majority of plants brought over, like, 80%, are not invasive. we did learn abt invasive plants as well and were very carefully instructed on proper control for pests (ranging from plants to insects to bacteria to virus... altho if your plant catches a virus... godspeed). chemical controls are ALWAYS a last resort.

we would go to local nurseries and greenhouses and farms to learn abt how they run!!!

it was just so much hands on learning and better understanding how the world works while also being told straight up where the world is heading (esp with climate change which will lead to inevitable zone shifting for what plants can grow where) and it's just augh!! so broad idek what to specifically go in on!! it's an amazing field!!

[starsfromtoulon]

thinking about an AU where javert does quit the police force after montreuil-sur-mer and ends up working with sheep and a sheepdog. (he mentions thinking about labouring in the fields--- most likely, this is as a harvester or agricultural worker, but let me!!!)

not relevant to anything, i just need to picture javert out in the country with dogs and sheep. and yes, i know, this is so implausible because it would necessitate JVJ having dealt with champmathieu entirely differently.

[probablyasocialecologist]

It is a poorly hidden secret that England’s food system isn’t about producing healthy, affordable and ecologically sustainable foods. It’s about creating profits. In 2022 the food and drink industry contributed £30bn to the British economy, making it the UK’s largest manufacturing sector. One might imagine this revenue would be evenly distributed across the supply chain, but they are heavily concentrated at its end. Last year, for instance, supermarkets announced record profits while on average farmers received less than 1p for every block of cheese or loaf of bread sold, and a shocking 29 per cent of British farms failed to make any money at all.

Such narrow margins encourage farmers to use cheaper but ecologically damaging land management practices. Britain’s farming sector is responsible for extensive waterway pollution, dangerous levels of greenhouse gas emissions, and catastrophic declines in biodiversity. Farmers don’t create these outcomes because they don’t care about their lands and communities. They create them because the economics of food production and England’s regulatory landscape encourages them.

[...]

Brexit gives England the opportunity to break decisively with past agricultural policy and lay the groundwork for a new era of ecologically sustainable food production. This will require democratising food systems and transitioning towards a “land sharing” approach to food production that integrates food systems and ecosystem restoration through agroecological farming.

Agroecology produces culturally sensitive, ecologically regenerative, high-yielding foods and fibres without relying on energy intensive, and often fossil fuel-derived inputs produced off-farm. Unlike land-sparing approaches to food production, it maximises biodiversity and promotes wildlife conservation by farming with rather than against natural systems. This means it can replace externally produced synthetic fertiliser or imported animal feeds with local or on-farm-produced ones. Not only is this better for Britain’s ecosystems but it offers a chance to address the “unequal exchange” between the Global North and Global South that sees animal feed flown to the UK from the Americas, causing soil degradation, habitat destruction and the murder of indigenous peoples there.

The world’s food chains are increasingly vulnerable to the effects of global heating, international conflict and manipulation by an ever-dwindling and yet ever-more powerful set of corporations. Just two companies, Syngenta Group and Bayer, control more than 40 per cent of the global seed markets and just four companies control around 70-90 per cent of the global grain trade. As communities in the UK and beyond struggle under a cost-of-living crisis, these companies are recording unprecedented profits. There is an urgent need to assert a more effective and democratic vision of our food system’s future that secures a living wage for Britain’s farmers and encourages them to create good-quality, nutritious and ecologically regenerative foods. This will require public investment in food and farming infrastructure up and down the food system’s supply chain.

[manage-institute-hyderabad]

Swachhata Hi Seva 2024 Campaign at MANAGE

Under the leadership of Dr. Yogita Rana, IAS, Joint Secretary (INM), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Director General of MANAGE, Institute is set to launch a series of events as part of the "Swachhata Hi Seva 2024" campaign (Sep.17-Oct.02, 2024). To mark the commencement of the Campaign, MANAGE employees took a pledge on September 18, 2024 to support the initiative. Under this campaign MANAGE will conduct various activities promoting cleanliness, sustainability, and public engagement across multiple locations. Dr. Saravanan Raj, Director (Agricultural Extension) & Director, Administration, MANAGE administered the pledge in English and Dr. K. Srivally, Assistant Director (Official Language) administered the pledge in Hindi to MANAGE faculty, officers and staff members

[notwiselybuttoowell]

…protections for horses are enshrined in federal law. The 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act mandated that the animals “are to be considered … as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands,” and as such, they “shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death.”

Under Trump in 2018, the Department of the Interior adopted a bold new program for the management of horses that exploited loopholes in the 1971 law. The program, Path Forward, was the brainchild of Republican Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah, a longtime friend of public land livestock grazers who consider horses to be their cows’ competitors on western rangelands.

Path Forward was a wholesale gift to the livestock industry. It directed the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, to expand roundups on federal herd management areas where the animals were alleged to have overpopulated. The benefit to livestock interests was obvious: Cows also use these same management areas, and the fewer horses in them, the better for stock-growers dependent on public forage to fatten their herds.

With Path Forward, the BLM began holding horses in “off-range” facilities in larger numbers than ever before, exposing the animals to rampant disease and extremes of cold and heat. It offered $1,000 a horse to would-be adopters, a much-ballyhooed “adoption incentive.” The agency promised that once the number of horses on the open range had been sufficiently reduced, it would begin widespread fertility control through darting of mares with contraceptives.

By 2020, Congress had fully funded Path Forward, and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, whom Joe Biden celebrated as the first Native American to hold the post, did not hesitate to implement it. Haaland’s BLM has overseen the largest increase in roundups of wild horses on record. It should be remarked as one of the minor ironies of history that a woman whose appointment was supposed to represent a break from the past has ended up perpetuating a violent and cruel status quo.

Occasional horse roundups, conducted humanely, are not out of keeping with the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The legislation stated that when the animals exceed the carrying capacity of management areas, the federal government should step in to regulate their numbers.

The problem is that the BLM has no scientific understanding of the carrying capacity of western rangelands where horses and burros roam free. This was the conclusion of a National Academy of Sciences report in 2013. The NAS investigators found that the BLM had failed to use “scientifically rigorous methods to estimate the population sizes of horses and burros,” failed “to model the effects of management actions on the animals,” and, pivotally, failed “to assess the … use of forage on rangelands.”

When I reported on wild horse controversies for my book on the fate of federal public lands under capitalism, I found that carrying capacity for these persecuted animals was mostly determined by the needs of cattle corporations. In every herd management area, there are cows, and they outnumber horses by orders of magnitude. Allotted the majority of the forage, the cattle do well, and the horses are left to survive on what pittance remains.

From the moment the 1971 legislation to protect horses and burros passed, the number of herd management areas, along with the total acreage included in them, has been continually declining. Horses today don’t enjoy full access to the meager acreage federal regulators designate for their survival. Livestock operators dominate even those parcels, while fences bar the horses from moving freely across the landscape. Maltreatment of horses is only one facet of a long historical process in which the BLM has treated wildlife with barely disguised contempt.

None of this appeared to be a consideration when, in 2022, the BLM decided to capture and place in holding facilities some 21,000 horses and burros, nearly twice the number of the last highest capture year, 2012. More horses and burros were rounded up and sent to holding between 2018 and 2022 — a total of 55,000 — than in any four-year period since passage of the 1971 act.

[lunod]

I'd been avoiding Coral Island because using western agricultural methods on a small island and developing said island is very 😐 and also it really seemed (and does seem) to be essentially SDV Expanded with a fresh coat of paint. However I started playing and I am dying bisexually.

My main gripe with SDV (and SDV Expanded) romances is basically that a lot of the romance is fueled by you "fixing" them in some way and they don't really have like...depth? They have some interests sure but they're never actually Doing the thing they want to be doing and their aspirations just STOP completely after marriage. I might just be Adult for that but people who haven't found their way are just Not attractive to me so I never really felt compelled by any of them. This one though they all have lives and seem a lot more fleshed out, like they could stand WITH me and not just BY me you know? Time will tell if this will go in the "fixing" them direction but 👀

[starry-eyed-butch]

I wish anyone in my real face to face life cared about this—

I got two A’s, A-, B+ for the quarter. I think that should get me on the Deans’ List again. My second quarter, I got honor roll. First quarter was Deans’ list. A good first year I hope I can keep up with. Fingers crossed I can transfer stores and reduce the stress from work.

[oaresearchpaper]

Sustainable Natural Resource Management: Forests, Woodlands, and Wetlands

Abstract

Forest and wetlands are fragile communities, when human activities precede uncontrolled their roles are lost. Objective was to investigate the role of forest and wetlands as water catchment areas in Zimbabwe. Christmas Pass forest woodland and wetland in Mutare was the study site. Sample of 196 people, selected through stratified random sampling and simple random sampling, then purposive sampling for 20 key informants. In-depth interview, key informant interviews, focus group discussion, and observation was conducted. Study revealed that both forest and wetlands are important in the hydrological cycle. Noted that there are several adverse impacts brought by anthropogenic activities. Observed that water was an essential factor in sustainable forest management, and forests are crucial for regulating the water cycle. Forest woodlands and wetlands are under a huge threat for extinction, as anthropogenic activities continue to impact negatively on these areas. Forest woodlands and wetlands are a major water catchment area and there is need for catchment basin management plan for as to rejuvenate the river flow downstream. Recommended the need for best management practices (BMPs) as they are proactive and often voluntary practical methods or practices used during forest management to achieve goals related to water quality, silviculture, wildlife and biodiversity, aesthetics, and/or recreation. Noted that the sustainable management of the forest woodlands requires participatory approach of all stakeholders through capacity building and empowerment. Above all, there was need for the catchment basin to balance its role of provision of human needs and the ecosystem services.

Introduction

The deforestation involves conversion of forest land to agriculture land, or residential resettlement. Worldwide the most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests. Between 15 million to 18 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Belgium, are destroyed every year, on average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute (IUFRO, 2007). FAO (2013) indicated that only 4 billion hectares of forest are left. The world has lost one-third of its forest, an area twice the size of the United States. This is despite the fact that forest and wetland are major catchment area for water, which need to be used by the human beings.

The above degradation of the wetland and forest has significantly affected the hydrological cycle. FAO (2013) suggested that water is a scarce commodity as it availability, accessibility, adequate and safety heavily depends on climate conditions, weather and sustainable management of the water catchment basins. The first and key step in providing safe water is the selection of the best available sources of water. The best sources of safe water is found in well protected catchment area that includes forest woodlands and wetlands. In general ground water is better protected water that the surface water, the ground water is usually found in the forest or wetlands as springs (Bonan, 2008).Catchment protection is the second step in providing safe water and where, for whatever reason, source choice is limited it presents a key opportunity to minimise pathogen contamination. A catchment is an area where water is collected by the natural landscape. Imagine cupping a person’s hands in a downpour of rain and collecting water in them (FAO, 2013). The forest woodlands and wetlands are a very important water catchment basin. In most parts of Zimbabwe, it is being evident that the management of water catchment basin depends largely on the institutional setting as well as policy orientation of different communities.

Naturally, human beings, animals, birds and forests depend largely on each other and without proper management systems human beings will overrule the natural communities. This naturally creates tension between natural resources, including woodlands, wetlands, animals and birds since the demand and the need for these natural resources will increase (FAO, 2013). This has led to degradation of the forest woodlands and the wetlands. Wetlands and forest woodlands are fragile communities and when human activities precede uncontrolled, function and roles of the wetland and forest woodland as a water catchment source and species richness will be lost. According to Bredemeier (2002), anthropogenic activities affect the health of our water catchments this is through deforestation of the forest woodlands, and settlement and farming in the wetlands just to mention a few.

Humans often equate forest and wetlands with wasteland, a place to be drained, filled in, burnt off and re-purposed. In fact, FAO (2013) studies show that 64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900. Measured against 1700, an estimated 87% have been lost. There has been serious deforestation, clearance, clearcutting, or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees the Christmas Pass forest woodland and wetland that is then converted to non-forest use.

Water has become a scarce commodity in the study area as the water catchment areas are drying up. FAO (2013) indicated that the forest woodlands and wetlands are being cleared for the purpose of timber harvesting, resettlement and farming. Therefore the study area is not spared, this has led to woodlands and wetlands around the study area losing their original status of being a water catchment basin, loss of flora and fauna species used to be seen in the forest and wetland area as there is no water to drinking. The rivers network are dried up and no water is flowing downstream. This then means that Zimbabwe has not been spared, from the adverse impacts of land degradation desertification, and drought. FAO (2013) indicated that it is estimated that 10% of land’ soils are under high risk of erosion due to the nature of soils, which are sodic. The soils break into fine particles and tunnel subsequently collapsing and forming gullies (FAO, 2013). Some of the reason for land degradation especially taking the form of desertification, deforestation, overgrazing, salinization, or soil erosion, land degradation can be caused by unsustainable land management practices, such as deforestation, soil nutrient mining and biophysical factors, such as the natural topography of an area or its rainfall, wind, and temperature.

Source : Sustainable Natural Resource Management: Forests, Woodlands, and Wetlands | InformatoveBD

[exopelagic]

this election feels so hollow even though it’s likely ostensibly gonna be a good outcome. labour really just sucks fucking ass rn huh

[transwolvie]

Leftists when they find out Lenin was anti abortion

[plethoraworldatlas]

The Bureau of Land Management recently announced that it will no longer allow the use of “cyanide bombs” on its lands. The M-44 devices are often used to protect livestock from animals like foxes or coyotes.

Several environmental groups lauded the decision, saying it makes public spaces safer for people and animals.

“Cyanide bombs” are baited, spring-loaded traps that release deadly poison into the air when triggered. Wildlife agents – often from the U.S. Department of Agriculture – usually set them to control predators, especially in remote areas.

M-44s killed more than 5,000 animals last year, according to the USDA, and were deployed in 10 states, including Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada.

Colette Adkins, Carnivore Conservation program director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the devices are dangerous because of their indiscriminate nature.

“Anything that tugs on the spring-loaded device will be sprayed with this deadly poison, whether it's a kid, an endangered species or a target animal like a coyote. They really are just too dangerous to be used in public places,” she said.

This issue made national headlines in 2017 when a “cyanide bomb” killed a family pet and injured a boy in Idaho. Since then, several groups have been petitioning to end the use of M-44s on public lands.

With the BLM’s move, the devices are now banned from all lands administered by the U.S. Interior Department. Still, M-44s are allowed on U.S. Forest Service lands and in some states.