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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 1997-01-22, Page 7THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22,1997 PAGE 7. Ontario has the cure Ethel resident and MNR employee Bev Stevenson talks with Sgt. Colbert, a Texas National Guard, between baiting flights. Ethel woman works Continued from page 6 And just as importantly, there's less chance of the baits being destroyed by a non-indigenous pest, the fire ants. Millions of anthills dot the south Texas landscape but the biting insects are below ground and dormant in the cold weather. The actual baits used in Texas are American-made, fashioned after the Ontario baits. About the size of a small matchbox, each holds a blister pack of vaccine, protected by a wax coating and contained inside an outer, edible shell. Tests have shown that coyotes favor the compressed fishmeal shell, while foxes prefer a dried dog food coated with sugar. When developing similar baits for raccoons in southern Ontario, MNR tests revealed the raccoon's favourite - marshmallow coated. The bait is tailored in size for. the target species to ensure the animal bites into it and breaks the blister pack, releasing the vaccine into its mouth. The baits are not harmful to other animals or humans if they are consumed. While the baits arc also meant to be odorous enough to attract an animal from a distance, the smell of 12,000 baits inside the aircraft, combined with 500 feet of altitude and bumpy flying, does pose difficulties for some staff. Air sickness has been common for many of the Texas personnel who haven't had much low-level flying time. The Ontario crews got in their share of flying, with the three aircraft departing Sault Ste. Marie early on the morning of Jan. 4. Three fuel stops and 13 hours later they were at the airport at Alice, Texas, about 75 kms. west of Corpus Christi and the Gulf of Mexico. From here, 1.5 million coyote baits are being dropped over a period of 17 days. The project then moves northwesterly to Fort Stockton and then eastward to Burnet, spending a week at each location and dropping 1.1 million grey fox vaccine baits. All baits are distributed at a density of 25 per square km. Baits will be distributed over an area of almost 100,00 square kms. For Ontario this initiative represents a two-year million dollar contract. Ontario's continued participation in the Texas rabies project will depend on their success in bidding for the job when it is put out to tender. Regardless of whether Ontario is successful in gaining another Texas contract, the exposure through the media has generated international interest and inquiries. Rabids is a world-wide problem. Ontario has the cure. WHERE DO YOU TURN I TO FIND OUT WHAT'S AT THE MOVIES? YOUR NEWSPAPER: The link to your community with crew in Texas KNtCHTEL Ethel and Alice have something in common. They're both towns with women's names. But for Ethel resident, Bev Stevenson, the similarity ends there. Stevenson, a rabies technician working for the Ministry of Natural Resources, is currently on a five- week assignment as part of an Ontario contingent helping the State of Texas fight an epidemic of rabies among coyotes and gray foxes. "This is my second year down here," said Stevenson, who is currently based at Alice, Texas before moving westward to Ford Stockton on the Texas/Mexico border, and then to Burnet, about a 90-minute drive from San Antonio. "I'm really enjoying the job down here. I'm working with a number of the Texas staff that I met last year. And they're a great bunch," said Stevenson. "Everybody down here is so friendly, helpful and courteous. It really makes the job a lot easier." She has been involved for a number of years with aerial baiting for red foxes in Ontario, and with the vaccination program for raccoons. "I really like my work back home, but this is a great opportunity to meet new people, experience a different culture and to see Texas as you never could as a tourist. I even got a chance to visit Mexico and do a little shopping." "The terrain is mostly flat, chaparral and covered with mesquite and cactus, but there's coastal plains, grazing lands, and mountains to the west. And you have to like Mexican food," said Stevenson. "Even after a week though I miss my dog, cross country skiing and peanut butter. You can get it in the stores but they don't have it in restaurants. I’ll survive." By mid-February, the combined Ontario/Texas rabies fighting team will have dropped 2.6 million rabies vaccine baits and it will be time to head home again. Stevenson will be taking home souvenirs, a lot of memories and looking forward to next year. She might even yearn for some tasty carne guisada and tortillas ... in between peanut butter sandwiches, of course. 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