Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference

In 1990, the California Legislature passed a law to collect a $0.50 per pound surcharge on all vertebrate pest control materials sold by county agricultural commissioners throughout the state. These monies were to be used to fund research required to maintain the state’s current vertebrate pesticide registrations, to improve existing rodenticides, and to find new materials and methods to solve California’s vertebrate pest problems. An external advisory committee, the Vertebrate Pest Control Research Advisory Committee, was established to set research priorities and recommend expenditures from this fund. To date, this program has raised more than $6.5 million to meet its objectives. We summarize the history and operation of the surcharge fund as well as the accomplishments of the program. Data on rodenticide sales throughout this program’s operation are presented. We describe the types of research funded to date, as well summarizing results of selected studies supported by this program. We also review accomplishments in education and outreach supported by this fund.