California commission OKs poisoning plan for wildlife refuge

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The California Coastal Commission has approved a plan to poison invasive mice threatening rare seabirds on the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The agency voted Thursday night to approve a plan to drop poisoned bait from helicopters onto the rocky islands off the San Francisco coast that are home to hundreds of thousands of breeding birds. Officials say a soaring population of mice is threatening the birds, including the rare ashy storm-petrel. But critics fear the program could poison other wildlife species beside mice. Any action still requires approval from the regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.