October 2, 2006

Acorn Newspapers

Eagle Scout project turns landfill into a home for rodent-seeking owls
By Angela Randazzo
Special to the Simi Valley Acorn

In her quest to build a better mousetrap, Mother Nature succeeded. It's called the owl.

With its pinpoint night vision, swiftness of flight and razor-sharp talons, the owl is to rats and mice what bad breath is to a blind date: the perfect killer.

Now, thanks to Simi Valley Boy Scout John Casselberry Jr., 14, the county landfill is tapping into the species' uncanny ability to hunt down the furry little pests.

"I was talking with people in my troop about finding an Eagle (Scout) project and I heard that Waste Management was looking for different ways to control the rodent population," said John, a member of Simi Troop 622. The Casselberry family pitched in, especially John Sr., 46, and they constructed eight owl boxes made of plywood and two-by-fours over the course of a month. The boxes sit atop 14foot pools that run along the perimeter of the landfill.

"The project wouldn't have been possible without my dad," John said. "He helped so much. He committed so much time. He took days off from work. He's unbelievable." The boxes will add to the nesting sites of barn owls and great horned owls-both native to the Simi Valley area.

"Barn owls don't make their own nests." John said. "They steal nests from other birds." According to John, a family of two adult barn owls and six youngsters can consume more than 1,000 mice during the nesting season.

Scott Tignac, district manager of Waste Management's Simi Valley Landfill and Recycling Center, said his company was researching environmentally friendly baits when one of his engineers hit on the owl idea. The landfill had already implemented a successful program using trained falcons to scare away-unwanted seagulls.

"The falcon program has been extremely successful and it's been in place about five years," Tignac said. "It will take a while to get the owls established in there

John Casselberry has been in Scouting since first grade. He's now a freshman at Simi Valley High School and class vice president.

"John is very mature and motivated," Tignac said. "I was surprised to learn he was only 14. The whole time I thought he was ready to graduate from high school."

After the required review, John said, he's looking forward to becoming an Eagle Scout. The young man plans to stay in Scouting until he's 18.

"I've always been involved with Scouts. It's a great organization. I met my best friend in Boy Scouts," John said.

His father, John Sr., is a high voltage electrician for the Department of Water and Power for the city of Los Angeles. His mother, Brenda, 40, is a librarian at Knolls Elementary. John has two siblings, Jarred, 13, an eighth-grader at Valley View Junior High School, and Alyssa, 10, a fifth-grader at Knolls.

"It was an awesome project. I'm very proud of John," Brenda said. "He has very high goals. He wants to go to Harvard, become an international lawyer and get into politics." John's current goal is earning the William T. Hornaday award, the highest environmental award in Scouting. With the owl project under his belt, he's already succeeded.

"We saw both barn owls and great horned owls over by the landfill, so we stationed the boxes accordingly. About five minutes after we put up the perches we saw owls circling over," John said. "We were seeing instant results. We were extremely happy."

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