October 10, 2022 3:00 a.m.

On Friday, Congressman Peter DeFazio along with ten other members of Congress sent a letter to U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland urging the department to use its existing authority to ban M-44 cyanide devices on all public lands under its jurisdiction.

DeFazio has proposed legislation known as Canyon’s Law which would ban the devices from both DOI and U.S. Department of Agriculture public lands. Canyon’s Law received a hearing in the House Committee of Natural Resources on July 21st. DeFazio said the DOI submitted written testimony to the committee that expressed concern with the safety of M-44 devices and stated the department had no objections to the proposal.

The letter said as the department’s testimony indicated, alternative, effective and less dangerous wildlife management methods exist and can be utilized in the place of M-44 devices. The lawmakers asked the department to take swift action and ban the devices on public lands and remove any that remain.

Canyon’s Law is named for Canyon Mansfield, an Idaho boy who was walking on Bureau of Land Management land, overseen by the DOI, near his home along with his dog in 2017. The boy accidently activated an M-44 device, then watched as his companion suffered what DeFazio called, “a cruel and painful death”. DeFazio said the boy was upwind from the device, which likely saved his life. However, five years later Canyon continues to suffer from the effects of cyanide exposure, according to the release.