Jackrabbit Research Station Records --

Operations at the Jackrabbit Research Station in Twin Falls, Idaho began in 1963. The establishment of the research station was brought about by an increase in the severity of damage to agriculture caused by jackrabbits in Idaho and other western states in the years preceding 1963. Lead researchers Paul Hegdal and Robert Van Wormer set out to investigate methods of alleviating agricultural damage caused by the black-tailed jackrabbit. Though biological and mechanical methods of control were researched at the station, the most significant research area was chemical control of jackrabbits, utilizing such chemicals as zinc phosphide, compound 1080, strychnine, Di-Syston, and numerous other chemical compounds.

In 1972, the station’s focus switched from jackrabbits to predator research on coyotes. Project areas at the station included predator damage assessment, predator ecology and behavior and depredation control methods, much of it in relation to the coyote’s predation of sheep. Research was conducted on both non-lethal and lethal methods of controlling coyotes, including baiting with compound 1080 and the M-44 coyote getter device. With the retirement of station leader Roger Nass in 1992, the station was permanently closed and staff were transferred to other DWRC locations.