Pocatello Supply Depot Records --

The Pocatello Supply Depot (PSD) manufactures wildlife damage management products for the APHIS-Wildlife Services (WS) program and others engaged in wildlife damage management. Its origins are in the Bureau of Biological Survey (BBS), which founded a bait mixing station in McCammon, Idaho in 1926. In 1933, the BBS leased additional warehouse space from the Hardesty Manufacturing Company in Pocatello, Idaho. Pocatello was selected as the location because of its relative proximity to nearby shipping facilities, wholesalers, and oat growing areas. The PSD was formally established in 1936 when congress authorized Game Management Supply Depots to be created and operated with federal funds. Subsequently, federal funds were used to purchase the Hardesty warehouse and adjacent land. In 1938, funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) were used to build a large addition to the plant. With the completion of the new space in 1940, the Depot was able to expand their rodent and predator control product offerings, including poison grain baits, gas cartridges, strychnine tablets, and Victor traps.

For much of its history, the PSD operated as a non-profit quasi-private/ government entity, holding cooperative agreements with the Pocatello City Chamber of Commerce. However, in 2014 the Depot became a fully federal entity, operating as its own program within Wildlife Services.

As of 2024, the PSD is still in operating out of the same building in Pocatello. Products that Depot produces include gas cartridges, zinc phosphide and strychnine grain baits, zinc phosphide concentrate, DRC-1339, synthetic fatty acid lures, Neutroleum Alpha deodorizer, M-44 capsules and components, sylvatic plague vaccine baits, and warning signs. The PSD works closely with WS Operations, NWRC, and APHIS Environmental and Risk Analysis Service to maintain its products’ pesticide registrations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state pesticide regulatory agencies. In 2024, the PSD was transferred from the administrative oversight of the Wildlife Services Deputy Administrator’s Office to the National Wildlife Research Center.