Kian and Joel Schulman are founding members of the Malibu-based nonprofit Poison Free Malibu (PFM), a group that has had huge success protecting local wildlife in the Santa Monica Mountains (SMM) by spreading information about the dangers associated with the use of anticoagulant rodenticides, going so far as to convince former Supervisor Zev Yaroslovsky to propose legislation instating a ban on the toxins throughout the unincorporated SMM area.
These rodenticides, often found in the black bait boxes seen in parks and outside grocery stores and restaurants, pose a threat to local wildlife when small rodents like rats ingest the poison and are then eaten by larger animals, like mountain lions.
“I hope we’ve saved some animals,” Joel says, speaking about the roughly two years he and Kian have worked to outlaw the poisons. “That’s the goal.”
“I’d like to see what happens in the next few years,” he adds.
Joel and his wife Kian first decided to get involved in Malibu environmentalism when they heard about a dead mountain lion found in Point Mugu State Park back in 2012.
“[There were] reports we’d been hearing, then we looked into it and found out it was a much bigger issue,” Joel says.
According to Joel, he and Kian have had the opportunity to meet other local environmentalists through their work with PFM.
“We network with the other environmental activists,” Joel says, “you meet a lot of nice people and do fun things with them,” including helping out going to Coastal Commission meetings.
Joel says their grassroots work going door to door to local businesses to stamp out anticoagulant rodenticides has also helped him and Kian get to know a whole new side of Malibu.
“We know the names of all these little shopping centers now,” Joel says, “If there was ever a trivia contest about it, we would win.”
Overall, the Schulmans say they have been impressed with the outpouring of support for their cause in and around Malibu. “We really admire Pepperdine,” Joel says, for working with them and eventually banning all poison bait boxes on campus. He adds that former Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky also wrote in a ban in his developmental plan for the unincorporated areas of the SMM.
Finally, Malibu City Council has worked with PFM to make a resolution against the poisons, with hopefully a full legal ban on the way.
“They’re going to ban all anticoagulant rodenticides in Malibu, and we are just ecstatic about that,” Joel says.
Other communities including Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills, Westlake Village, Moorpark, Ojai and Whittier have taken after Malibu and passed their own resolutions against anticoagulant rodenticides.
Ann Buxie, another member of PFM, nominated Kian for the award, outlining the many ways she has worked to protect animals in the area.
“Kian’s love of nature and animal life has motivated her to take on this challenging task of saving our wildlife from this serious threat. Her accomplishments to date have been amazing,” Buxie writes.