Archive for the 'Endangered Species Act (ESA)' Category
20
Dec
Image: Art Page submission from Carol Moyer, “Monarch Butterfly Sideways with Closed Wings.“ (Beyond Pesticides, December 20, 2024) On December 12, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) opened a public comment period on its proposal to list the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) as a threatened species and to designate critical habitats for the species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Under the proposal, the designated habitats would span approximately 4,395 acres throughout overwintering sites in coastal California. The public comment period will be open until March 12, 2025. These suggested protections call attention to the role of chemical-intensive agriculture in affecting populations of pollinators and other beneficial organisms. George Kimbrell, legal director at the Center for Food Safety, shares in a press release that the âmonarch listing decision is a landmark victory 10 years in the making. It is also a damning precedent, revealing the driving role of pesticides and industrial agriculture in the ongoing extinction crisis… But the job isnât done: Monarchs still face an onslaught of pesticides. The Service must do what science and the law require and promptly finalize protection for monarchs.â In the docket, FWS states, âUnder the Act, a species warrants listing if […]
Posted in Beneficials, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ecosystem Services, Endangered Species Act (ESA), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Habitat Protection, Pollinators, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | 1 Comment »
13
Dec
(Beyond Pesticides, December 13, 2024) In October, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the registration applications of BASF Corporation and Mitsui Chemicals Crop & Life Solutions, Inc. for the use of different formulations of the L-isomer of glufosinate (also known as âL-glufosinateâ and âglufosinate-Pâ) as new active herbicidal ingredients. This decision marks one of the first times that EPA has employed its new Herbicide  Strategy Framework to determine the level of mitigation necessary to protect listed species and critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Glufosinate is an organophosphate, with known neurotoxic, reproductive/developmental effects, toxic to aquatic life, and mobile in soils (see Beyond Pesticides Gateway). Scientists have found that formulated glufosinate is generally more toxic to aquatic and terrestrial animals than the technical grade active ingredient. Manufacturers are introducing newer glufosinate products as alternatives for glyphosate-based herbicides, like Bayer/Monsantoâs âRoundupâ and dicamba. The Center for Biological Diversity notes in comments submitted to EPA on this decision, âL-glufosinate has the potential to be used on tens of millions acres of land every year given the crops EPA has proposed to register it on. The scale of potential use is far above most new active ingredients.â This first significant application […]
Posted in Agriculture, BASF, Chemical Mixtures, Chemicals, Endangered Species Act (ESA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), glufosinate, Herbicides, Lawns/Landscapes, Pesticide Regulation, Uncategorized, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
23
Oct
(Beyond Pesticides, October 23, 2024) The stark contrast of two political parties emerged around this summerâs reporting of the Project 2025 blueprintâcreated by extreme right-wing conservativesâthat proposes the gutting of environmental and public health policy and implementation. Many political observers say “Project 2025 Presidential Transition Project,” formally titled “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” will be embraced by a second Trump Administration, despite denials that are challenged by insiders as outright lies. While the public became aware of Project 2025 plans to gut the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and many other agencies, the Biden Administration was announcing the emergency ban (see also August 6 announcement), finalized yesterday, of the weed killer Dacthal, exercising an EPA authority that has not been used in 45 years since the banning of 2,4,5-T (50% of the mixture of Agent Orange). With this decision, EPA set an important precedent for proclaiming (i) an unacceptable harm, (ii) its inability to mitigate the pesticideâs hazards with typical risk mitigation measures, and (iii) the availability of alternatives that made the chemical unnecessary. In dramatic contrast, the Trump supporters behind Project 2025 are intent on politicizing science to undermine governmental structures and laws established to protect public health […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Department of Interior, Endangered Species Act (ESA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Environmental Policy Act, Uncategorized, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
12
Aug
(Beyond Pesticides, August 12, 2024)Â Â When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an emergency ban of the weed killer Dacthal (DCPA) last week, it said that there are no âpracticable mitigation measuresâ to protect against identified hazardsâa clear and honest assessment of the limits of pesticide product label changes and use restrictions. Now, the question is whether the same thinking can be applied across the EPA’s pesticide program, addressing the urgent need to protect biodiversity. In the Dacthal proclamation, EPA said it consulted with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on âalternatives to this pesticide,â and presumably determined that there were âalternative chemicalsâ that could be used in chemical-intensive agricultureâwhile not considering âalternatives to chemicals.â This is the framework that is understood to be EPAâs process that keeps pest management on a pesticide treadmill except in extremely rare cases (this being the second in nearly 40 years). It is also the framework that has led to catastrophic events or existential crises on biodiversity collapse, health threats, and the climate emergency. On biodiversity, the mix of diverse and intricate relationships of organisms in nature that are essential to the sustaining of life, EPAâs pesticide program, the Office of Pesticide Programs, has […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Biodiversity, dacthal, Endangered Species Act (ESA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Take Action, Uncategorized, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
20
Jun
(Beyond Pesticides, June 18, 2024) As part of its update to the proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Endangered Species Act (ESA) Workplan, the agency held a public webinar on June 18, 2024, which provided an overview of the agencyâs âMitigation Menu Websiteâ for âreducing pesticide exposure to nontarget species from agricultural crop uses.â [Check back to see webinar when posted by EPA.] After court decisions forced EPA to develop a strategy to meet its statutory responsibility to protect endangered species from pesticide use, the agency recognized that it is, in its own words, âunable to keep paceâ with its legal obligations. Despite this acknowledgement, the agency said it would âprovide flexibility to growers to choose mitigations that work best for their situation.â In this spirit, a range of people, including grower groups, gathered earlier in the year for a series of workshops in the Pacific Northwest to discuss possible mitigation measures. According to a report written by commercial beekeeper Steve Ellis (more background), concrete decisions were not reached at the workshops as participants recognized the complexities in crafting pesticide product label restrictions to protect endangered species. Mr. Ellis concluded: âIf itâs so complex that itâs impossible, then no one […]
Posted in Agriculture, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Herbicides, Pesticide Drift, Pesticide Regulation, Uncategorized, Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
30
May
(Beyond Pesticides, May 30, 2024) The House Agriculture Committee voted 33-21 on May 23 to move the Farm, Food, and National Security Act out of committee after a contentious markup and onslaught of amendments that undermine water health, soil health, and local democratic authority to protect people and the environment from toxic pesticide exposure. One of nearly sixty amendments introduced in the markup last week included the continuation of a decade-long attack on National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit via Clean Water Act (CWA) for pesticide discharge. What was most illuminating however was not the passage of the bill itself, but Big Agricultureâs raucous approval. Advocates see pesticide industry and its alliesâ support for what it isâthe reliance on petrochemical-based pesticides leading to economic instability, ecosystem collapse, and the degradation of democratic institutions. With support for entrenched dependency on petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers, the committeeâs bill requires taxpayers to pay through the governmentâs crop insurance program for escalating losses caused by chemical-intensive farming practices, contributing to yield losses that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says are ânatural causes such as drought, excessive moisture [e.g., floods], hail, wind, frost, insects, and disease. . .â However, the frequency of these […]
Posted in Endangered Species Act (ESA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Failure to Warn, Farm Bill, Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Habitat Protection, Pesticide Regulation, Preemption, Uncategorized, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | 2 Comments »
24
Apr
(Beyond Pesticides, April 24, 2024) On April 16, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted an âupdateâ to the Draft Herbicide Strategy Framework (Draft Herbicide Strategy Framework to Reduce Exposure of Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Species and Designated Critical Habitats from the Use of Conventional Agricultural Herbicides) that was released last summer, weakening aspects of the agencyâs efforts to âprotectâ endangered species from herbicide use. The update outlines three types of modifications to the Draft Strategy, including âsimplifyingâ its approach, increasing growersâ âflexibilityâ when applying mitigation measures, and reducing the mitigation measures required in certain situations. By reducing the stringency of the Strategy, advocates are again questioning EPAâs commitment to fulfilling legal requirements under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) or protecting endangered species and their habitats in the midst of an unprecedented rate of global extinction. ESA is celebrated as one of the most far-reaching conservation laws globally, credited with preventing the extinction of 99 percent of those species the government targets for protection, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). ESA establishes a framework to categorize species as âendangeredâ or âthreatened,â granting them specific protections. Under ESA, EPA is required to consult with relevant agencies […]
Posted in Agriculture, Alternatives/Organics, Announcements, Disease/Health Effects, Drift, Endangered Species Act (ESA), Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Farmworkers, Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Habitat Protection, Herbicides, Increased Vulnerability to Diseases from Chemical Exposure, National Organic Standards Board/National Organic Program, Organic Foods Production Act OFPA, organophosphate, Parks for a Sustainable Future, Pesticide Efficacy, Pesticide Mixtures, Pesticide Regulation, Pollinators, U.S. Geological Survey, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Wildlife/Endangered Sp. | No Comments »
