The EPA has released a new strategy to protect endangered plants and animals from the use of insecticides.

Washington – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a draft Insecticide Strategy, a guidance document that establishes a framework to protect over 850 endangered plants and animals from insecticides. This is the latest step in the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs to begin fulfilling its obligations under the Endangered Species Act.

The draft strategy focuses on practical measures to ensure that endangered invertebrates and species reliant on them for prey and pollination are protected from conventional insecticides. It builds on the EPA’s draft herbicide and rodenticide strategies to safeguard species that are less vulnerable to the 24 million pounds of insecticides used annually across 83 million acres of agriculture in 48 states.

Lori Ann Burd, Environmental Health Director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said: “I’m thrilled to see the EPA recognize that insecticides pose a major threat to our most endangered pollinators and is finally taking steps with a plan to protect them. I urge the EPA to stand firm against the inevitable attacks from Big Ag, which has spent decades poisoning wildlife and now assaults every effort to implement reasonable protections for endangered species.”

Two weeks ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a draft biological opinion for a single insecticide, methomyl, which was found likely to jeopardize the survival of 82 endangered plants and animals, including the rusty patched bumblebee, Santa Cruz long-toed salamander, Attwater’s greater prairie chicken, Karner blue butterfly, and red wolf.

Insecticides play a significant role in the “insect apocalypse,” harming bees, butterflies, and countless “non-target” insects. Lori Ann Burd stated: “Insecticides are a major driver of our heartbreaking extinction crisis, but I’m hopeful that the EPA’s strategy will be implemented in a way that gives species on the brink, like the Dakota skipper and Florida bonneted bat, a chance to survive. The EPA must do everything in its power to ensure no species goes extinct due to pesticides it is responsible for regulating.”

For decades, the EPA has failed to comply with the Endangered Species Act’s requirements to consult with expert wildlife agencies to reduce pesticide harm to protected species. Due to ongoing pressure and a series of court decisions, the EPA released a comprehensive work plan to address how to tackle the challenge of protecting endangered species from pesticides. In addition to herbicide, rodenticide, and the new insecticide strategies, the agency has launched pilot programs focused on reforming the pesticide approval process to address violations of the Endangered Species Act.

These actions stem from a historic legal settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity, committing the EPA to a series of proposed reforms to better protect endangered species from pesticides. This settlement represents the culmination of the most comprehensive Endangered Species Act lawsuit ever filed against the EPA. The EPA committed to developing strategies to reduce harm to endangered species from broad pesticide groups, including herbicides and insecticides, while taking further steps to implement meaningful on-the-ground protections for endangered species vulnerable to pesticide harm. These measures to reduce pesticide harm will benefit both endangered species and humans, as these chemicals are linked to severe health impacts in farmers and rural communities.

Contact: Lori Ann Burd, (971) 717-6405, laburd@biologicaldiversity.org
Source: https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/epa-releases-new-strategy-to-protect-endangered-plants-animals-from-insecticides-2024-07-25/