You may have heard that there are some big changes happening at the federal level related to pesticide applications. These changes are being made to better protect species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and some of the rules are already in effect. What does this mean for landowners and pesticide applicators? Find out with Dr. Gretchen Paluch, Pesticide Bureau Chief at Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
Dr. Paluch shares the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) goals and progress related to protecting ESA-listed species, including the EPA’s workplan, Herbicide Strategy, and Vulnerable Species Plan. The EPA is also working on additional strategies for insecticides and rodenticides. All of these documents have come about very quickly, and it’s helpful to understand how they relate to and support the new rules related to pesticide applications.
In addition, Dr. Paluch talks about changes that landowners can make so that pesticides can continue being used to manage pests. She shares about the Mitigation Menu that is available from the EPA, the importance of making use of the Bulletins Live! Two website, and how to keep up on continuing changes. Landowners are likely going to need support interpreting the new practices and mitigations. This webinar helps you prepare to answer their questions.
Dr. Paluch shared many helpful links during the talk. Below is a list of links where you can find more information related to this webinar:
Species list: ecos.fws.gov/ecp/report/species-listings-by-state-totals?statusCategory=Listed
Endangered Species Fact Sheets: www.epa.gov/endangered-species/endangered-species-species-information-factsheets and www.fws.gov/program/endangered-species
EPA’s workplan: www.epa.gov/endangered-species/epas-workplan-and-progress-toward-better-protections-endangered-species - update
EPA’s Upcoming Registration Review Actions: www.epa.gov/pesticide-reevaluation/upcoming-registration-review-actions
Herbicide Strategy: www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0365-1137
Press Release for Herbicide Strategy: www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-finalizes-first-its-kind-strategy-protect-900-endangered-species-herbicides
Vulnerable Species Plan: www.epa.gov/pesticides/epa-finalizes-plan-protect-vulnerable-species#:~:text=The%20V%20SAP%20includes%20mitigations%20for,pesticide%20vapors%20through%20the%20air
Mitigation Menu: www.epa.gov/pesticides/mitigation-menu
www.epa.gov/pesticides/mitigation-menu-measure-descriptions (runoff calculator)
Bulletins Live! Two: www.epa.gov/endangered-species/bulletins-live-two-view-bulletins
Weed Science Society of America: wssa.net/endangered-species/
SFIREG Working Group - comment that not all regions participate in it: aapco.org/sfireg-endangered-species-strategy-implementation-esi-committee/
Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Pesticide Bureau: iowaagriculture.gov/pesticide-bureau
NCIPMC News Post: www.ncipmc.org/updates-pesticide-labels-protection-endangered-species/
00:00 Intro
02:48 Endangered Species Act
21:18 General Framework for Limiting Pesticide Impacts
21:29 Vulnerable Species Action Plan
24:36 FIFRA Interim Ecological Mitigation, Broad Practices
30:28 EPA Mitigation menu Website
33:11 Bulletins Live Two website, Location Specific Mitigation Practices