The Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 is a federal law that requires government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure any “actions” they take do not jeopardize endangered or threatened plants and animals. When the EPA proposes an action such as the registration/reregistration of a pesticide that might affect a listed species or its (critical) habitat, they must consult with the agencies responsible for the ESA; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (terrestrial ESA species) or the National Marine Fisheries Service/NOAA Fisheries (aquatic ESA species). This is known as “a consultation” with “the Services.”
If the consultation process finds that a pesticide may adversely affect endangered species, the EPA requires pesticide applicators to implement mitigation measures to protect those species. Depending on the active ingredient, the measures and restrictions could impact all pesticide end-users because every county in the US has at least one of the nearly 1,700 plants and animals considered endangered or threatened species nationally.
Seal of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Over the past two decades, lawsuits and the threat of additional litigation led the EPA to announce its renewed commitment to comply with the ESA. To document these efforts, the EPA is developing/has developed “Strategies” that serve as the framework for new application requirements on pesticide labels. These final protections will secure pesticide registrations from litigation and provide farmers and applicators reliable access to the pesticides they need.
For more information on the history of EPA’s implementation of the ESA see: McGaughey, B. & S. Culpepper. 2023. FIFRA and the ESA: Finding a Balance between Agricultural Efficiency, Environmental Sustainability, and Regulatory Stability. A Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) publication or watch the webinar.