The Endangered Species Act (ESA)
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a federal law that protects threatened and endangered species (listed species) and their habitat. Under the ESA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for ensuring that pesticides do not harm listed species or their critical habitats.
New Endangered Species Act Strategies
The EPA has created several strategies (ESA Strategies) that will allow the EPA to group pesticides based on type of pesticide use site, or region and applying mitigations to those groups to protect endangered species and improve the registration timeline.
The ESA strategies themselves are not regulatory, but the EPA will use the strategies to identify mitigations for new active ingredient registrations and registration reviews. The Endangered Species Protection Bulletins (Bulletins) are an extension of the pesticide label and are regulatory documents that need to be followed to be in compliance.
How will this impact pesticide users?
Many pesticide labels will likely have changes that could include:
- The requirement to check the EPA's Bulletins Live! Two website and follow current ESA restrictions for the pesticide product in the bulletin.
- Mitigation measures to reduce pesticide runoff and erosion.
- Other measures to reduce pesticide exposure to listed species and their habitat.
Endangered Species Pesticide Bulletin
Pesticide users are required to look up a Bulletin if stated on the pesticide label. Bulletins outline geographically specific use limitations to pesticide applications or mitigation measures and may limit the application area, timing, or type of pesticide that can be used. A Bulletin is an extension of the pesticide label that provides additional information about application restrictions for the protection of threatened and endangered species and their habitat.
Learn more about run off and erosion mitigation options, descriptions, and the point system.
This tool helps users total up their mitigation points and figure out the required Ecological Spray Drift Buffer.
The Pesticide Stewardship Program works with pesticide users to limit off target pesticide movement through education and technical assistance projects. Learn how you can get involved and provide feedback.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) helps protect endangered and threatened species by:
- Educating pesticide users on current pesticide label language designed to protect waterways, endangered fish and aquatic organism, plant, insect, and animal species, and their critical habitats;
- Works with cooperative extension services and others to provide endangered species information;
- Provides comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the feasibility of proposed mitigation measures during EPA’s standard processes of registration, and registration review;
- Establishes and maintains relationships with local and regional fish and wildlife agencies, and uses information to incorporate mitigation measures on Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 24(c) labels, and FIFRA Section 18 instructions;
- Enforces the Oregon Pesticide Control Act, including enforcement of restrictions on pesticide labels; and
- Makes referrals to wildlife agencies or other agencies in the case of an incident.