Velázquez Leads 10 Members of Congress in Letter to the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on the Need to Out Agricultural Pesticides on National Wildlife Refuges

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) led ten Members of Congress in sending a letter to the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to urge the department to phase out agricultural pesticides on National Wildlife Refuges through a rulemaking process.

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently determined that some of the most commonly used agricultural chemicals are likely to adversely affect federally listed species," wrote the lawmakers. "In the past, pesticides were heavily relied upon and seen as a panacea to agricultural challenges. This is not the case any longer; increasing scientific awareness of the real risks to ecosystems from pesticides means this tool no longer serves its intended purpose."

The lawmakers encouraged the Fish and Wildlife Services to consider the following:

1. All chemical or biological pesticides registered under Section 3 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act be subject to phase out on National Wildlife Refuge land, which would automatically exempt minimum risk pesticides such as organic compounds.

2. Provisions be made so that the use of pesticides for the control of invasive or non-native species is authorized on a limited basis when necessary, so long as it is compatible with each Refuge's Comprehensive Conservation Plan and strictly in conformity with an Integrated Pest Management plan.

3. A time-limited exemption for the use of an agricultural pesticide may be granted in the event of an emergency, following a period of public notice and comment and publication in the Federal Register, for a period up to one year.
a. The one-year emergency use may not be extended beyond one year for any Refuge absent extenuating circumstances.

4. As a short-term fix, we ask that the 2014 memorandum issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Chief James Kurth be reinstated, phasing out neonicotinoids and genetically engineered crops.

In addition to Velázquez, the letter was signed by Representatives: Nanette Barragán, Earl Blumenauer, Jared Huffman, Zoe Lofgren, Alan Lowenthal, Jerrold Nadler, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Mark Pocan, Melanie Stansbury, Joe Neguse, and Raúl Grijalva.

This letter is also supported by Center for Biological Diversity and the American Bird Conservancy.

A PDF of the letter is online here.