The association calls EPA’s April revisions a win for both endangered species and for farmers.
Posted on April 25, 2024
WESTMINSTER, Colorado – 25 April 2024 – The latest updates to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) herbicide strategy is a win for endangered species and for farmers, crop consultants and other land managers, according to a Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) spokesperson.
“The updates announced last week show that the EPA is listening to the concerns of agricultural groups, and are trying to make the process easier to implement and easier to understand, which should greatly help everyone to protect endangered species,” says Bill Chism, Chair, WSSA Endangered Species Act Committee. “The update also shows that the EPA is taking the public comments very seriously and is modifying its strategy based on those comments.”
On April 16, 2024, the EPA announced an update to its July 2023 Draft Herbicide Strategy to protect endangered species. In the April document, the agency proposed mitigation tactics that can be implemented to reduce spray drift, runoff and erosion in order to reduce impacts to endangered species and their critical habitat. While the EPA is currently welcoming additional feedback, it intends to provide its final strategy to the public by August 30, 2024.
