A Look at Data Used to Inform Mitigations to Protect Endangered Species from Pesticides

Following the 2022 release of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Balancing Wildlife Protection and Responsible Pesticide Use workplan, EPA has developed various strategies that outline EPA’s plans to meet its obligation to comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when registering or re-registering pesticide products. While only a few examples of how EPA plans to implement these strategies have been released to date, they provide insights into the data used to inform mitigations to protect endangered species and into the analysis used to support regulatory decisions. Some components of this process are being refined, such as maps that are used to develop Pesticide Use Limitation Areas, and other components are still being explored. On the panel, I will discuss data used to support analysis of ESA and pesticides, efforts underway to bring refinements, and opportunities for additional data needs.