Posted August 8, 2014
National wildlife refuges around the country are phasing out genetically modified crops and a class of pesticides related to nicotine in programs meant to provide food for wildlife, according to a Spokesman Review article by the Associated Press available here. NBC also published an article available here. A previous blog post on pesticide use on wildlife refuges is available here.
A July 17 letter from James W. Kurth, chief of the national refuge system, does not mention specific concerns that the pesticides or crops pose risks to wildlife bees, butterflies and other pollinators. The letter only states that they do not align with refuge objectives, such as promoting natural ecosystems.
“We make this decision based on a precautionary approach to our wildlife management practices, and not on agricultural practices,” he wrote.
The letter does come after a July order to phase out neonicotinoid pesticides on wildlife refuges in the Northwest and Hawaii that mentioned concerns about harm to bees and after a White House memorandum directing federal agencies to promote pollinator health due to significant losses in recent decades of insects, bats and birds that pollinate fruits, nuts and vegetables, according to NBC.
Conservation and food safety groups also petitioned for a change, according to Spokesman.
“Fish and Wildlife by this action is showing tremendous leadership in standing up for wildlife and banning two of the most harmful practices in agriculture,” said Lori Ann Burd, endangered species campaign director for the Center for Biological Diversity. “Now is the time to take this ban beyond refuges.”
Wildlife refuges allow farmers to grow crops if they leave a little behind to feed wildlife. Most of the corn grown in the U.S. has been genetically modified to resist the herbicide glyphosate, commonly known as Roundup. Iain Kelly, a risk assessment scientist for neonicotinoid manufacturer Bayer CropScience, said: “We don’t think the science bears out that decision,” according to NBC.
Kelly said that advances have been made to keep the pesticide from making its way into a plant’s pollen and nectar at levels high enough to harm bees and other pollinators, according to Spokesman.
He also added a moratorium on neonicotinoids in the European Union that just started last winter, and it has been running long enough to produce results. The company is working on techniques to limit the dust produced when neonicotinoid-coated seeds go through farm machinery.
For more information on environmental law, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.