The Environmental Protection Agency released a draft biological evaluation today showing that the bee-killing insecticide sulfoxaflor is potentially putting 24 species of insects in jeopardy of extinction, including Karner blue butterflies and American burying beetles.
The pesticide is also potentially jeopardizing the ongoing existence of 94 plant species that depend on insect pollinators, according to the agency’s assessment. And
sulfoxaflor is likely causing harm to 581 protected species, or 35% of the plants and animals listed under the Endangered Species Act.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered new EPA reviews of two Trump-era decisions to allow the use of two chemicals regardless of harm to rare species.
In a major win for conservationists and wildlife, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ordered the Environmental Protection Agency today to review the potential harm a toxic new fungicide poses to endangered species by June 2023.
The EPA approved the fungicide inpyrfluxam in 2020 despite compelling research showing it to be “very highly toxic” to fish, including endangered salmon and steelhead, and showing that it poses substantial risks to large birds, including whooping cranes. It is also extremely persistent, remaining in the environment for years after use.
A federal appeals court has ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must take another look at whether the key ingredient in the weed killer Roundup poses a cancer risk, although the product will remain on the market for now.