Number: 1976-13
WHEREAS, large-scale applications of pesticides are being continued, particularly to combat forest insect pests; and
WHEREAS, demands for large-scale spraying of chemicals to control nuisance insects such as mosquitoes and blackflies are accelerating; and
WHEREAS, federal and state environmental protection agencies and others, through research and regulations, are reducing the hazards which pesticides pose to ecosystems; and
WHEREAS, important gaps remain in man’s knowledge about the potentially adverse impacts of chemical pesticides on the biota of ecosystems;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 19-21, 1976, in Louisville, Ky., hereby urges that governmental agencies, educational institutions, and private organizations accelerate research in efforts to fill existing gaps in scientific knowledge concerning the environmental impact of chemical pesticides on fauna and flora, especially to determine the effects, both short and long range, of large-scale spraying on the ability of predatory insects to keep forest pests in check and on the ability of wildlife to survive.