Number: 1993-05
WHEREAS, the proliferation of pesticides in the environment has far-reaching effects on all aspects of environmental quality, including soils, surface and ground waters, non-target organisms, wildlife habitats, food chains, and biological diversity; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through the registration and regulation of pesticides, to protect wildlife and aquatic organisms from risks associated with the manufacture, use and storage of these products; and
WHEREAS, such protection is predicated on an awareness and an understanding of the hazards pesticides pose to the environment; and
WHEREAS, the EPA has announced its intention to reduce certain environmental risk evaluations (i.e., avian and aquatic toxicity) as part of the registration and re-registration of pesticides; and
WHEREAS, the EPA has failed to take decisive action banning or restricting the use of products, such as diazinon and carbofuran, where environmental risks are well documented; and
WHEREAS, the federal government has no comprehensive program for monitoring, documenting and evaluating the effect of pesticides on wildlife and aquatic organisms, thus preventing the collection of evidence of the responses to environmental hazards of pesticides;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in annual meeting assembled March 11-14, 1993, in Crystal City, Virginia, hereby calls upon the EPA to fully evaluate risks to wildlife and aquatic organisms in the registration and re-registration of pesticides; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls upon the EPA, the Departments of Agriculture and Interior, and other relevant agencies and organizations to develop and implement a comprehensive program to document, evaluate and respond to the effects of pesticides on wildlife and aquatic organisms; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls upon the United States Congress to reauthorize and strengthen FIFRA to provide EPA with the authority and mandate to protect human health and the environment from the hazards of pesticides.