Agricultural Retailers Association Praises EPA Issuing Long-Term Approval For Sulfoxaflor

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 12, 2019) – Today Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) President and CEO Daren Coppock released the following statement following an announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issuing long-term approval for the insecticide sulfoxaflor: “Farmers, retailers, consumers, manufacturers and the environment all depend on science-based product registration decisions by EPA. ARA has been watching this issue for years and we are grateful to finally have a clear, long-term solution for this important toll for growers. “It is encouraging to see EPA take a hard look at the science about sulfoxaflor and its effects on pollinators and issue a science-based decision on its permitted use. This is how the system is supposed to work: scientific experts making science-based decisions.” ASI Submits Idaho Wildlife Services EIS Comments In May 2017, Western Watersheds and others filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service/Wildlife Services seeking to disrupt the agency's Predator Damage Management program in the state of Idaho on procedural grounds. The lawsuit claimed that Wildlife Services' reliance on an Environmental Assessment was insufficient for their predator management activities in Idaho and that the agency needed to prepare a more comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement. Siding with the plaintiffs in the matter, Chief U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered Wildlife Services to either prepare an EIS or supply what the court stated was a "convincing statement of reasons" why the Environmental Assessment was sufficient. Thanks to the intervention in the case by the Idaho Wool Growers Association - supported by the American Sheep Industry Association's Guard Dog Program - Judge Winmill did not order Wildlife Services to cease their predator damage management operations in Idaho during the time it takes to prepare an EIS - a process that often exceeds three years. In response to the court's decision, Wildlife Services published a notice in the Federal Register of their intent to prepare an EIS for Predator Damage Management in Idaho. On Wednesday, ASI joined with many others in commenting in support of the development of the EIS, urging the agency to continue the program as it has successfully operated and further to rely on the research and analysis of the National Wildlife Research Center in drafting the EIS. ASI's comments highlighted the impact of the program to not only sheep producers, but to the broader economy in the state. "We urge the agency adopt the 'no action' alternative in the development of this EIS. Annually, wildlife causes more than $12.8 billion in damage to natural resources, public infrastructure, private property and agriculture. Wildlife Services efforts benefit not only livestock producers but dairy and field crop producers, civil aviation, utilities and critical infrastructure, and prevent the spread of wildlife-borne pathogens to humans. "In Idaho in 2017, Wildlife Services euthanized, removed or relocated nearly 160,000 animal species - 152,000 of which were invasive species. Wildlife Services is the first line of defense against Rabies, Lyme Disease, Chronic Wasting Disease and West Nile Virus among many others. As we have seen from both the 'Miracle on the Hudson' and most recently China and southern Asia's experience with African Swine Fever, our personal safety and national food security are inexorably reliant on our ability to responsibly manage our environment." ASI and the Idaho Wool Growers will continue to work together to monitor the progress and provide the agency with input to ensure the success of the program for the benefit of sheep producers.