Endangered Species Protection Program Field Implementation

This document describes how EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs intends to implement its Endangered Species Protection Program (ESPP or the Program). The goal of the ESPP is to carry out responsibilities under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), while at the same time not placing unnecessary burden on agriculture and other pesticide users. This document describes EPA's approach to implementing its responsibilities under section 7(a)(2) of ESA subsequent to a determination by EPA that geographically specific risk mitigation is necessary to protect federally listed threatened or endangered species or their critical habitat. For purposes of the ESPP, the term "listed species" or "endangered species" will encompass species listed as threatened or endangered, plus designated critical habitat of these species; the term "county" will include counties, parishes, and similar political boundaries of U.S. Territories. The implementation approach relies on pesticide labels, as appropriate, referring the pesticide user to geographically specific Endangered Species Protection Bulletins that will contain enforceable use limitations for the pesticide necessary to ensure the pesticide's use will not jeopardize the continued existence of a listed species.