The Endangered Species Act is a federal law enacted in 1973 that provides a program to protect and conserve threatened and endangered species (plants and animals) and their critical habitats. Compliance with the law requires all federal governmental agencies to engage in consultation with the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and/or the National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively referred to as “the Services”) to ensure that actions they authorize, fund or carry out are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any listed species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated critical habitat of such species.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the federal agency responsible for reviewing and registering pesticides for use in the United States. The role EPA has in implementing the Endangered Species Act is to ensure that when registering pesticides the use is not likely to jeopardize listed species or destroy or adversely modify their critical habitat. 

EPA has set an Endangered Species Act (ESA) Workplan into action and is now in the process of mitigating pesticide impacts to threatened and endangered species, as well as their critical habitats.

Implementing EPA’s ESA Workplan will likely result in changes to many pesticide product labels. Growers making pesticide applications to an area deemed to contain threatened and endangered species or their critical habitats may be required to employ additional mitigations to use certain pesticides. EPA is in the process of developing specific pesticide class (e.g., herbicides, rodenticides, insecticides, fungicides, etc.) “strategies” that will lay out the required mitigations for each class. These strategies by themselves do not impose any requirements or restrictions on pesticide use. EPA will use strategies to identify mitigations for new active ingredient registrations and registrations review.

Pesticide product labels with ESA requirements, under the Directions for Use, will direct users to EPA’s Endangered Species Protection Bulletins, otherwise known as Bulletins Live! Two (BLT), to check if there are additional mitigations required for the product they are applying. The website will allow users to determine if they are in a Pesticide Use Limitation Area (PULA). PULAs are geographic areas that EPA and the Services have determined to be particularly important for threatened and endangered species or their habitats. Since BLT is now a part of the label and is subject to frequent updates, users have a six-month window to obtain a bulletin before applying a pesticide.

The Herbicide Strategy was finalized in August 2024. It is designed to provide early mitigations that minimize impacts to threatened and endangered species and their critical habitats for conventional herbicides used in agriculture. The strategy itself does not impose any requirements or restrictions on pesticide use. EPA will use the strategy to identify mitigations for new active ingredient registrations and registration review of conventional herbicides. Mitigations may appear directly on pesticide product labels and direct users to bulletins and/or a mitigation menu website. 

The Vulnerable Species Action Plan (VSAP) was published in September 2024. Like the Herbicide Strategy, the plan describes the framework that EPA will use for vulnerable species as defined in the plan. The VSAP supplements the strategies to the extent that the strategy does not cover pesticide uses and exposure routes to a vulnerable species.

The EPA's Final Rodenticide Biological Evaluation (BE) and Mitigation Strategy was finalized November 2024. The mitigation measures described in the final biological evaluation will also serve as the rodenticide strategy.  The strategy describes several scenarios intended to illustrate how EPA may implement mitigations as each rodenticide goes through registration review and for new active ingredient registrations. It provides additional clarity regarding the applicability of each mitigation measure to each rodenticide product and use, and how EPA anticipates implementing these measures. The strategy itself does not impose any requirements or restrictions on pesticide use. Mitigations will be implemented using Bulletins Live! Two (BLT), as part of label language, or in the Terms and Conditions of registration. Not all of these measures will be necessary for all uses or products containing these pesticide ingredients. Rather, they are measures from which EPA expects to choose when reducing exposure to listed species and their critical habitats, as necessary, for a specific active ingredient, use site, and application method (i.e., bait station, in-burrow, and broadcast).   
 

The Insecticide Strategy was finalized in April 2025. Like EPA’s Herbicide Strategy, it is intended to provide early mitigations that minimize impacts to threatened and endangered species and their critical habitats from conventional insecticides used in agriculture. The strategy itself does not impose any requirements or restrictions on pesticide use. EPA will use the strategy to identify mitigations for new active ingredient registrations and for the registration review process of conventional insecticides. Mitigations for use may be found directly on pesticide product labels, within bulletins on Bulletins Live! 2, and/or on the Mitigation Menu website.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) reviews and registers federally approved pesticides that are distributed, sold or offered for sale in Florida. FDACS is monitoring the development of EPA’s ESA actions and working with stakeholders to make resources available. 

The agriculture industry can use the resources on this webpage and other materials such as the EPA's Toolbox to educate growers and applicators on the Endangered Species Act strategies or mitigation measures they may see on pesticide product labels.

The industry can assist by providing guidance and feedback to EPA by commenting on EPA’s ESA draft strategies, active ingredient’s risk assessments, and active ingredient’s proposed interim decisions during EPA’s public comment periods. Learn more about commenting on EPA's dockets. 

EPA’s Pesticide App for Label Mitigations (PALM), is a mobile-friendly, web-based tool that helps growers and applicators use EPA’s mitigation menu. EPA has multiple resources to assist applicators in determining what mitigation options are available to them, including the spray drift and runoff calculators. PALM combines the functionality of both calculators. PALM also provides a summary to show how users can calculate their runoff and erosion mitigation points or ecological spray drift buffer reductions and what field characteristics or application parameters are applicable to their individual applications.