ESA Additional Resources

The MDA’s Federal Listed Species by County map used data from EPA's Endangered Species Range Areas as delineated by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The map includes proposed endangered and proposed threatened species, which the EPA considers in its strategies. The intent of this graphic is to show that EPA’s strategies are relevant everywhere, even if there aren’t designated Pesticide Use Limitation Areas.

The EPA’s Mitigation Menu lists several criteria, where if met, a site would be exempt from implementing runoff/erosion mitigations or drift mitigations. An example for runoff/erosion: Mitigations are not required if everything within 1,000 feet downslope of a site is managed land. Similarly, for drift, an applicator is not required to implement the label-required spray drift buffer if all areas for at least the length of the buffer are managed areas. For a full list of exemptions and definitions, please visit the EPA’s Mitigation Menu.

Both drift and runoff/erosion are directional events. Runoff and erosion occur downslope from a site, while drift is heavily dependent on wind direction. Runoff/erosion exemptions should be determined from the downslope edge of the field. Similarly, conservation practices to mitigate runoff/erosion should be implemented from the downslope field edge.

Exemptions and mitigations for drift are similar in that they both apply to the downwind edge of the site. However, it is important to consider that wind direction is dynamic, and exemptions and mitigations need to be implemented based on the wind direction at the time of application. It is recommended that applicators and landowners have a plan for mitigating drift for all wind directions.

Mitigation and reduction options are intended to provide applicators with the flexibility to choose practices that work for their equipment, application method, and field scenario. The EPA offers many different runoff/erosion mitigations to meet applicator needs. Spray drift buffer reduction options only need to be implemented if you intend to reduce your spray drift buffer below the label-specified distance. Applicators can avoid applying any spray drift buffer reduction options by following the label-specified buffer distance.

You are in compliance if you checked and followed any PULA bulletin requirements for a product within six months of application. Retaining bulletins for sites within a PULA and documenting sites that fall outside a PULA aid in compliance. 

The easiest way to show you have complied with Bulletin’s Live! Two requirements are to use the “printable bulletin” button on the website to print or save a digital. The bulletin includes a map of the search area along with the date and time the search was performed.  If your site is not located within a PULA, you can print the BLT webpage showing the location and ensuring the date visited is documented.

An applicator is ultimately responsible for ensuring label requirements are met prior to making an application. In cases where land-management practices must be implemented for compliance, applicators and land managers/owners will have to work together to ensure label requirements are met.

When pesticide research requires an Experimental Use Permit (EUP), both the EPA and the MDA must issue permits before the pesticide can be used in Minnesota. If the pesticide is registered under section 3 of FIFRA, the EPA may allow its use under an EUP with additional approved supplemental labeling. Any ESA mitigation requirements will still be listed on the existing product label, and that label must be used together with the experimental supplemental labeling. If the product is unregistered, the experimental labeling issued with the permit must be followed.

Work with your pesticide dealer, crop advisor, or technical expert. 

The use of adjuvants to reduce a label’s minimum spray drift buffer is considered voluntary. The MDA recommends performing an injury trial to the intended crop before wider application of the tank mix. A jar test can be used to look for tank mix incompatibility issues and prepare a small amount of pesticide mixture for use in the injury trial. 

EPA analyzed the runoff vulnerability of counties across the lower 48 states based on rainfall, soil, and other lines of evidence and developed a runoff vulnerability rating. Depending on the rating, the EPA awards a certain amount of relief points that can be used to meet the label required mitigation points. These findings are included in the EPA's Ecological Mitigation Support Document to Support Endangered Species Strategies.

Yes, the PALM calculator works on smartphones, tablets, and computers. When using PALM output for tracking purposes on a mobile device, ensure you print or save the output as a PDF for your records

Mitigation points and buffer reductions should be calculated on a field-by-field or management-unit basis. When implementing ESA requirements, implementation should occur per contiguous units. According to the EPA: “A field or management unit is defined as the single contiguous piece of land that is managed as a single unit in production or in preparation for production of a single crop. A uniform field may be sub-divided based upon different crops (e.g., vegetables and leafy greens) or sub-divided based upon different features (e.g., flat portion and contoured portion).”  See EPA’s Mitigation Menu or EPA’s Pesticide App for Label Mitigations (PALM Calculator) for buffer reduction options and runoff/erosion mitigation practice options.

Yes, the EPA awards one point for tracking the drift and runoff/erosion mitigations you implement. Printing/saving the output from a completed PALM assessment is an option for tracking your mitigations.