ND Department of Agriculture Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 1, 2008

JOHNSON UNVEILS STATE ENDANGERED SPECIES PROGRAM

BISMARCK – Public comment is wanted on a new program that gives North Dakota a voice in the administration of the federal endangered species program in the state.

“The North Dakota Endangered Species Protection Plan for Pesticides is our ‘seat at the table’ as the Environmental Protection Agency develops and implements possible restrictions on pesticide usage to better protect threatened and endangered species,” said Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson, who unveiled the new program at a Thursday press conference.

Johnson said the 30-day comment period on the program extends to June 1.

“The comment period is not required by law, but we want to give all interested persons and organizations – farmers, ranchers, environmentalists, pesticides dealers and applicators and others – the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the program and to tell us how it can be improved,” he said.

The North Dakota Endangered Species Protection Plan for Pesticides can be found on the North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) website at www.agdepartment.com. Comments should be sent to Endangered Species Program, North Dakota Department of Agriculture, 600 E Boulevard Ave, Dept. 602, Bismarck, ND  58505-0020; fax: (701) 328-4567or contact Jessica Orr at jnorr@nd.gov or (701) 328-2980.

Johnson explained that EPA is now required to more thoroughly assess the risk of pesticides to threatened and endangered species. When a significant risk is identified, EPA will reduce that risk through changes to the pesticide labeling or through county bulletins that restrict the use of particular pesticides in specific areas.

“The new program makes the Department of Agriculture the principal source of information and recommendations for EPA to use as the agency considers changes to pesticide labeling and the establishment of county bulletins,” Johnson said.

The North Dakota plan proposes that the NDDA supply EPA with certain types of data, including pesticides usage in different areas of the state, cropping information, environmental monitoring data, soil types and information on the distribution and biology of North Dakota threatened and endangered species. The plan also proposes that NDDA provide recommendations on label language and strategies to mitigate the risk of pesticides to endangered species.

The state program was developed by Jessica Orr, NDDA’s environmental scientist, and Jim Gray, the department’s feed, fertilizer and pesticide team leader.
North Dakota currently has seven threatened and endangered species (see attached list).

Johnson said development of the program was made possible by legislators who recognized the need for state involvement in the endangered species program.

“Senators Terry Wanzek, Randy Christmann and Jerry Klein and Reps. Chet Pollert, Phil Mueller and Dennis Johnson saw the need for the program and worked hard to get funding for it,” Johnson said.

Johnson said several agricultural organizations, notably the North Dakota Agricultural Association, the North Dakota Grain Growers Association, the North Dakota Weed Control Association and the North Dakota Farm Bureau, also supported the program development.

Johnson said the EPA officials have seen the draft of the program and have encouraged NDDA to move forward on the project.

“Regional EPA officials in Denver are enthusiastic about this draft, and I am confident that after the comments are received and the final draft completed, the program will be accepted,” he said.

Washington is the only state to have a state endangered species program in place.

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MEDIA: For more information, please call Ted Quanrud at (701) 328-2233 or tquanrud@nd.gov or Patrice Lahlum at (701) 239-7210 or plahlum@nd.gov.

Endangered species in North Dakota, as determined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, include the following:

• Least tern (Sterna antillarum)
• Piping plover (Charadrius melodus)
• Whooping crane (Grus americana)
• Black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes)
• Gray wolf (Canis lupus)
• Pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus)
• Western prairie fringed orchid (Platanthera praeclara)

Three other species – a butterfly called the Dakota skipper (Hesperia dacotae), the greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) and the greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) – are under consideration or have been mentioned as possibilities for the North Dakota list.