Farmers caught in fight over buffers

In 2002, a U.S. district court judge ruled a federal agency violated the Endangered Species Act in the way it registered pesticides. The ruling set in motion a dispute now entering its ninth year involving federal and state agencies, environmental organizations, pesticide makers and farm, ranch and forestry groups. In the case brought by the Washington Toxics Coalition and other environmental organizations, Judge John Coughenour ruled that before the Environmental Protection Agency cleared for use certain pesticides, it first should have consulted with federal fisheries managers on their effects on salmon. Given that Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act requires federal agencies consult when their actions could affect a threatened or endangered species, the ruling wasn't surprising, said Heather Hansen, executive director of Washington Friends of Farms and Forests, which advocates for agricultural interests on pest management issues. "But there really is no simple way to (consult)," Hansen said. "Pesticides are used in agriculture, in homes, on flea collars. So how do you consult on that?" The original wording of the law didn't take complex scenarios into account, she said. "The ESA was written thinking in terms of: If you build a dam, it's in one spot at one time and you consult on that one action," Hansen said. "That is how the consultation process was envisioned: One action, one spot, one time." As the EPA prepares to restrict use of many common pesticides, farmers, ranchers and foresters appear to be the big losers. According to figures from NMFS, under currently proposed actions -- which involve no-spray buffers around streams, lakes and other water bodies -- pesticide use will be restricted on 61 percent of Washington state's total land area. Fifty-five percent of Oregon, 32 percent of California and 26 percent of Idaho would also be restricted...more