Fw: EPA TO ALLOW USE OF BIRD KILLING PESTICIDE

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----- Original Message ----- From: Krake, Ann M. Sent: Monday, July 01, 2002 9:40 AM Barbara Herskovitz (E-mail) Subject: FW: EPA TO ALLOW USE OF BIRD KILLING PESTICIDE EPA TO ALLOW LOUISIANA TO USE BIRD KILLING PESTICIDEPublic Has Only 5 Days to Help Stop This From Happening!The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted an emergencyrequest by Louisiana rice growers to combat rice weevils by using 1,500pounds of granular carbofuran - one of the world's most potent bird-killingpesticides -- on 10,000 acres of rice fields. An additional 4,500 poundsof the deadly pesticide may be produced to meet the rice growers' demands.Audubon and our partners in conservation are working to see that they arestopped from rolling back bird protections to produce more of this poisonand apply it to rice fields as a bird-killing trap.EPA initially intended to grant the rice growers an "emergency use"application, without seeking public comment or alerting conservation groupsHowever, after pressure from Audubon and other groups, EPA has agreed toallow only enough pesticide to cover 2,500 acres immediately, and haveopened a five-day public comment period, beginning Thursday, June 27th,before they decide whether to authorize carbofuran use, and give the greenlight for more bird-poison production, to cover the remaining 7,500 acres.Laboratory data verify that carbofuran is among the most highly toxicpesticides to birds. One tiny granule can kill a songbird, and more thanfifty species, including Bald and Golden Eagle, Eastern Bluebird, GreatHorned Owl, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Pintail, and Blue-winged Teal, havebeen documented as having died from carbofuran poisoning. EPA estimated thatprior to cancellation of the granular formulation, up to two million birdswere killed each year by carbofuran. No other substance listed under the EPA's Ecological Incident Investigation System has killed more birds. InOctober 1999, for example, nearly 27,000 migratory birds, includingred-winged blackbirds and horned larks, were killed on a 13-acre plot when afarmer illegally applied carbofuran to wheat seed and spread it between rowsof wheat crop intentionally as bait for the birds.However, it does not require malice to kill birds with one of the world'smost dangerous bird-killing poisons. Scientists at the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service (FWS) stated that "there are no known conditions underwhich carbofuran can be used without killing migratory birds. Many of thesedie-off incidents followed applications of carbofuran that were made withextraordinary care.". Scientists from around the country concur. Insouthwest Louisiana, where the rice farmers want to apply the poison,hundreds of species of birds could be at risk, including the threatened baldeagle. The proposed carbofuran poisoning could have a particularlydevastating impact on bird species that are often found in large numbers inrice fields, such as wading birds and neotropical migrant shorebirds. Asingle exposure to the deadly pesticide of a large group of Buff-breastedSandpipers or Short-billed Dowitchers, for example, could wipe out aglobally significant number of their remaining population. Both species arelisted on Audubon's WatchList of birds that could be headed for extinction, andwould be migrating through southwest Louisiana at the time the pesticideswould be applied.Four pesticides are registered for use against the rice water weevil thatare not nearly the potent bird-killer that carbofuran has proven to be.According to Louisiana State University, these pesticides work as well orbetter than carbofuran and for equal or lesser cost.That's why Audubon and our partner organizations are committed to stoppingany further use of the bird-killer carbofuran - but we can't do it alone. Weneed your help - and we need it now, as the EPA will make their decision inless than five days!Please send a message to the EPA immediately and urge them to deny anyfurther use of carbofuran! Click onto this link to send your message rightnow - and please encourage your family and friends to do so as well! Theclock is ticking...and thousands of birds are at stake!http://www.capitolconnect.com/audubon/contact/default.asp?subject=56