Center for Biological Diversity
August 2, 2024
PORTLAND, Ore.— The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and the Center for Biological Diversity won a lawsuit today against the federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service over its program allowing insecticide spraying on millions of acres in 17 western states to kill native grasshoppers and crickets.
U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez found that APHIS violated the law by focusing only on spraying insecticides to suppress grasshoppers and Mormon crickets, and that the agency “ignores any pest management techniques other than the application of pesticides.”
“We are pleased that the district court agrees that APHIS must consider preventative measures — not just pesticide applications — in grasshopper management,” said Sharon Selvaggio, pesticide reduction specialist at the Xerces Society. “This approach will reshape grasshopper management for the better, and contribute to the well-being of pollinators, birds, fish and other wildlife across millions of acres of western rangeland.”
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