With the passage of LB 588 (the Nebraska Pesticide Act) in April of 1993, responsibilities for the enforcement of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) shifted from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA). One component of these responsibilities includes administering a program to protect endangered and threatened species from pesticide exposure.

There are many different threatened and endangered species in Nebraska (see the complete list). The labels of some pesticides direct users on requirements for the protection of endangered species and should always be read carefully to assure compliance with federal regulations.

The NDA Pesticide Program has currently focused its efforts on the protection of five endangered or threatened species in Nebraska by making contacts with landowners and raising the awareness of pesticide applicators. These include three plants: the Blowout Penstemon, the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid, and the Colorado Butterfly Plant; and two birds: the Piping Plover and the Interior Least Tern.

Courtesy Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska

Blowout Penstemon is unique in that it is found nowhere else in the world, except in Nebraska's Sandhills. This plant is restricted to blowouts or depressions created in the sand by wind erosion. There are currently only about 6,000 of these plants known to exist. A University of Nebraska plant scientist is currently propagating and transplanting seedlings of the blowout penstemon into suitable sites around Nebraska. In addition, researchers are contacting landowners for permission to monitor existing populations. This cooperative effort will allow us to determine what favorable conditions allow some populations to maintain themselves and even increase in numbers, while others are in decline. The goal of this project is to upgrade the population status of the species from "endangered" to "threatened."

Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Western Prairie Fringed Orchid is found in the eastern two-thirds of Nebraska, from the Missouri River in the east to Cherry and Keith counties in the west. These plants were once so common that school children of the 1800s carried them in by the "arm loads." However, population numbers have now decreased to around 900 plants in Nebraska. Typically, the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid will be found in moderate- to high-quality tall grass prairies with high soil moisture.

The Colorado Butterfly Plant is found in moist areas of floodplains within a small area of southeastern Wyoming, north-central Colorado, and western Nebraska; the only known populations in Nebraska are located in Kimball County. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates less than 50,000 reproducing individuals in its entire range, with only 10 of the 14 current populations considered stable or increasing in numbers.

Without the assistance of cooperating landowners, we wouldn't know as much as we do about these species. They not only allow access to their property to conduct investigations, they also provide valuable input into how their land is managed and about their attitudes toward endangered species. A recent telephone and in-person survey conducted by the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission revealed attitudes that may be surprising to many. Thirty-seven private and public landowners (numbering 31 and 6, respectively) having the western prairie fringed orchid were surveyed for this study. Even when using only the private landowners and by assuming negative attitudes on the part of an additional five landowners who denied access and did not participate in the survey, 31% of the respondents were "positive" and 14% were "positive with reservations" to the question asking how they felt about having the orchid on their property. To the question of whether they felt it was important to protect rare species like the orchid, 47% responded "yes" and 22% responded "yes with reservations." These answers indicate that most landowners appreciate and understand the need for protecting rare species such as the orchid, but there is some misgiving about having them on their property. Given the few extreme instances where there have been loss of property rights through the Endangered Species Act, these feelings would seem warranted. However, through cooperation with the many landowners, state, and federal agencies, we hope to come up with alternatives to managing habitat for a species' benefit and still allow continued uses of certain pesticides in and around these areas.

Both the Piping Plover and Interior Least Tern are typically found along sandbars and shorelines of rivers and streams in Nebraska. Presently, the protection of these species relies on the voluntary compliance of applicators with guidelines, which are provided in endangered species county bulletins. Although adherence to the guidelines is currently voluntary, the EPA is considering proposing these as mandatory requirements. In the future, there may be a label statement on certain pesticides which will require the applicator to refer to the endangered species bulletins if they apply the pesticide within certain counties of Nebraska.

Piping Plover

Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Interior Least Tern

The bulletins provide information on the endangered species which may be found in a county, where pesticide use may be limited, and a list of affected pesticide active ingredients.

Much of the published information pertaining to pesticides and endangered species in Nebraska are available from NDA. Examples, pictured below, include the county bulletins (at top), detailed species information developed by the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission (large pamphlets) and NDA (smaller pamphlets).

Contact NDA to learn more about how you can use pesticides wisely and conserve Nebraska's ecological diversity. To request more information on endangered species protection in Nebraska, phone (402) 471-2394, or e-mail.

Other sites with additional information about endangered species:

Endangered Species Act.

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Provides more detailed information concerning the life history and habitats of these species.

Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Pesticide Education Resources.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Endangered Species Program. Describes how the agency regulates the Endangered Species Act and contains helpful pages with FAQs and descriptions of the various components of the Act.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Region 6, 'Feature Series'. A number of short articles about wildlife, including one about the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid (Vol II No. 4).

USFWS Threatened and Endangered Species System - A searchable database system for threatened and endangered species.

U.S. Forest Service Literature Searches.

U.S. Forest Service Projects.