The federal Endangered Species Act requires all federal agencies to protect designated plant and animal species that are threatened or endangered of becoming extinct. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed an Endangered Species Protection Program (ESPP) in 1988 to protect the federally listed endangered species from the adverse effects of pesticides. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) is the state lead agency for pesticides in Iowa and works cooperatively with EPA. IDALS administers and enforces the ESPP in Iowa.

There are 13 listed species that are protected by federal law in Iowa. Eight are animals and five are plant species. The term endangered species means any species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Threatened species means any species that is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. To read more about these species visit Living On The Edge: Endangered Species in Iowa

It is notable that the Peregrine Falcon and Bald Eagle have increased in numbers to allow the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove them from the threatened and endangered species list. The efforts to protect our rare plants and animals are working!

Pesticide Applicators

To assist pesticide applicators in the protection effort, the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs has developed county bulletins to raise the awareness of selected federally protected threatened and endangered species. The EPA bulletins can be found on their Internet Home Page site.

Iowa State University (ISU) Extension has made these general recommendations for the use of herbicides near the endangered plants: maintain a 50-foot buffer when using a hand sprayer; a 100-foot buffer when using boom equipment; and a 100-yard buffer when an aerial application method is used. More information can be found in the ISU Extension pamphlet PM-1506 Protecting Iowa’s Rare and Endangered Plant Species at the ISU Extension Internet Home Page site.

PLANTS

IDALS has developed county maps to indicate the general areas of the federally protected plants in Iowa. To view the maps click on the county name in the box to the left.  Certified applicators of restricted use pesticides may contact the Pesticide Bureau at (515) 281-8506 to get more specific site location information.

ANIMALS

Topeka Shiner:  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) adopted their final regulation on July 27, 2004, that designates the critical habitat for the Topeka shiner (Notropis topeka).  The Topeka shiner is listed as an endangered species by the FWS and may be susceptible to insecticides and fungicides.  The minnow sized fish lives in small to mid-sized prairie streams of the central prairie region found in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota.  In order to assist pesticide applicators to protect the Topeka shiner, the FWS maps are displayed Maps 1, Map 2, and Map 3.