Pesticide Permitting-ESA Procedures
Part 1.1.2.4 of the Pesticide General Permit (PGP): Endangered and threatened species and critical habitat protection
Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits take (e.g., harm or harassment) of ESA-listed fish and wildlife species unless the take is authorized or exempted under the ESA.
All Decision-makers with discharges and/or discharge-related activities to waters of the U.S. that may expose U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Listed Resources of Concern to pollutants are required to submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) certifying eligibility under one of the six eligibility criteria in Part 1.1.2.4 of the PGP.
FWS and NMFS Listed Resources of Concern encompass federally-listed endangered and threatened species and federally-designated or proposed critical habitat under each of the Services’ jurisdictions. FWS and NMFS both concluded in their Biological Opinions that the PGP, absent any additional mitigating measures, would either jeopardize the continued existence of such species or destroy or adversely modify such critical habitat. The Biological Opinions included a Reasonable and Prudent Alternative, implemented through the 2026 PGP, to avoid likely jeopardy to listed species or adverse modification of designated critical habitat.
The maps linked to below will help you to determine whether the receiving water for any of your discharges and/or discharge-related activities overlap with FWS or NMFS Listed Resources of Concern. If there is overlap, see the Eligibility Worksheet for Threatened and Endangered Species Protection in Appendix I of the 2026 PGP for additional instructions. If you need assistance in identifying overlap, contact your local regional NMFS office and/or FWS Region to request technical assistance specifically from an ESA section 7 biologist.
Note 1: Although the 2026 PGP requires Decision-makers to use EPA’s “geospatial mapping tool” to determine whether Listed Resources of Concern may be exposed to pollutants as a result of pesticide applications made to the pest management area(s), that tool is not yet available. Until the tool is deployed, Decision-makers must use IPaC for FWS resource lists and NMFS’ mappers for NMFS’ resource lists, as provided below.
PGP FWS Listed Resources of Concern - Interactive Mapping Tool
PGP NMFS Listed Resources of Concern - Interactive Mapping Tool
- New England/Mid-Atlantic Region: Maine through Virginia
NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region ESA Section 7 Mapper - Southeast Region: North Carolina through Florida, the Gulf of America, and the U.S. Caribbean
NOAA Fisheries Southeast Region ESA Section 7 Mapper - Alaska Region:
NOAA Fisheries Alaska Endangered Species and Critical Habitat Mapper Web Application - West Coast Region: Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, and U.S. marine waters adjacent to those states
NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region Species and Habitat App - Pacific Islands Region: American Samoa, Guam, Hawaiʻi, the Northern Mariana Islands, and other U.S. Pacific Islands
Contact the Pacific Islands Regional Office or (808) 725-5000
NOTE 2: If your Pest Management Area overlaps with waters where NMFS’ Listed Resources of Concern occur and you expect to discharge residues from the application of piscicides or those pesticides that a NMFS' biological opinion has determined the labeled use would jeopardize the continued existence of ESA-listed species and/or adversely modify designated critical habitat, it is in your best interest to contact your regional NMFS office or the NMFS consultation service account (nmfs.hq.esa.consultations@noaa.gov) and request “technical assistance on potential pesticide applications from an ESA section 7 biologist.” See also Endangered Species Act Consultations on Pesticide Product Registrations and Re-Registrations | NOAA Fisheries, which includes biological opinions issued to EPA since 2008 on the registration and re-registration of select pesticide active ingredients under FIFRA. NMFS has not consulted on all pesticides currently authorized for use under the PGP.