EPA Seeks Public Comment on Draft Strategy to Better Protect Endangered Species

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its draft Fungicide Strategy and is inviting the American public to weigh in.

The draft Strategy identifies practical, science-based protections that fungicide users can adopt to safeguard more than 1,000 federally endangered and threatened species, while preserving the flexibility states, growers, and applicators need to keep American agriculture strong. It reflects EPA's commitment to meeting its obligations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) through a more efficient, transparent, and protective approach to pesticide registration.

Protecting American families is a top priority for EPA. Every approved pesticide must undergo gold-standard scientific safety evaluations and pose no health risks of concern when used as directed. EPA will continue to review the latest available science to ensure its regulatory decisions are rooted in the most robust universe of data possible.

American farmers are the lifeblood of our economy and our nation's food supply. They need a diverse toolbox of innovative agricultural technologies to manage crop disease, prevent resistance, and produce the affordable, nutritious food that feeds our country. The draft Fungicide Strategy is designed to ensure those innovative tools remain available and that they are used in ways that protect the environment and endangered species.

Consistent with the Trump Administration's commitment to radical transparency, EPA is opening this draft Strategy to a 60-day public comment period and will host a public webinar to walk stakeholders through the proposal and take questions. EPA wants to hear from farmers, applicators, scientists, conservation groups, state partners, Tribal partners, and members of the public before any decisions are finalized.

What the Draft Strategy Does

  • Uses a three-step framework to (1) identify potential population-level impacts to listed species, (2) identify mitigation measures, and (3) determine where those mitigations should apply.
  • Informs EPA's registration and registration review decisions for conventional agricultural fungicides in the lower 48 states, where approximately 41 million acres are treated annually.
  • Considers where listed species live, what they need (such as food sources or pollinators), where fungicides may move in the environment, and potential effects on non-target species.
  • Guides mitigations that EPA will propose in future regulatory actions, with public input on each action before any decision is finalized. Does not itself impose requirements.
  • Provides flexibilities to states and growers and emphasizes ongoing collaboration with federal, state, and Tribal partners to deliver effective, tailored protections.
  • Updates options for reducing spray drift buffer distances, including expanding spray drift adjuvants as a mitigation option to insecticides and fungicides and adding guar gum as an additional adjuvant type.

The draft Fungicide Strategy builds directly on EPA's final Herbicide and Insecticide Strategies, incorporating lessons learned and public comments received on those earlier efforts. The result is a draft that offers greater flexibility for growers, offers easier implementation for applicators, and bolsters continued strong protections for federally listed endangered species.

How to Participate

EPA will continue to engage with stakeholders including federal, state, and Tribal partners, to refine the Fungicide Strategy and supporting documents as additional information becomes available, and to ensure the final Strategy is implemented effectively. EPA expects to finalize the Fungicide Strategy no later than November 2026.

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Last updated on May 1, 2026