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US FWS to phase out GMOs in wildlife refuges
Aug. 8, 2014
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After facing a series of legal challenges from environmental groups, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) will phase out the use of genetically modified (GMO) crops and controversial neonicotinoid pesticides at farming projects on national wildlife refuges.
National Wildlife Refuge System chief James Kurth has directed the agency to stop using GMO crops and neonicontinoids on refuge farms by January 2016, according to a July 17 memo obtained by activists last week. The Fish and Wildlife Service is the first federal agency to restrict the use of GMOs and neonicotinoids in farming practices.
For over a decade, GMO crops and neonicotinoid pesticides were used on a regular basis at farming projects on national wildlife refuges across the country. Federal court rulings shut down GMO farming on refuges in several regions after environmental and food safety groups spent years challenging the practice both in and out of court, arguing the crops and poisons threaten the same ecosystems that the refuges are supposed to protect.
Kurth's memo states that the federal wildlife refuge system's "leadership team" has decided that federal refuges should only use agriculture practices that contribute to specific "wildlife objectives" and restore or mimic natural ecosystems, but Kurth did not elaborate on what these "wildlife objectives" would be.
Several federal wildlife refuges have farmed crops that are genetically engineered to resist pesticides to feed wildlife and control weeds. GMO technology allows farmers to blanket whole fields of crops with pesticides to kill weeds while sparing the GMO crops.
Scientists warn that GMO farming leads to increased pesticide use that can harm native grasses and wildlife such as birds and aquatic animals, according to a statement from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), one of the groups that challenged the GMO farming practices.
The Fish and Wildlife Service will still consider the temporary use of GMOs for habitat restoration projects on a case-by-case basis, but in general, the federal refuge system will stop relying on them to meet "wildlife management objectives," according to the memo.
Source: truth out
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