John,

Migratory birds, like the colorful cerulean warbler, depend on sustenance to fuel their long, seasonal journeys. But a toxic herbicide called dicamba is damaging oaks and other native trees that provide needed seeds and habitat for energy-rich bugs. Shockingly, the Environmental Protection Agency approved use of the herbicide before assessing the extent of its impact on native plants and wildlife.

Tell the Environmental Protection Agency not to permit the use of dicamba until they can prove that the herbicide can be used without causing serious harm to wildlife.

PROTECT BIRDS: SAVE NATIVE TREES

Dicamba was designed solely for use on soybean and cotton seeds that were genetically modified to tolerate its effects. As dicamba drifts and damages nearby forests of oak, box elder and other native trees and other natural and backyard habitat more than a mile away, birds and pollinators are paying the price for the Environmental Protection Agency’s inadequate assessment of the herbicide’s environmental harm.

Repeated exposure to damaging herbicides results in trees and other flowering plants slowly dying, which then eliminates important sources of nectar, shelter and nesting places for insects and migrating birds when they need them the most. Although the Environmental Protection Agency made a mistake by allowing use of dicamba without a rigorous environmental impact assessment, they can right this wrong by not re-approving the use of the toxic herbicide for next growing season and beyond.

Research shows that cerulean warblers are particularly drawn to oak trees in Wisconsin’s ecologically-rich Driftless Area. But if the Environmental Protection Agency continues to permit the use of dicamba, that vibrant landscape and those like it across the Midwest would continue to be exposed to the herbicide as it drifts from nearby agricultural lands. With habitat destruction already a key concern for cerulean warblers and other migratory birds, the agency is further jeopardizing these beloved songbirds.

The permitting of agricultural chemicals should be a science-based decision. Without proper research to determine environmental harm, herbicides like dicamba can wreak havoc on our cherished wildlife.

Now, the Environmental Protection Agency needs to hear from wildlife advocates like you: Tell the agency not to permit the use of dicamba until proper scientific research on its effects can be conducted.

Thank you for all you do to protect vulnerable wildlife and their crucial native habitats.