http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/4665349.htm

Posted on Wed, Dec. 04, 2002
California sued over pesticide effects in 'pristine' Sierra


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - High in the most popular and the most remote
areas of the Sierra Nevada, pesticides blown a hundred miles from
Central Valley farms are wiping out threatened frogs that serve as
sentinel or indicator species, a lawsuit alleged Wednesday.

``In the Central Valley you have these wind currents that go right up
into the Sierra. People go up to Yosemite and Tahoe and they think
this is a pristine area, we certainly aren't affecting anything up
here -- but we are,'' said attorney Michael Graf.

He sued the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and
pesticide producers on behalf of Eureka-based Californians for
Alternatives to Toxics, alleging the agency isn't doing enough to
protect Sierra Nevada frogs, including the species made famous by
author Mark Twain.

It's the fourth in a recent series of developments alleging the same
wind-blown effects, though the department said the evidence isn't
conclusive.

The suit comes two weeks after researchers at California State
University, Sacramento and the University of California, Davis said
the wind-blown pesticides may be a cause in the decline of three
Sierra frog species. They'd previously found pesticides were hurting
the California red-legged frog made famous in Twain's ``The Celebrated
Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.''

And it follows an April lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency filed by the Center for Biological Diversity. That
suit accuses the EPA of ignoring the federal Endangered Species Act by
not restricting pesticides known to kill or deform the red-legged
frog. The EPA denied the allegations.

The new suit filed in Sacramento County alleges the state is violating
state law by not tracking the effects of wind-blown pesticides nearly
a decade after the first studies showed the toxins in areas like Lake
Tahoe, Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks.

Populations of the mountain yellow-legged frog, the Yosemite toad and
the Sierra populations of the red-legged and foothill yellow-legged
frogs have sharply declined over the last 25 years.

But while pesticides ``may be one of many factors contributing to
amphibian decline, there is no direct confirmed evidence that
pesticide residues are a major factor in amphibian deaths, or that a
reduction or elimination of pesticide residues would reverse amphibian
declines,'' the department said in a Sept. 16 response to the
environmental group.

Populations of some amphibians are declining worldwide, while other
species apparently aren't affected, noted Barry Cortez, the
department's pesticide registration chief. Climate change, loss of
habitat, ultraviolet radiation, acid rain, increased predation or
competition, and diseases all have been blamed, he wrote.

Studies show one of the eight pesticides cited by the group is no
longer permitted, three haven't been found in Sierra frogs, and four
have been found in a species of frog that continues to thrive, he
said.

``There is increasing, but not conclusive, evidence of a link,'' but
it may be four years before there is enough additional research to
sort things out, Cortez said.

Graf's new lawsuit contends the department is violating a state law
that requires the department to annually re-evaluate pesticide
registrations when it can be shown that their continuing use is likely
to cause a significant environmental impact.

The environmental group isn't seeking to restrict the use of
pesticides now, just require a study by the department, Graf said.

Department spokesman Glenn Brank said he couldn't comment on the
lawsuit itself.

The suit also names California-licensed pesticide producers Dow
Agrosciences LLC, FMC Corp., Gowan Co., Zeneca Inc., Platte Chemical
Co., and Syngenta Crop Protection Inc.

``California has the most restrictive and thorough registration
process in the United States, so we're very concerned people are going
outside the process (by turning to the courts),'' said Steve Beckley,
who represents the pesticide industry as president of the California
Plant Health Association.

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On the Net:

Californians for Alternatives to Toxics:
http://www.alternatives2toxics.org

Department of Pesticide Regulation: http://www.cdpr.ca.gov

California Plant Health Association: http://www.cpha.net/