____________________________________ From: [log in to unmask] Reply-to: [log in to unmask] To: [log in to unmask] Sent: 9/3/2013 2:30:30 P.M. Central Daylight Time Subj: Lawsuit Filed to Protect Midwest Wildlife Refuges Sierra Club is involved in this lawsuit. Laurel Hopwood, Chair, Sierra Club Genetic Engineering Action Team http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press-releases/2478/lawsuit-filed-to-prot ect-midwest-wildlife-refuges Lawsuit Filed to Protect Midwest Wildlife Refuges August 27th, 2013 (edited for length) Pesticides and Genetically Engineered Crops on Refuge Lands Are Illegal and Damaging to the Environment A federal lawsuit filed today seeks to halt the planting of genetically engineered (GE) crops and end blanket pesticide use in national wildlife refuges in the Midwest region. The suit demands that the Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), which operates the refuges, stop these practices until it undertakes rigorous analyses of their environmental impacts. The lawsuit was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by the Center for Food Safety, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Sierra Club, and Beyond Pesticides. It charges that FWS unlawfully entered into farming contracts on five refuges in four Midwestern states (IL, IA, MN and MO) without the environmental analysis required by the National Environmental Policy Act and the Refuge Improvement Act. Besides GE crops, this suit also challenges the use of highly potent pesticides linked to - * Devastating declines in bee populations and elimination of other beneficial insects; * Chemical contamination of streams running through refuges; and * Damage to already imperiled amphibian populations. FWS has allowed farming on refuge lands for decades despite its harmful effects on wildlife, native grasses, and biodiversity. In recent years, refuges have converted to GE crops, which are engineered to be resistant to herbicides, principally Monsanto's ubiquitous Roundup. Their planting leads to more frequent applications of increased toxicity. This suit is the next step in the drive by PEER and CFS to ban GE crop cultivation from all refuges across the country. Halting GE crop cultivation throughout the Midwest Region would dramatically cut pesticide use until the agency completes a rigorous review of all potential impacts and consistency with the refuges' purposes. ### - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-BIOTECH-FORUM list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/